Winch Preventative Maintenance

[OLLIE]

When on the drive up to the Land Cruiser Magazine photo shoot last weekend we got into a discussion about winches. The guy I was with said his winch wasn't working right and he needed to rebuild it. He said that he was advised that whether you use your winch or not that it was best practice to rebuild it once a year. Do those of you who have been doing this longer than us (yes... I'm talking about you old timers ) agree with this statement? How do you all maitain your winches?

[cruiserlarry]

That seems a bit much, IMO. Modern winches are designed for a long lifespan, and with regular use and inspection, you should be OK. It is important to check the solenoids to make sure the electrical contacts are not corroding from exposure to moisture. You should check and retension your winch cable/rope after every use, and several times a year if it is not used. If the winch becomes submerged, you should probably check the internals to make sure the lubrication has not become contaminated - but this is not a 5-minute job, and can be a pain in the a** due to planetary gear systems involved with most winches.

I have not been as good as I should be with winch check-ups; yet I've never had a winch stop working in the field. This is a large part due to using quality winches - there's a big difference in the internal workings and seals between inexpensive winches and name brand, established winch manufacturers. As with tires, brakes, lights, and most performance components, you tend to get what you pay for. Something to think about before relying on an inexpensive device to save your truck, or even your life....

[Nadir_E]

Not an old timer and I've never re-built my winch, but....

I bought my 1994 D90 in 1999 - it only had 12,000 miles on it at the time (almost new!). It came with a factory-installed Warn M8000 winch. One of the first times I tried to use the winch I discovered that the "power out" feature wasn't working. Using some ingenuity and local immovable objects I was able to un-spool the winch after use so it could be re-spooled properly. An electrician friend looked it over for me and pointed out that there was indeed some corrosion in the contacts that was preventing the circuit from working correctly. A little disassembly, a little brushing, some dilectric grease and it was working like a champ. He then coated the contacts with a waterproofing material for added protection that has kept it working well since then (this would've been around 2000).

I would guess a re-build every year would make sense if your rig is getting a lot of use (whether the winch is or not) just to account for the dirt and grime the winch is eating as you make your way down the trails and highways. Less use probably equals a longer maintenance interval.

My $0.02!
-Nadir

[FunJunkie]

Both good points, I also thought once a year was a bit much but as stated when you are depending on a peice of equipment why would you not want it in top form? My winch worked fine for 3 years then one day when I needed it the freespool lever just wouldn't release the clutch, Seems to be a pretty common issue. I will be rebuilding it and I will document the level of corrosion and nastiness when I do just to give folks an Idea of what it looks like. The process actually is pretty simple, the only hard part for most folks would be removing the winch from inside the bumper. Luckily I have access to mine while on the truck so it won't be such a pain.

[SteveS]

My winch worked fine for 3 years then one day when I needed it the freespool lever just wouldn't release the clutch, Seems to be a pretty common issue.

I would like to hear more about this. Was the winch used or exercised during that 3 years? I don’t recall ever hearing of this happening, thanks for the heads-up

I don’t seem to need my winch very often but make it a point to run it a few times a year just to test it and operate the controls.

Thanks

[BlueFJ]

This is all very good info. Like they say... use it or lose it!

[FunJunkie]

My winch worked fine for 3 years then one day when I needed it the freespool lever just wouldn't release the clutch, Seems to be a pretty common issue.

I would like to hear more about this. Was the winch used or exercised during that 3 years? I don’t recall ever hearing of this happening, thanks for the heads-up

I don’t seem to need my winch very often but make it a point to run it a few times a year just to test it and operate the controls.

Thanks

It was definitly used, not only on trips for what it was meant for, but I also made a point of it to unspool my rope out and clean it about every 2 months as well as a pre run check before going anywhere it might get some use. It worked on friday, but sunday it was stuck. It seems the grease gets gummy in the gear side and just freezes up ,as well as internal corrosion. I always thought it was pretty well sealed but apparently not. I'll post up some horror pics later, not from mine but from one of the dozens of websites I found when researching this issue. I also had never heard of tis happening until I started looking into it, and there is info all over the web about this.

heres the ugly pics.

[Nadir_E]

I'll be very interested to see how one goes about cleaning/re-building a winch like that. Steam clean? Brake cleaner? Inquiring minds want to know!
-n

[OLLIE]

I'll be very interested to see how one goes about cleaning/re-building a winch like that. Steam clean? Brake cleaner? Inquiring minds want to know!
-n

Probably better off buying a new one. That looks like they pulled it from the bottom of a pond...

[SteveS]

[It was definitly used, not only on trips for what it was meant for, but I also made a point of it to unspool my rope out and clean it about every 2 months as well as a pre run check before going anywhere it might get some use. It worked on friday, but sunday it was stuck.

Thanks for the reply and pics. All good stuff to see in print.

Wow that looks bad, my winch has never looked that bad, and I hope it never does.

Now that my winch is mounted on the rear, it gets a lot more dust so the plan is to increase clean and lubes until I work out a maintenance schedule.

My winch has never been a do-or-die tool, but I plan to keep it working and I find it useful to speed up extractions.