Leroy somer windlass

[aztec]

The windlass on my Sunfast 40 year 2000 is a leroy somer - which are no longer made.
It sounds like something is rubbing when used and occasionally won't turn. Once I get it moving its Ok. I wold like to service it. Has any one any experience of doing this? Does the drive require lubrication? Has anyone an exploded diagram? How easy is it to remove from the deck? How easy does the gypsy come off?
Like most users of this winch I am faced with the problem of separating the rope winch from the shaft but unlike other posts, my clutch is not slipping. probably will if I separate but note tips to resolve this.

[sailbleu]

www.jeanneau-owners.com/hintsandtips/Leroysomerwindlass.html

That should help you on the way.
And yes I have serviced my windlass because the poor design allowed the oil inside the gearbox to drip out.
When its run dry it will no doubt be destroyed.
I hope that is not already the case in your case.
I have no pics of my repair but I was just in time to notice that the oil had gone through a loose cap underneath the gearbox. I made a cover over that cap so I cannot be pushed out again.
Refilled the gearbox with new lubrication oil and was lucky I got away with it as it was.
Like you say , they make is out of business and no spare parts available.
I would suggest to get the unit out immediatly , my hint and tips contribution (see links above) will help you with that I think.

Good luck
Kind regards

[aztec]

Can you top up the oil without taking off the winch? I can't see any filling plug when I
Look under the deck.
Your helpful links only show drum removal. How did you proceed to remove the gypsy and the winh assembly?
Thanks for your help

[sailbleu]

I think you can , the oil topping up that is , i believe there is a fill cap on top. But I would certainly not leave at that
Once the gypsy is off everything speaks for itself.
If I remember correctly it's 3 bolts for the unit and a few other ones for the chain guide.
Oh yes , the three unit bolts are 8mm in size , in my case they were bent . I addapted the lot to/with 10mm bolts , some drilling involved and that was that. That was two years ago and all is well sofar.

Very easy to get the complete unit out of the boat.
I would really suggest to remove it and check the cap underneath , maybe it also came out (with oil leaking as a result) .
To fix that cap permanently you can - like I did - make a small rvs plate and screw it into existing holes in the unit.
Just get to whole thing out of there and it will all be clear to you.
Please let us know about the result (with pics if possible) I am curious whether your windlass isn't damaged because you spoke about it not turning occasionally , that sounds disturbing I would guess.

By the way , the drum removal was the hardest part you know.

Good luck