Lewmar Pro Series 700 rebuild

[localboy]

Our windlass stop working. It began to strain/slow upon drop one day and upon retrieval, it totally stopped working and the dedicated circuit breaker popped.

After diagnosing the issue with a volt meter, I decided to remove it entirely and rebuild it. Ours is a generation 1, original to the boat. There are GEN 2 and GEN 3 also. Exact determination is made via your serial number. *Note that on our unit, the adhesive placard that has the serial number embossed on it failed and fell off. Luckily, the first half of the number was also embossed onto the actual SS housing, allowing us to look at it with a magnifying glass and determine it was a gen 1. If I were to have a newer unit, I'd make note of the serial number just in case the placard is "lost".

Upon disassembly, I found the motor was very rusted, the main shaft bearing under the gypsy was also very rusted, as was the inner clutch bearing and clutch assembly. The housing design of these windlasses is terrible, especially where the two halves join; there is no seal present, allowing moisture to enter the housing and rust the components from the inside, out. This may have been redesigned in the gen 3 units, but I'm not 100% sure.

Most (not all) parts are available on line. Lewmar customer service is horrid, FYI. I ordered a new motor, seal and bearing kits

Gen 1/2 12v motor: $161.24 on Amazon
seals, dowels & screw kit: $38.99 from Defender
roller bearing kit: $69.99 from Defender

I also had to order a specific tool:
blind hole bearing puller kit: $49.55 from Amazon

I only ordered the kits because the numbers on the bearings were so rusted, I could not read them. The seals were so old the numbers were illegible as well. But the new parts were immaculate and I noted the part numbers so I could order them separately, if needed in the future. Trust me, buying them individually off the web is considerably less expensive, as you're not paying "marine" kit prices. See below.

Lewmar # off schematic Cross reference
#15 small needle roller bearing: HK0608
#20 needle roller bearing: HK2216
#21 needle roller bearing: HK1812
#24 roller clutch bearing: HK1616
#26 needle roller bearing: HK3016
#19 wiper/oil seal: TF 22 X 32 X 7
#29 wiper oil seal: TF 30 X 40 X 7

A new windlass was in the $1200 range vs the the $320 I spent and the tool is a one time expense to complete the job.

I assembled the two halves after putting a bead of Life Seal on them, joining them and then putting a nice clean bead along the joint. Hopefully, this will help keep the moisture out. I also sealed off the two holes where the motor wires/grommets ingress the housing, again to stop moisture intrusion. Time will tell. I'll put some pics in an album for reference.

I'm currently sealing off all the fordeck holes with epoxy and beveling each so no water will make it to the balsa core. Removed the bow rail for the same reson. Whoever installed the windlass & rail just put some white sealant in the holes and that's not sufficient. Once it cures I'll re-drill and properly re-bed the units with "Bed-It Tape" and larger fender washers.