How close is the gas tank to the 205 PTO plate?
My 79 F150, had the transmission bell housing in the way of mounting a front mount winch. The end of the PTO output shaft just lightly touched the back of the bell housing when it bolted up. No way to attach anything to it.
I went with a double gear PTO which dropped it down far enough to clear, ran my shaft, and for the next 10 years did things with that winch that are still talked about around here.
You probably read about me spinning the truck upside down by suspending it between the winch cable and a chain.
The only problem was, the winch turned backward, and I was too cheap to replace the worm, so it pulled off the bottom of the winch. Which put the guide down low.
Even so, worked fine until I got the new truck.
New truck, different problem.
Not only was the bell housing still in the way, but Ford had thoughtfully redone the exhaust system so that there was no possible way to run a shaft to the front.
So, I was ordering a new winch anyway.
I ordered a PTO unit with a big hydraulic pump mounted on it.
Mounted the PTO facing backwards, put a tank in the bed under the tool box, got the new winch with a factory installed hydraulic motor, and put a cable operated open center valve on the side of the tank under the tool box.
The valve control knob is mounted on the bottom of the dash on the drivers side.
That was in 1989. Other than replacing the hoses in about 2000, and changing the valve location about 3 years ago to eliminate the cable when it rusted up, its done great.
You should not have a problem finding a motor to fit your winch. You could also buy a pump kit that will fit on the engine its self and has a clutch to engage the pump when you need it.
Don't try to use the power steering pump. If you have a big worm drive winch like mine, it does not put out enough fluid.
If you go PTO /hydraulic, there is one caution I can pass along.
With my old shaft drive setup, I put the 205 in neutral, and used the transmission to shift the winch forward and backward.
If I was pulling someone out, and had room, when they got out of the bad place, I would often put the 205 back in gear and back up pulling them the rest of the way out.
The winch would be paying out backward while I was doing this, but much slower than the truck was moving so it did not matter.
With the type of pump I put on the new one, I cannot do this. I have to make sure to disengage the PTO first.
This type of pump will be damaged if I spin it backward.
They make types that either pump the same both ways, or don't care. If I had it to do over I would get one of those.
Also, this is a BIG winch. Even at 20GPM, it pulls in slowly compared to smaller, less strong, winches.
They had an option of a two speed hydraulic motor when I ordered it, but I turned it down.
Wish I hadn't.
In the power position, it would pull slightly stronger than the one I have now at the same pressure. Thus reducing the pressure on the system to do the same job.
Then, in speed mode, it would pull in much faster than what I have now. Great for winding up the cable.
Let me know if you have a questions.
There are some pics of my setup in a thread somewhere here.
I can look them up if it would help, or take and post more.
Also, although I have never gotten around to doing it, once you have hydraulics on the truck, there are lots of other options.
PTO driven air compressor. Mounted where ever you want, and as big as you want. Just size the motor correctly.
Really get ambitious, swing down hydraulic jacks that will pick up any or all corners at a touch.
Dump bed, if you haul a lot of stuff, lift gate, hydraulic tow behind bush hog type mower and snowplow that could double as a road grader.
Basically, you have engine power available where ever you want it
