[WaWheeler]

I bought my warn m8000 about 2 yrs ago and since then its been used hard quite a few times. I've never heard of anyone talking about preventive maintenence for these winches and I'd hate for it to let me down someday. I keep two spare solinoids in the glove box just in case but is there anything else i should be concerned with?

 

[Bumble Bee]

Great question! My winch is coming this week. How much were the solenoids? Are the easy to swap? What kind of winch
. I'm getting a smitty 8000

 

[Kelowna]

I recently had a long talk with a hardcore offroader, that also repairs winches for people. He said most winch damage is from people not knowing how to properly use them. He said first off, use it, it sworse to not use it, than to use it. Parts inside that you don't see get corroded and messed up, so use is good for it. But the biggest thing of all to not break your winch, is to let the winch do its job. Put the vehicle in neutral, engine left running if possible so its charging, and make the winch pull it out. He sees to many stuck vehicles, wheels spinning, as well as the winch pulling. And that shock loads it, as every time the vehicle jerks ahead and then snaps back, it stresses the winch. The next thing after lack of use, and spinning wildly as the winch is also pulling, is the stuck guy, or vehicle going to pull out the stuck guy, hooking the tow rope to the winch. Again, that shocks the winch, so don't do it he said, tie the tow rope to a tow hook, then tug away. He offroads a lot, pulls himself and others out often, and his 4 year old Smitty he says still works as good as it did the first day.

 

[WaWheeler]

Great question! My winch is coming this week. How much were the solenoids? Are the easy to swap? What kind of winch
. I'm getting a smitty 8000

I'm not really sure how much they cost. Fortunately, i came across a couple of good used ones from a box of crap at a local 4x4 shop. I'm sure you will find the best prices online, but i always try to support our local offroad shops if i can.

I have the warn M8000. as long as your winch has an external solonoid box (where you pug in the controller) they are easy to change. On my warn there is a couple screws that hold the cover to the box on, then underneath the solonoids can be unbolted with hand tools. Just make sure to disconnect your power leads first!

I've never taken apart an internal one before like on the hs9500i (love that winch) so i dont know what it kind of work it entails.

 

[WaWheeler]

kelowna,

So basically your saying just use tha bastard and quit worrying about it? I figured theres gotta be lube in the planatary gears to be changed and brushes to be inspected in the motor at least?? I dont dunk my winch under water on a regular basis but i figured the hot/cold over the years would collect moisture.

 

[RikRotorhead]

Don't kink the cable. Very important.
It's OK to submerge them in water as long as they are not in use. They make winches that can be used under water but the price goes up $200 or more.
Muddy water is really bad for them so if you get it muddy, spool out the cable and wash the winch and cable really well.
Spool the cable back in under pressure. I hook mine to the tow hitch on my truck and let the winch pull my Jeep up hill toward it as someone guides the cable back and forth on the spool, WITH GLOVES ON, AT LEAST THREE FEET AWAY FROM THE ROLLER FAIRLEAD.
Never loose spool your cable. If you do, when you go to use it the cable will dive into the coils under it and bind.
I haven't done it yet, but I want to remote my controller inside the cab. Easy mod and nice to be able to give the engine some REV when winching to not strain the battery. Low power to the winch motor will cause it to overheat.
The in cab switch can be done for less than $20. You can still use the cord remote that came with the winch also if you need to.

 

[aw12345]

It's great to correctly spool your winch, yet that isn't the most convenient thing to do on the trail. Just having the winch pull and not helping it is silly to me, if you try to get up a big ledge or over a very big rock you want the wheels to help. Otherwise it's kind of like trying to pull right through the wall or rock, which will snap the cable. When you help it, low gears are a plus, so it comes close to matching the speed of the winch, fast winch helps there. Just watch the cable while you are winching, try to keep it taut.
In cab controls are the bomb, simple to make/ a power switch and a three way momentary switch for the in and out. You can even get fancy and add an idiot light.