The following Service Information is of a general nature and applies equally to all ARCO, BARIENT & BARLOW winches.
1) Dismantling the winch
a) Almost all models can be fully serviced without removing the winch from the deck. Be sure to pay special attention to the following:
* Lay-out or remember the various parts in order of disassembly
* When removing the drum, the drum bearings may stay in the drum and fall out when you least expect it and roll off the deck. Consequently there are any amount of Bearings on the bottom of the oceans.
* Ratchet Pawl Springs are also easily lost. A part costing a few cents could render your winch unserviceable. It is advisable to keep a supply of Ratchet Pawl Springs. If you do not have any spare Springs, it would be good sense to order some before starting service of the winch.
* Wash all parts in a petroleum solvent (kerosene, paraffin etc) and let dry or wipe dry with a lint free cloth.
* Visually inspect all parts for damage or obvious wear, i.e. extremely worn, bend or broken gear teeth, ratchet pawls that appear to be very loose in - or fall out off - their sockets and check for parts that have excessive clearance on bearings and shafts. As with most things mechanical, early attention to a potential problem may save money or prevent an injury down the line.
2) Lubricating the Winch
* Sparingly lubricate all mating parts and bearing surfaces with a waterproof grease, such as lubricants that are being used for machinery in the food industry. In an emergency, Petroleum Jelly is an acceptable alternative. Avoid greases with added 'Teflon'.
* Lubricate the Ratchet Pawls and Springs with light machine oil. Avoid large amounts of grease in the Ratchet Pawl areas - the grease might become somewhat 'sticky' over a period of time and prevent the pawls from operating freely.
3) Assembling the Winch
* Repeatedly 'flick' the Ratchet Pawls to ensure uninhibited operation
* Ensure that the Ratchet Pawls engage squarely in the mating ratchet teeth - some ratchet gears can be assembled the wrong way and that will result in the winch slipping back when under load.
* Assemble the rest of the components in the reverse order of disassembly.
* Check the operation of the winch, if possible before that important race.
GOOD SAILING
P.S. I took this from the ARCO we site