CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
Hidden Winch
- Thread starter 1978Blazerk5
- Start date
1978Blazerk5
1/2 ton status
thanks
1978Blazerk5
1/2 ton status
2 problems i see with the hidden winch are
1. where do a mount the winch box where you can run the remote? without cutting the grille.
2. How do you get at the lever for teh free spool? it apress like it would be hard to get at. Once Again With out cuttin anything but the bumper.
Here is the winch I would probaly get.
1. where do a mount the winch box where you can run the remote? without cutting the grille.
2. How do you get at the lever for teh free spool? it apress like it would be hard to get at. Once Again With out cuttin anything but the bumper.
Here is the winch I would probaly get.
I think that is the route I'll go (someday).
I don't know how you can buy a new winch, even a generic one, and claim that a used Ramsey costs more -- 'cuz the only ones that fit are 20 years old. I've seen them show up on CL for $150-300, depending on condition. And even a used Ramsey (or Warn, or whatever) is gonna be better (and more easily/cheaply rebuilt) than those Chinese POS's people keep looking at.
That said, if you need a winch, you probably will be needing something stronger than a stock bumper, so the issue becomes moot anyway. And a beefy aftermarket bumper need not be $600, plus you can build one or find somebody local to build one for you for beer money.
Anyway, ya gotta pay to play
[Don't remind me ... I seem to be doing more paying than playing as of late! 
]-- A
Last edited:
You can mount the solenoid box anywhere under the hood. Last year my friend bought a warn m8000 that was bolted to a suburban in the junkyard. Guy had it hidden mounted but the fairlead came out under the bumper. The solenoid box was mounted next to the battery
That looks so sweet, good work.
1978Blazerk5
1/2 ton status
Well you may be able to get used winches cheap, but the problem is I don't have the know how to rebuild one. I have seen the style of winch you have in your truck, and they do sell the winches new, and if i remember correctly, they are roughly $900. I don't understand whats wrong with the Chinesse ones. A friend of mine has been running a 9000lbs winch he got for $400 5 years ago and has not had a problem, and he wheels' just about every weekend.
I have went to sevral fab shops, and cheapest i could find was $550. Infortaintaly I am workin' with a really reallly tight budget. FYI i was not gonna mount the winch to the bumper i was just gonna put the fairlead roller through teh bumper.
EDIT:
Ramsey Winch
FYI if you do this, my free spool lever was too far under the grill when it was in the stock position. I was able to remove the bolts from the gearbox and clock the gearbox forward to give me better access to the lever. I don't know if all winches would allow you to do this. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures but I mounted the winch to a 1/4" plate with a stiffener under the winch. I had to angle the plate up in the back to allow the winch to stay behind the slope of the front bumper. I also have an oil cooler in front of the radiator that had to have a 90* elbow installed to allow it to clear. I'd have to look, I might have had to change the hose. I don't remember for sure.
Being on a budget -- which believe you me I know -- means you *learn* to do stuff. Rebuilding a winch is eeeeasy, like doing, say, the front wheel bearings. Take it apart, clean it, grease the parts that need to be lubed, replace the seals and gaskets, put it back together.
Now if the motor has issues, take it to a starter/alternator place ... mine was I think $90 to have him rebuild.
I spent maybe ten bucks on parts and another five on fluids, so discounting the motor rebuild, it's cheap and just require a certain amount of manual labor.
Billavista has a great article on rebuilding an 8274; you can read that and get an idea of how simple it is. There are not a lot of moving parts to a winch!
-- A
Now if the motor has issues, take it to a starter/alternator place ... mine was I think $90 to have him rebuild.
I spent maybe ten bucks on parts and another five on fluids, so discounting the motor rebuild, it's cheap and just require a certain amount of manual labor.
Billavista has a great article on rebuilding an 8274; you can read that and get an idea of how simple it is. There are not a lot of moving parts to a winch!
-- A
Try searching here, on pirate or on any 4x4 website (through google if you have to) about Chinese winches. Most are made in the same factory and you'll see people's experiences with them.
T-max (yes, I realize they claim to be Australian made
) is the only Chinese made winch with a decent reputation. I have a buddy who has used his 9500 T-max a bunch of times and it has done ok.I've seen several Milemarkers break: motors, electrical, housing etc.
I've dealt with a couple Superwinches that were a frickin' joke; even though it (one in particular) was supposedly rated for 8K it couldn't move the 4K Toyota it was in front of (it wasn't even a super-hard winch pull, mine did it no problem).
