Winch Maintenance

4x4x4doors

Adventurist
Long-standing tradition at my house is this is the week to do some of those maintenance checks, cleans, lubes on seldom used equipment. When I ran wire rope on the winch, this was the week t unspool, inspect, clean and respool while checking ops of the winch itself. With wire rope, a wipe down with kerosene provided some cleaning and lubrication. Found this link on synthetic line.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/t...AkWOWyQaeBoasyZm4szYajxvQkdExlzSg#sf204858733
When the winch came off the old truck in preps for moving to the new, I dropped the line in a 5 gallon bucket and then stretched it around the garage to ensure it dried.
Also a good time to check fasteners on that winch, bumpers and hitches.
 
That's awesome, and a great article by fellow I4WDTA Trainer Nena Barlow on properly spooling synthetic line :thumbsup

I'd wager greater than 90% of winch owners do zero maintenance on their winches. It's truck jewelry.

For those of us that do take it seriously, maintenance is huge. I lay awake at night if I know something is neglected or corrosion is setting in... :lol

I go step further than most in the fact that I disassemble the winch about every two years and re-grease the internals as well as give it new gaskets. It's a good opportunity to visually inspect all of it and verify that all of my electrical connections are good to go.
 
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Long-standing tradition at my house is this is the week to do some of those maintenance checks, cleans, lubes on seldom used equipment. When I ran wire rope on the winch, this was the week t unspool, inspect, clean and respool while checking ops of the winch itself. With wire rope, a wipe down with kerosene provided some cleaning and lubrication. Found this link on synthetic line.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/t...AkWOWyQaeBoasyZm4szYajxvQkdExlzSg#sf204858733
When the winch came off the old truck in preps for moving to the new, I dropped the line in a 5 gallon bucket and then stretched it around the garage to ensure it dried.
Also a good time to check fasteners on that winch, bumpers and hitches.

Goodonya! Fully Mission Capable... :thumbsup

That's awesome, and a great article by fellow I4WDTA Trainer Nena Barlow on properly spooling synthetic line :thumbsup

I'd wager greater than 90% of winch owners do zero maintenance on their winches. It's truck jewelry.

For those of us that do take it seriously, maintenance is huge. I lay awake at night if I know something is neglected or corrosion is setting in... :lol

I go step further than most in the fact that I disassemble the winch about every two years and re-grease the internals as well as give it new gaskets. It's a good opportunity to visually inspect all of it and verify that all of my electrical connections are good to go.

He does - really. :bowdown
 
. . .

I go step further than most in the fact that I disassemble the winch about every two years and re-grease the internals as well as give it new gaskets. It's a good opportunity to visually inspect all of it and verify that all of my electrical connections are good to go.

Especially if you went through any mud/water over the bumper. Once upon a time, I found the dropoff in a creek and my then-new Warn winch spent about 30 minutes just barely under water. It did actually work under water, and pulled me out of the creek after a lot of shoveling on the undercut bank I was trying to climb. Two months later it simply locked up, and I found myself replacing or busting rust on every single component in the gear train. But we do learn a lot from expensive lessons. . . . . .
 
Especially if you went through any mud/water over the bumper. Once upon a time, I found the dropoff in a creek and my then-new Warn winch spent about 30 minutes just barely under water. It did actually work under water, and pulled me out of the creek after a lot of shoveling on the undercut bank I was trying to climb. Two months later it simply locked up, and I found myself replacing or busting rust on every single component in the gear train. But we do learn a lot from expensive lessons. . . . . .

Absolutely!
 
Obviously neglect is the predictor of future failure...but the comments in this thread had me wondering:

What is the life cycle (repair/rebuild/replace) of a winch?

I understand that use, environment, and care all have bearing on the answer.

But when would veteran spoolers consider replacing vs. rebuilding?
 
Obviously neglect is the predictor of future failure...but the comments in this thread had me wondering:

What is the life cycle (repair/rebuild/replace) of a winch?

