Yukon Joe
FRF Addict
Here are some Winch Maintenance things that I have done recently to get my winch ready for Havoc in the Hills. Luckily, I didn't have to use it. My winch is a a 10,500 lb Recon with blue steel rope. It is mounted into the stock bumper using the Outlaw winch mount.
Original thin tube gusset and hook
These are the two websites that I used for buying additional products for my winch and a supporting member that offers winches.
Handy Websites for winch products:
Master Pull:
Master Pull - Synthetic Winch Line / Rope, Kinetic Recovery Ropes, Recovery Gear
Viking Offroad:
Viking Offroad
RSiWorks:
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f207/rsiworks-now-smitty-bilt-warn-winch-dealer-26733/#post510007
Ok - first thing I had to do was re-wrap my blue steel (nylon) rope around the winch drum. While I removed it, I had noticed that the drum attachment location had actually pulled through. I mistakenly used the winch in a way you are not suppose to. I put some hard pulls on it. Now I see what it did to the winch.
This is the end of the winch rope, you can see the washer pulled through.
After some searching on the interweb, I found what is called a winch line drum connector.
Installed
You splice the rope though itself, and lay the rope across the drum. When you re-wind the winch rope, it will help hold the rope in place on the drum.
Now that I had this end of the rope fixed, I was ready to get the business end taken care of.
I added two very key items that I would recommend to anyone with a winch rope.
First, the 3/8" Crush Proof Tube Thimble w/ Gusset
Second, the Prolink Factor 55. I went with what is called the "loaded" option. It comes with a titanium (won't rust) pin and a rubber insulator for when it is pulled into the fairlead.
Before I could install the gusseted thimble, I ordered the winch repair kit. It also serves as a back up and I was able to re-splice the new gusseted thimble into the rope.
Following the instructions, I spliced the thimble in. The original was a thin peice of open tube steel. I had over bent it during my hard pull. Here it is spliced in.
Now the prolink can be added.
Here is the prolink and roller fairlead installed:
One note regarding the roller fairlead. You can buy synthetic rollers for it so it would not snag your rope.
As you become more familiar with your winch and how to use it, you will learn that the less rope you have on your winch drum, the stronger the pull you can perform. So a technique that I learned was to mark your rope every 10 feet with a black sharpie. That will allow you to know how much rope you have spooled out with a quick count of black ticks on the rope.
Here we are marking the rope every 10'
With the winch rope, you have to be much more careful than you would be with the classical steel cable. So, another product that I added to outfit my winch set up is a rock guard. It can be slid down the line into position over rocks or other objects that can harm your rope.
NOTE: this was installed prior to installing the gusseted thimble. It has to be installed before the rope is spliced back onto itself.
I also purchased a few other rock guards that can be added where ever you need them.
The last product that I purchased was a synthetic winch extension with soft eyes:
This allows the winch to be used from a further distance. And if you wanted, you can minimize the amount of winch rope on your drum. Say you only keep 20' on the drum instead of the stock 80' that typically comes on it.
Hopefully this has helped you learn a bit more about your winch and how you can outfit it / take care of it. Please add to this thread how you have taken care of your winch and items you have bought to upgrade it.
Original thin tube gusset and hook
These are the two websites that I used for buying additional products for my winch and a supporting member that offers winches.
Handy Websites for winch products:
Master Pull:
Master Pull - Synthetic Winch Line / Rope, Kinetic Recovery Ropes, Recovery Gear
Viking Offroad:
Viking Offroad
RSiWorks:
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f207/rsiworks-now-smitty-bilt-warn-winch-dealer-26733/#post510007
Ok - first thing I had to do was re-wrap my blue steel (nylon) rope around the winch drum. While I removed it, I had noticed that the drum attachment location had actually pulled through. I mistakenly used the winch in a way you are not suppose to. I put some hard pulls on it. Now I see what it did to the winch.
This is the end of the winch rope, you can see the washer pulled through.
After some searching on the interweb, I found what is called a winch line drum connector.
Installed
You splice the rope though itself, and lay the rope across the drum. When you re-wind the winch rope, it will help hold the rope in place on the drum.
Now that I had this end of the rope fixed, I was ready to get the business end taken care of.
I added two very key items that I would recommend to anyone with a winch rope.
First, the 3/8" Crush Proof Tube Thimble w/ Gusset
Second, the Prolink Factor 55. I went with what is called the "loaded" option. It comes with a titanium (won't rust) pin and a rubber insulator for when it is pulled into the fairlead.
Before I could install the gusseted thimble, I ordered the winch repair kit. It also serves as a back up and I was able to re-splice the new gusseted thimble into the rope.
Following the instructions, I spliced the thimble in. The original was a thin peice of open tube steel. I had over bent it during my hard pull. Here it is spliced in.
Now the prolink can be added.
Here is the prolink and roller fairlead installed:
One note regarding the roller fairlead. You can buy synthetic rollers for it so it would not snag your rope.
As you become more familiar with your winch and how to use it, you will learn that the less rope you have on your winch drum, the stronger the pull you can perform. So a technique that I learned was to mark your rope every 10 feet with a black sharpie. That will allow you to know how much rope you have spooled out with a quick count of black ticks on the rope.
Here we are marking the rope every 10'
With the winch rope, you have to be much more careful than you would be with the classical steel cable. So, another product that I added to outfit my winch set up is a rock guard. It can be slid down the line into position over rocks or other objects that can harm your rope.
NOTE: this was installed prior to installing the gusseted thimble. It has to be installed before the rope is spliced back onto itself.
I also purchased a few other rock guards that can be added where ever you need them.
The last product that I purchased was a synthetic winch extension with soft eyes:
This allows the winch to be used from a further distance. And if you wanted, you can minimize the amount of winch rope on your drum. Say you only keep 20' on the drum instead of the stock 80' that typically comes on it.
Hopefully this has helped you learn a bit more about your winch and how you can outfit it / take care of it. Please add to this thread how you have taken care of your winch and items you have bought to upgrade it.
