Winch Maintenance

hwcurtice · Feb 16, 2010

Okay, color me stupid, but since I got my winch for a birthday present, I haven't really done ANYTHING with it. Well it is cool having people drool over it...

So, about 9 months in NorthWest weather and the most I've done with it is unreel it about 15 feet and pull it back in, to show off. The cable appears to be just slightly stiff and it's possible the spool is a little rusty. I'm seriously thinking of hooking it to my son's car and having him drive slowly away from the truck.

And then giving it a good dose of WD-40 and pull it back in while spraying the cable as it spools up.

Yeah, these things aren't worth much if you don't do some Maintenance on them from time to time, or use them...

Anyone need something winched? Maybe on a bi-weekly basis?

Ed Bister · Feb 16, 2010

what kinda winch?:corn:

hwcurtice · Feb 16, 2010

Its a CSi Brute 8500.

2slow4you · Feb 16, 2010

What about slapping on some white lithium grease...

or,

Buy a rope. Still haven't used mine for these very same reasons. Waiting to get a rope. I HATE RUST!

boardbysled · Feb 16, 2010

2slow4you said:
What about slapping on some white lithium grease...

or,

Buy a rope. Still haven't used mine for these very same reasons. Waiting to get a rope. I HATE RUST!

Aren't ropes affected by UV's though?

1996cc · Feb 17, 2010

If you've never fully spooled it out, you should. They need to be tensioned on to the drum under a load. If you spooled it say half way out now and tried to use it for real, the top wraps of cable would tighten down under the looser wraps below and create a nice big mess for you.

2slow4you · Feb 17, 2010

boardbysled said:
Aren't ropes affected by UV's though?

Masterpulls new ones are somewhat protected.

http://www.masterpull.com/cpage.cfm?cpid=478

and I'd much rather have a faded rope then a rusty line any day.

boardbysled · Feb 17, 2010

2slow4you said:
Masterpulls new ones are somewhat protected.

http://www.masterpull.com/cpage.cfm?cpid=478

and I'd much rather have a faded rope then a rusty line any day.

Not so much worried about fading, as I am about strength. Uv damage=deteriation of the material=greater chance of breaking.

HOrunner · Feb 17, 2010

Use chain and cable lube. I get it at napa in a spray can. Works great.

heep70 · Feb 17, 2010

Cable or rope, if you don't take care of them they will both turn to crap. If you haven't used your winch cable hardly at all I wouldn't replace it. Wait tell you have to then step up and get some rope. When I had cable I would unwind it every once in a great while and rewind it. Then sprayed it with WD40. Lasted a long azz time.

OlyWaXj · Feb 17, 2010

boardbysled said:
Aren't ropes affected by UV's though?

You live in the PNW and your worried about UV? funny. Rope was made for the fishing ind. if you take of it it'll last.

I wheel every 2 weeks and winch alot. I have rope and clean it after every trip. My dad has cable that he's had for years...around 15 years and he just kept it lubed with red axle grease.

OlyWa

JBuck · Feb 17, 2010

I lube our winch's on the boat with a rag full of grease. Hold the rag full of grease and let the wire run through it.

hwcurtice · Feb 20, 2010

Got some of that Chain and Cable Lube from NAPA today. Unwound the cable all the way. Reached to the end of the driveway. Seems shorter that way. I thought it was longer...

Anyway, I sprayed the lube on the cable, nice foam job, and let it sit for a bit to work its way in. I also tried to spray some into the ends of the drums to see if that would help too.

Well, wound it back up, with just a little tension to make sure it was tight on the drum. I then sprayed a little more of the lube on the cable as it sat in order to protect it from the elements. I think I'm going to have to do this every time I wash my truck just to make sure it keeps from rusting.

Interesting, there is what looks like red spray paint about 10 feet from the end of the cable, close to the drum. Um any ideas as to why?

I'm also going to write CSI and find out if they have user instructions on-line, as I didn't get any from the guy who installed it for me.

So, thoughts?

Halfbox P · Feb 20, 2010

hwcurtice said:
Got some of that Chain and Cable Lube from NAPA today. Unwound the cable all the way. Reached to the end of the driveway. Seems shorter that way. I thought it was longer...

Anyway, I sprayed the lube on the cable, nice foam job, and let it sit for a bit to work its way in. I also tried to spray some into the ends of the drums to see if that would help too.

Well, wound it back up, with just a little tension to make sure it was tight on the drum. I then sprayed a little more of the lube on the cable as it sat in order to protect it from the elements. I think I'm going to have to do this every time I wash my truck just to make sure it keeps from rusting.

Interesting, there is what looks like red spray paint about 10 feet from the end of the cable, close to the drum. Um any ideas as to why?

I'm also going to write CSI and find out if they have user instructions on-line, as I didn't get any from the guy who installed it for me.

So, thoughts?

The red paint is to warn you that you're coming to the end of the line, you're not suppose to put a load on without having at least that much cable on the drum.

hwcurtice · Feb 21, 2010

Halfbox P said:
The red paint is to warn you that you're coming to the end of the line, you're not suppose to put a load on without having at least that much cable on the drum.

Ahhh the 'Hey Stupid! STOP!' warning. I kinda thought that was it.

86tuning · Feb 21, 2010

When you respool your line spool it up under as much tension as you can. That way when you need to use your winch and only unspool 1/2 of the cable (or whatever) your line won't dive beneath the top layer and jam up like a mofo.