The end of another boating season is rapidly approaching.  I'd like to remind FLOE VSD lift owners to take care of the thrust bearing and ballscrew assemblies when your lift is removed from the water.  I took the following from our VSD owner's manuals:

GREASING THE BALL-SCREW It is important to grease the ball-screw mechanism annually to prevent significant corrosion. The ball screw must be greased immediately prior to winter storage. To grease the ball-screw, lower the lift bed completely. With the bed lowered, the grease fitting should be visible.It may be necessary to raise the lift slightly to align the grease fitting in the hole. Use a high quality extreme pressure lithium grease and a grease gun fitted with a flush style grease tip. A lithium grease that meets these specifications is AeroShell Gadus S2 V220 2. Apply at least six pumps of grease per greasing. Cycle lift completely up and back down to apply a coat of grease to the ball-screw.)

 GREASING THE THRUST BEARING It is important to grease the thrust bearing mechanism annually to prevent significant corrosion. Apply at least 4 pumps of grease.  See maintenance warning on your lift.

This is an ideal time to inspect the lifting cable and the leveling cables.  Make sure the sheaves (pulleys) turn freely and that the cable is in the sheave grooves in all locations.  Check the torque on all fasteners on your lift. Manuals can be found at www.floeintl.com