Winch

[tat6272]

Has anyone ever seen how the cable is actually attached to the winch cylinder? What a joke. I literally was walking the cable out today to see if I had enough to use the snatch block and bring it back to the tow hook. No lie, after hooking up the snatch block and walking the cable back to the truck, all of a sudden it got really easy to pull. Get back to the truck and the end of the cable was on the ground. I was completely blown away that it was only attached with a tiny bead weld.

[ramit99]

Never had mine out that far. Can't believe they would do that

[VA_Wagon Man]

Yep, kind of a joke but they're all pretty much like that. Never unwind it past 5 to 7 rolls left on it........

Sent from the middle of nowhere.

[ramit99]

Good to know. Thanks.

[VA_Wagon Man]

If you can weld, put a little tac or some solder to help hold it and crimp it really well again. Its not designed to hold even the weight of the cable.......

Sent from the middle of nowhere.

[tat6272]

My question would be how strong must the re-weld be to withstand the pressure while trying to tightly rewind the cable. That cable is thick and I can imagine that when I attempt to put it back in the drum that it's going to require a lot of tension to get it to start wrapping tightly.

[VA_Wagon Man]

Just strong enough to hold it in place. The way it is bolted on to the drum SHOULD already have it laying down in the direction of the way it winds.

Put the end back on, crimp it, then weld or solder the end. Bolt it back on the drum, guide the cable around as you slowly pulse it in. If you need to stop and make some adjustments as you go along, just stop winching, adjust it and continue on. Steel cable, especially 7/16ths, is a bear to work with.

Sent from the middle of nowhere.

[bstefanic]

The cable doesn't even really have to be attached to the drum to work...you should always keep a couple loops on the drum when winching. All the strength comes from the cable, not how its attached to the drum.

[cruz]

This is from the Winch Service Manual...
click to enlarge

[Cactus Red]

The screw is not there to hold the line on the drum under tension, it only supposed to prevent what happened to you - IE, having the line come off the drum. It's not really even needed, but it does make starting the cable on the drum a lot easier, that's for sure. As an old sailor, I've even considered using the winch like a capstan on a boat, but it's not practical due to limited access. With a capstan, the end of the rope is controlled by hand, and it can be allowed to slip as required by relaxing the tension on it.

Capstan: Mechanical device used chiefly on board ships or in shipyards for moving heavy weights by means of ropes, cables, or chains. A capstan consists of a drum, driven either manually or by steam or electricity, that rotates about a vertical axis to wind in a line wrapped around it. The grip between the line and the drum depends on friction and on the number of times the line is wrapped around the drum. A notched track (ratchet) on the base plate and pawls attached to the drum prevent backward rotation.

I'll make the assumption that you have no training on proper use of a winch. It's critical that you learn the proper steps and safety required to operate a very, very powerful winch (or any other winch for that matter).

Please take the time to read a couple basic lessons from Bruce Elfstrom.

http://www.overlandexperts.com/docs/new ... g_2008.pdf

http://www.overlandexperts.com/docs/new ... covery.pdf

Please watch the Badlands Off Road video series - here's the first episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YscTH3J ... EB241ECB71

Mark

[bstefanic]

Don't step in the bite of the line

[tat6272]

The screw is not there to hold the line on the drum under tension, it only supposed to prevent what happened to you - IE, having the line come off the drum. It's not really even needed, but it does make starting the cable on the drum a lot easier, that's for sure. As an old sailor, I've even considered using the winch like a capstan on a boat, but it's not practical due to limited access. With a capstan, the end of the rope is controlled by hand, and it can be allowed to slip as required by relaxing the tension on it.

Capstan: Mechanical device used chiefly on board ships or in shipyards for moving heavy weights by means of ropes, cables, or chains. A capstan consists of a drum, driven either manually or by steam or electricity, that rotates about a vertical axis to wind in a line wrapped around it. The grip between the line and the drum depends on friction and on the number of times the line is wrapped around the drum. A notched track (ratchet) on the base plate and pawls attached to the drum prevent backward rotation.