I've had to winch more than a half dozen rigs because their cheap, poor quality (surprise, CHINESE) winch failed on them.
When you really need a winch is when you will realize that you have (or should have bought) the good winch.
1978Blazerk5
1/2 ton status
Last edited:
1978Blazerk5
1/2 ton status
Thanks,
I am not familiar with Pirate at all, ive paged through a couple of builds, but thats it.
1978Blazerk5
1/2 ton status
teh Only problem i see with the 8274 Is the over all size.
How hard is it to rebuild a planetary winch?
If i can find a 8274 for cheap thats probaly the route i will go. Hell if i can get it cheap enough i could use a synthetic line
How hard is it to rebuild a planetary winch?
If i can find a 8274 for cheap thats probaly the route i will go. Hell if i can get it cheap enough i could use a synthetic line
Yep. Its bigger and ~25 lbs. heavier than the planetary winches. If I bought a new winch it would be a one of the Warn XD9000 series winches.
Probably not hard, but not terribly cheap either. IMO you shouldn't need to rebuild a winch, none of the hard parts should need replacement (maybe the motor at some point).
I went through my winch a couple years ago and cleaned up all the electrical connections and changed the oil; Warn claims that you don't need to change the oil but it specs straight 30W oil and what was in there was probably closer to 500W (pretty much gel, it hadn't been changed in 20+ years).
You won't be able to have a hidden winch mount with an 8274 but they shouldn't be too hard to find, they were the most popular winch for a very long time.
I will never run another winch without synthetic line. Safety (#1!), weight, ease of handling and strength are far superior, all for a little more money.
1978Blazerk5
1/2 ton status
I was lookin at the one on pirate.
and my grandpa says that style of winch with the seloniads, takes ALOT of power.
Is that true?
also if i can get ahold of a warn winch bumper, and a 8274, how close can i get the thing to the grille, and not mess anything up. cause if it was right up against the grille, the body movernt would mess up the grille. Cause my worry is approch/departure angles cause my truck only has a 2.5 inch lift and 33's
and my grandpa says that style of winch with the seloniads, takes ALOT of power.
Is that true?
also if i can get ahold of a warn winch bumper, and a 8274, how close can i get the thing to the grille, and not mess anything up. cause if it was right up against the grille, the body movernt would mess up the grille. Cause my worry is approch/departure angles cause my truck only has a 2.5 inch lift and 33's
Uhh, what kind of winch doesn't have solenoids? All electric winches take crazy amount of juice, hundreds of amps when pulling, and so require something more than a toggle switch in the dash to control them
There is something about and gear efficiency with planetary vs worm gear or whatever; Billavista prolly talks about that.
But any electric winch is gonna have solenoids somewhere, to allow a small control to switch the large amounts of current required by the motor.
-- A
Well there are the fancy new MOSFET winches that are supposed to be a little more efficient, but I would imagine any improvement would be marginal.
Ah yeah, I knew this
For reliability, solid state would be a tremendous improvement. No moving parts, no contacts to arc, and yes, lower current drain for the switching.
However, for current draw ... let's see. I'll make some representative numbers up:
Winch motor: 400A
Solenoid: .25A
versus
Winch motor: 400A
MOSFET: .01A
99.9% (really) the same
Nope, no material change in current loading!Anyway, to 1978K5, I don't mean to be argumentative or talk smack on you or your grandpa!
I just think you're worrying too much ... winches are, invariably, a drain on both your battery and your wallet, and you can't do much about it. I read once that "4x4" in uppercase is "$x$"
The phrase 'Buy the best and cry once' also applies here. And whoever said you shouldn't need to rebuild a winch ... I donno, after ~25 years of (ab)use, my Ramsey was certainly happier (faster, smoother) with new fluids/seals/gaskets and a cleaning. The biggest issue was the motor, which apparently had been submerged at some point
Newish winches shouldn't need rebuilds, but I was pointing out that a cheap used winch with a manually intensive (but NOT wallet-intensive) rebuild would cost about as much as one of these Chinese jobs, and be a HECK of a lot more reliable.
Plus after you've been through the winch on your workbench, fixing it when it gives you fits on the trail is a cakewalk. (And they *will* give you fits occasionally... solenoids won't close because your truck is sideways, cable didn't get wound in right last time 'cuz you were lazy, whatever.)
Anyway, just playing devil's advocate. In the end, obviously, 1978K5, you can do whatever you want, but at least you'll be well informed
-- A