I understand that use, environment, and care all have bearing on the answer.

But when would veteran spoolers consider replacing vs. rebuilding?
Good question! I think you pretty well answered the question yourself. A winch will give you years of reliable service if inspected, used correctly, and with proper maintenance in accordance with manufacturer's recommendations, and of course dependent upon any unusual operating conditions.

There's been times when I've inspected and then closed everything back up since all was intact and free from corrosion, evidence of water intrusion, uncontaminated lubricant, etc. My winch is over 10 years old and performs with some relative frequency. I know of other individuals models that are much older that have received only routine maintenance, or total rebuilds of salvaged models. Selecting a model that is a top-of-the-line or budget-priced unit has an entirely different list of selection criteria that's not addressed in this response but many points still apply.

Replacement should only be required under conditions of extreme wear or abuse, but most of the time quality, name-brand winches can be rebuilt. This is especially true when evaluating the manufacturer of a winch. Some companies use substandard or non-rated components to achieve a better price point for the volume of business they hope to achieve. Caveat emptor. A quality manufacturer, along with an established reputation of product support and ample logistic support should rate high among your criteria.

This might serve as a handy guide to develop a strategy for all your future modification...

Life cycle costing plays a big role when deciding whether to maintain and repair or to replace equipment. Rarely is it more economic to replace equipment ahead of its end of life unless it has failed or there is a requirement for additional capacity or capability. In most cases, it is more economic to maintain and repair to extend the life as long as possible. The criteria below are designed to help make sound repair versus replace decisions:

• An asset is near or beyond its expected life;
• The asset reliability and the consequences of failure poses an unacceptable risk;
• The repair/refurbishment costs exceed the life cycle cost of an asset replacement;
• The asset’s performance has been unacceptable and corrective maintenance measures will not lead to acceptable performance;
• Additional asset capability is required and the replacement equipment provides that additional capability while improving operations, reducing costs, and make it easier to maintain;
• The existing equipment is technologically obsolete, spare parts are expensive or hard to get, and skill requirements to properly repair and maintain are hard to find;
• The existing equipment poses an unacceptable security risk, health and safety risk, or environmental risk and the cost to mitigate the risk exceeds the asset life cycle replacement cost.
 
Honestly there are so many variables that each case is going to be different. For the average truck I see around here where the winch doesn't appear to have been used or submerged, I suspect it could go years without any maintenance. For the average user, I'd say give it a quick once over periodically such as when you grease your zerks. If it gets used hard then you need to check it more frequently. Submerge an oil bathed winch like the Warn 8274 and you ought to at least open the top when you get home and see what the oil looks like.

Mine doesn't get used often and it's a PITA to get to in the ARB bumper so I think I've only popped the end off to check the grease once since I initially clocked it. The seal was in good shape as was the grease so I just put it back together. I spray oil on the cable about every oil change or two and check the solenoids. On my old Land Cruiser I'd occasionally spool out the cable on the 8274, rinse it well with a pressure washer then soak it overnight in used motor oil but only because I used it in the mud a lot more frequently. Run it through a rag as you spool it back in to wipe off excess oil. This also gives you a good opportunity to check it for damage along it's length. If you have an older style, non sealed, solenoid pack you need to open it and make sure everything is clean and in good shape. An old toothbrush is good for cleaning them then I spray it off with electric cleaner. Check your power leads as well to make sure the wire isn't oxidizing or damaged from vibration over time and check that the connections are tight.
 
If properly cared for, the mechanical components should last forever in a recreational application. Motors, solenoids, contactors, and cables will all have a shorter life span dictated mostly by corrosion or abuse. Since I got my first one in 1986, 98% of my winch problems have been electrical problems between the remote and the winch motor. Plugs, solenoid assemblies, etc....