I'll make the assumption that you have no training on proper use of a winch. It's critical that you learn the proper steps and safety required to operate a very, very powerful winch (or any other winch for that matter).

Please take the time to read a couple basic lessons from Bruce Elfstrom.

http://www.overlandexperts.com/docs/new ... g_2008.pdf

http://www.overlandexperts.com/docs/new ... covery.pdf

Please watch the Badlands Off Road video series - here's the first episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YscTH3J ... EB241ECB71

Mark

The cable was not under tension. The plan was merely to take out more cable. Less coil = more pulling power, right? The distance was obviously underestimated (my fault as i was solo) as I was manually pulling the cable back towards the truck.

I know that there has to be some coil on the drum while in operation, but come one, if the cable gets strung out completely for any reason, accident or on purpose, it should remain attached to the drum.

Thanks for the information though. Good stuff.

[Dawizman]

Maybe you just had a defective eyelet crimped on your line? I have never had that issue in all my years of winching, and I've pulled the cable all the way out on several occasions.

[tat6272]

This is what the cable was attached to. Does this look legit?

[Dawizman]

It looks beat up for sure. All of the ones I have seen look more like a crimp on lug for a battery cable. In fact, I have used steel battery lugs to install a new winch line on an old winch I bought for the old chevy.

[VA_Wagon Man]

You need a new crimp. That one is caved in from the winch line crushing it when it was wrapped up. If you reuse that one, it will probably be too weak. I like the battery cable suggestion, sound good to me.

Sent from the middle of nowhere.

[Cactus Red]

Damn - that sucker was smashed, or improperly installed by Warn. Even a copper lug like used on a battery cable would be sufficient to replace it. A copper lug could be soldered on after crimpimg too - gues a steel one could ba as well.

[tat6272]

This one is copper and was surely installed wrong.

[VA_Wagon Man]

To me it looks like the end was already pulled out, which allowed it to be crushed the way it was.....

Sent from the middle of nowhere.

[TwinStick]

You are really not supposed to go below 5 wraps on the drum. I like to double that to 10 or the first layer. If i make it down to the first layer & need more line or more power, I use my straps & my snatch blocks. I sometimes use the snatch block/s-not because i need more power-just so i dont have to either use more gear or dont have that gear with me. I found that before i put the dual battery set up in my truck, i used the snatch block/s a lot more often BECAUSE the electrical system was not giving the winch the power it needed. So the snatch block/s became a necessity for any type of a heavy/ish pull .

[tat6272]

To me it looks like the end was already pulled out, which allowed it to be crushed the way it was.....

Sent from the middle of nowhere.

I totally agree with this. Not a clue how that's possible, but that's what it looks like happened.

[TwinStick]

It may not have been that. When spooling almost all of the cable out, all the weight of the pull will be put on the remaining wraps & make them VERY TIGHT, crushing the cable lug & the bolt. It is simply there to assist in spooling the cable for the first time when new. It is NOT designed to take ANY weight & seeing that it is copper/brass & a soft metal, it will crush beyond belief when a serious load is applied.

[VA_Wagon Man]

What i was referring to was that it was crushed to the point where both sides of the crimp were touching. It would be Impossible to touch the sides completely together if the cable were still inserted into the crimp. The cable could not have been in the crimp according to the picture.

I agree though that with the pressure, it well definitely work on the shape of the crimp......mine is pretty battered and squished as matter of fact.

Sent from the middle of nowhere.

[tat6272]

Went to a couple local hardware, autoparts stores and even a place called Ok4WD. The largest replacement part they all had was 3/8, which there was no way I was getting the cable end in there. Gave up, grabbed a piece of copper pipe and made my own and a few spares. Crimped it and filled the voids inside with solder. Worked perfectly. I had the line laid out and after it was reattached to the drum I gave it a couple of test pulls with my own weight before I coiled it back on the drum. It held fine.

[Cactus Red]

Good deal!