Squeaking winches after service

[amFast]

Yesterday I took apart and service my two cabin top winches, Harken 35STs.  I followed the instructions in this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLvGw3CMZ7M.  I used break cleaner to clean everything, greased the gears with Harken white winch grease and oiled the pawls with Harken pall oil.  Everything seemed to go well, but when I was all done, both winches squeak.  There isn’t a noticeable increase in friction, but the squeaking is there.

My plan at this point is to just do it all over again and hope for a different result, but does anyone have a guess on what I may have done wrong?

 

[El Borracho]

Probably some surface without grease rubbing a bit. Like the self-tail gizmo or the top of the mainshaft. Do they otherwise perform well? Maybe spray a bit of sail lube where the self-tail moving parts rub.

Brake cleaner is pretty extreme as solvents go. I’d worry about damaging plastic parts unless Harken says otherwise. Kerosene is much milder. 

 

[amFast]

Thanks @El Borracho I'll try the sail lube on the self-tailer bits.  I haven't put any real load on them since servicing, but they do seem fine otherwise.  Re: the break cleaner, after doing some reading I agree kerosene would have probably been a better choice.  Although, they did use break cleaner in the video, which is a Harken video.

 

[El Borracho]

You wrote you greased the gears. You greased the drum bearings, too, right?

 

[amFast]

You wrote you greased the gears. You greased the drum bearings, too, right?

I did not; my understanding was if the drum bearings were plastic (which they are) they shouldn't be greased.  Is that wrong?

 

[sierrawhiskeygolf]

Drum bearings are greased with white lithium grease from the factory.

 

[amFast]

Drum bearings are greased with white lithium grease from the factory.

Thanks, sounds like I should be fine to grease them.

 

[The great unwashed]

Yep. Gotta grease the drum bearings.  I actually bought an honest-to-god tube of Harken winch grease.  For my two little #16 self-trailers, it should last forever.  We tried white lithium grease—seemed to hold a lot of salt.

 

[Robc]

Q&a Which parts do I grease and which do I oil on my Harken® winches? Grease all metal gears and roller bearings with Harken Winch Grease. It’s highly resistant to salt and fresh water, works in all temperatures, and protects against corrosion. NEVER grease pawls or springs because grease causes them to stick. Instead, lubricate with Harken Pawl Oil for optimal rotation. Radial® winches and carbon winches have composite roller bearings that do not need to be lubricated.

 

[Robc]

On the bigger winches they recommend oil on the torlon type plastic rollers bearings.

squeaking wise, quite often find its the self tailer parts or rubber boots on top, etc, a thin smear of grease works wonders for that.

 

[SloopJonB]

Q&a Which parts do I grease and which do I oil on my Harken® winches? Grease all metal gears and roller bearings with Harken Winch Grease. It’s highly resistant to salt and fresh water, works in all temperatures, and protects against corrosion. NEVER grease pawls or springs because grease causes them to stick. Instead, lubricate with Harken Pawl Oil for optimal rotation. Radial® winches and carbon winches have composite roller bearings that do not need to be lubricated.

I'd be careful about following that. I have and have had many Harken pieces where the "plastic" bearings failed - worn out of round, chipped, crumbled etc.

If it moves it rarely if ever hurts to lubricate it.

 

[Spreader Boots]

It takes a bit of use for everything to get a bit of lithium grease on the gears. As for the the Torlon bearings, are they balls or rollers? Either way I put a few drops of one lube and spin them in my fingers after a good cleaning.  Most important is that there is no salt or grit in them. This will cause some binding. Personally I only used a degreaser bath on metal parts and hot soapy water on plastic/Torlon parts. The hot water helps melt out grease and salt. If the roller bearings are in a cage then a little light grease between your fingers and roll it into race. When done a light wipe off with a piece of copy paper if you feel it’s excessive. The paper absorbers the excess and doesn’t leave anything behind. Winches are a love hate relationship. Love them when done and functional. Hate them when cleaning, scraping, brushing, & assembling.