They say, and I believe, that contactors are much more resistant to corrosion than solenoids and therefore should give reliable service for much longer. Many new winches come with contactors, and it's not hard to retrofit them to older winches. I have never had a solenoid fail, but the multiple wires and connections involved in that kind of set-up are all more exposed to corrosion than the potted connections in a contactor. I have always been able to clean up the connections and beat them into submission to get me home, but I don't enjoy it.

Winches are pretty simple to work on once you get them on the bench. I rebuilt my 30+ year old Warn 8274 and upgraded the motor and swapped out the solenoids for contactors. It now runs like a scalded ape. It wasn't a difficult project, and I used all Warn parts. So I guess I'm on the repair/rebuild side of the equation. The only winch I have ever replaced, was the Warn Powerplant mentioned in the earlier post. I had already replaced everything on it and it never worked right. I sold it with the vehicle and fully disclosed the nightmare it had been. It is an astounding example of what really abysmal engineering and execution can do to a really good idea. That said, Warn's customer service was so good that they kept my business.

Maintenance on the wire or synthetic rope should be driven by regular inspections. Check it and clean/fix/replace as necessary.

Maintenance of the mechanicals should be done after any submersion. Otherwise most planetary gear sets won't really need much. Spur and worm gear drive units (8274, RE 12000, Superwinch, etc...) will need a little more, but mostly that's checking the oil. The only other big item is the clutch engagement. It's worth a little time to keep that lever moving freely. Address it if it starts to stick.

Accept that your solenoids (or the assembly) will fail, and either learn to live with the idea of messing with them, or go ahead and get a contactor. I figured I would rather do my high amperage electrical work on the workbench than standing in the middle of a creek, so I went that route, but we all find excitement in different ways.
 
Is this part https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wrn-83664 all you need to replace the older solenoid control unit (Warn XD9000)? Does it use a different controller? I know Warn has changed the pin patterns on the remotes at least once over the years but you could change the plugs and still use the other style.

I've considered changing my winch over for increased reliability but I've honestly never had a relay fail. I've changed a couple that were looking rough (that PM thing) but they still worked; Warn solenoids are like $20/each so I'm trying to justify the extra money if it doesn't make much difference. :confused: Are the contactor packs really that much more reliable or just sealed so you don't have to worry about them as much?
 
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That's the one I used. It does have a different plug, so you can't use your old remote without some rewiring. I replaced the motor at the same time with one from a 9.5xp or something like that. The motor and contactor are both for that winch so everything went together very easy. The wiring to the motor was even color coded.

Like you, I have never had the solenoid itself fail. But I have had a few occasions where I had to dig into the pack and disconnect and clean until I found the connection that as causing me trouble. They were never at a convenient time, so I am hoping the contactor will fix that problem.

With a little more research and wiring, I believe you can use other contactors (search for albrights?). Superwinch started using them before Warn did, and there's a lot of stuff on the internet discussing how to use the superwinch part or an identical Albright branded part to accomplish the same thing. I think this is probably a much cheaper route if you have the time and inclination to tinker with it.
 
They are generally all Albright units. Very robust and water sealed.

As to old solenoids, IIRC they are Ford starter units, I believe the part number interchanged on them last old Warn pack I had torn down.
 
Replacement should only be required under conditions of extreme wear or abuse, but most of the time quality, name-brand winches can be rebuilt. This is especially true when evaluating the manufacturer of a winch. Some companies use substandard or non-rated components to achieve a better price point for the volume of business they hope to achieve. Caveat emptor. A quality manufacturer, along with an established reputation of product support and ample logistic support should rate high among your criteria.

Critical takeaways in bold above.

@TangoBlue ...solid information exchange, thank you.
 
Most of the winches I have seen fail were due to lack of use. I make it a point to pull all the line out and respool it at least once a month to ensure everything works and the heat generated from respooling keeps moisture in the motor to a minimum.
I just picked up a Warn XD9000i that sat on the front of a truck for probably 10 years or so without ever have being used. I dismantled it for service and 2 of the bearings in the motor were rusted bad enough to require replacement.
 
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