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Winch Maintenance for Dummies Thread

A

AlabamaDan

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Heart of Dixie
Ok, so I finally bought a used winch. It's a Mile Marker E9000 and I got it at a good price. Took it home last night, temporarily hooked it up to the battery, hooked up the remote and it worked. I was able to freespool out some cable, reverse out some cable, then (with leather gloves on) carefully reel it back in making sure that I had it neatly on the spool. :)

Now for the stupid questions:

Is there a specific way to mount this? Should the cable come off the top of the spool or the bottom. Technically it looks like it would mount forward or backward and the only difference is how the cables comes off.

I read somewhere about making sure the motor drain hole is pointed downward so that water can drain out after a water crossing. Can anyone eloborate on that?

What type of maintenance and inspecting should I do?

The cable looks pretty good from what I've seen, i.e. no rust or kinks. I plan to spool it all the almost way out looking from damage and stuff. If I go too far am I up a creek or is it attached on the end? Should I spray it with something like WD-40 when I put it back to protect it from rust?

The drum(?) thing on the side opposite the motor is very greasy. Should it be? Should I clean it up and apply new grease?

What about the motor? How should it be maintained? Should I take the cover off and look at anything or just leave it alone?

I was going to apply dielectric grease to the electrical connections, which reminds me. Do I connect it directly to the battery? If so how? I was thinking about using the side terminal connectors for the winch and then just leaving the top connectors for normal. (That is if I have side terminals, I don't even know.)

I've tried searching for threads on installation and maintenance of winchs and couldn't find anything.

Thanks ahead of time.
 
I guess if I'm looking at the front of my Jeep it should be installed like this right?

E9000.jpg
 
Indeed, that's how you want to install it. I've never really done any preventative maintenance on my Warn and it still pulls like the day I got it, but I'm not sure about yours. The end of the winch cable is attached to the drum so you can spool it out all the way without having to worry about the cable coming off. I don't think I ever sprayed mine down with anything and the only places it's rusted are where it's gotten pinched, but WD-40 won't help with rust anyway.

You should connect it directly to the battery, how you connect it depends on the connectors on the end of the winchline though.
 
Thanks for the response. I don't have any connectors on the end of my power cables from the winch. They're just naked wire. I guess someone cut something off at one time or another.
 
XJ98Jeep said:
The end of the winch cable is attached to the drum so you can spool it out all the way without having to worry about the cable coming off.
Click to expand...
Beware though, under LOAD you need at least 6 wraps on the drum at all times to get a good bite. That attached end isn't there for strength, it's there to keep the cable in place while you're winding up.
 
Agreed about the cable needing to have 4-6 wraps on the drum when I use it.

I found a, albeit mostly useless, milemarker manual on their company website and it said to put a light penetrating oil on the cable. It also said that the motor is sealed and shouldn't need lubricating. What is a good light penetrating oil if not WD-40.

Now, should the drum need oil on it too, or does it just have some from the cable.
 
AlabamaDan said:
....it said to put a light penetrating oil on the cable....

Now, should the drum need oil on it too, or does it just have some from the cable.
Click to expand...
Drum doesn't need oil. The light oil on the cable is to provide lubrication internally(inside the cable) as the wires will move against each other as the cable flexes. WD-40 or 3-in-1 or any light machine oil. Light coat of oil, let it soak in, then wipe off as much excess as you can. PITA for 75-100' of cable, I know, but that's the way to do it.
 
lubricate the inside of the cable! Thanks. I knew people here would be of help. So maybe I spool it out then spray the entire thing with wd40 or 3-1 in oil, by the time I get to one end, go back to the other and start wiping it off. I can also clean up the drum while I'm at it.

Now, is the best way to spool it back on to hook the cable to a tree and winch my jeep toward the tree? I wouldn't want to winch more than 60 seconds at a time right? Does it naturally go from one side to the other neatly?
 
No, for me at least it's actually a bit of a challenge to get it spooled up neatly. What I do is just leave it spooled out on the ground, get as far away from the winch as the controller will let me, then spool it in until I'm worried about my hands being too close to the fairlead, then I do it over.
 
Do not connect it to the side terminals of a battery those are there mostly for starting and charging. If you are using a winch you want the winch connected to the top posts.
 
Mstrkage said:
Do not connect it to the side terminals of a battery those are there mostly for starting and charging. If you are using a winch you want the winch connected to the top posts.
Click to expand...

Meh, mine's been there for years...and I know many other folks who run it this way. Have never seen or talked to anyone who had firsthand experience with a dead battery from this. Starting on the side posts is going to draw a lot just like a winch will. The battery guys give us funny looks whenever we bring it up.

:smootch:
 
XJ98Jeep said:
No, for me at least it's actually a bit of a challenge to get it spooled up neatly. What I do is just leave it spooled out on the ground, get as far away from the winch as the controller will let me, then spool it in until I'm worried about my hands being too close to the fairlead, then I do it over.
Click to expand...
Hate to disagree, but ALL the winch manufacturers say to spool the cable in under load before use. If the cable isn't wrapped tight on the spool, when a heavy load is applied, the cable can push down between the layers and lock up. Do that under enough load and it can be impossible to get the cable back out.
 
That's what I was thinking. So, spool it almost (leave 4-5 wraps) out attach to a tree and then pull your XJ slightly uphill to wind the cable back on? How do you ensure it goes nice and neat.

Sorry for all the dumb questions, but I'm trying to learn via the net as no one I know understands this stuff.
 
Start with 3-5 wraps on the drum. Lightly tension the cable. Have someone engage the winch. Important: wear heavy leather gloves. Apply side pressure holding the cable against the last wrap on the drum. When you get to one end of the drum, the cable will "hump up" to the next level and start wrapping back. You'll have to reverse the pressure after the first wrap on the new layer. Make sure the cable wraps tight against the edge of the drum, then work your way back across. Don't leave any gaps. You have to have enough tension to keep any set bends or kinks in the cable straight, but no more then that.(Actually, any permanent kinks in the cable and you should replace it. Not as big a deal in a recovery winch as with cranes)
 
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