What are your thoughts on the desert dynamics winch. It looks like this Thor winch. Did these come with hidden mount like the old Ramsey worm drive winches?
CK5
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thor/ pierce/ desert dynamics winch
- Thread starter wazzabie
- Start date
I've got two of them. An 8,000 and a 12,000.
Both of them work good.
I don't have a hidden mount, they both came with a new bumper and mount inside of it.
But they are not hidden.
I've never had an major problems with them. I had to replace a motor on one, but they are readily available.
Both 8 and 12s are the same winch. The 12 has a planetary gear inside the secondary gearbox instead of a solid gear in the 8.
Make sure both the worm drive gearbox and the secondary gearbox are full of oil.
The worm is 90W, but I think the other box is 30W.
To be honest, I prefer the 8 for most uses. The 12 is forevermore strong, but it is really slow.
It also has 12,000 where you see the Thor on the other winch.
Both of them work good.
I don't have a hidden mount, they both came with a new bumper and mount inside of it.
But they are not hidden.
I've never had an major problems with them. I had to replace a motor on one, but they are readily available.
Both 8 and 12s are the same winch. The 12 has a planetary gear inside the secondary gearbox instead of a solid gear in the 8.
Make sure both the worm drive gearbox and the secondary gearbox are full of oil.
The worm is 90W, but I think the other box is 30W.
To be honest, I prefer the 8 for most uses. The 12 is forevermore strong, but it is really slow.
It also has 12,000 where you see the Thor on the other winch.
In the photo is the winch upside down? Should the worm drive gearbox be run above or below?
It is definitely upside down.
The secondary gearbox is probably not a problem. As long as its full of oil, enough will get splashed around to keep everything lubed.
The worm drive is another matter. Worm gear drives have a LOT of sliding friction. Which generates heat right at the point of contact.
While the steel on brass is self lubricating to a certain extent, and the big brass gear will pick up plenty of oil to keep the worm well lubed, you really need the worm running in the oil to carry off the heat.
Whether or not running it the way it is has caused any damage is anybody's guess.
But, you can pull the top plug, and shine a penlight down in and see the big brass gear.
The ends of the teeth should be blunt, with about an 1/8 inch thickness or so. where the worm runs on the sides should be shiny with maybe some minor grooving.
If you see the ends of the teeth nice and sharp, or little curls of brass where it has galled, then the brass gear is toast.
The worm and gear are replaceable. Probably for less money than a whole new winch.
I doubt that any of those names actually built their own gearboxes. Especially since they all look exactly alike.
So the parts should be available if you can find out where to look.
The secondary gearbox is probably not a problem. As long as its full of oil, enough will get splashed around to keep everything lubed.
The worm drive is another matter. Worm gear drives have a LOT of sliding friction. Which generates heat right at the point of contact.
While the steel on brass is self lubricating to a certain extent, and the big brass gear will pick up plenty of oil to keep the worm well lubed, you really need the worm running in the oil to carry off the heat.
Whether or not running it the way it is has caused any damage is anybody's guess.
But, you can pull the top plug, and shine a penlight down in and see the big brass gear.
The ends of the teeth should be blunt, with about an 1/8 inch thickness or so. where the worm runs on the sides should be shiny with maybe some minor grooving.
If you see the ends of the teeth nice and sharp, or little curls of brass where it has galled, then the brass gear is toast.
The worm and gear are replaceable. Probably for less money than a whole new winch.
I doubt that any of those names actually built their own gearboxes. Especially since they all look exactly alike.
So the parts should be available if you can find out where to look.
Some here are shown with the worm drive above. Are you sure?
http://www.piercesales.com/Items.aspx?page=3&&SortBy=CODE_A&&code=WINCH&key=cat&cpage=1
http://www.piercesales.com/Items.aspx?page=3&&SortBy=CODE_A&&code=WINCH&key=cat&cpage=1
Well, you have a point. But only 5 out of 19 are worm on top, and all those are AC with big motors.
It looks to me like worm on bottom is the preferred mount except when the motor is so big its not practical.
Since that is where 99% of the load, wear, and heat is generated it makes sense to have it submerged in oil.
Plus, every worm drive winch on trucks, boats, wreckers, etc I have ever seen had it on the bottom.
However, since most gearboxes have the full plug at the centerline, along with a fill/drain plug top and bottom, I suppose it will work either way.
But, of the 5 worm-drive winches in my yard right now, all of them have the worm on the bottom......
It looks to me like worm on bottom is the preferred mount except when the motor is so big its not practical.
Since that is where 99% of the load, wear, and heat is generated it makes sense to have it submerged in oil.
Plus, every worm drive winch on trucks, boats, wreckers, etc I have ever seen had it on the bottom.
However, since most gearboxes have the full plug at the centerline, along with a fill/drain plug top and bottom, I suppose it will work either way.
But, of the 5 worm-drive winches in my yard right now, all of them have the worm on the bottom......
so cool... after a lot of searching I found this.
http://books.google.com/books?id=fQEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA78&lpg=PA78&dq=Thor+winch&source=bl&ots=JSTPUnyARk&sig=M-8I7faYnix64luSvCPaYzEtsQw&hl=en&ei=EubcTKykFY28sQO-6onYCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCQQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=Thor%20winch&f=false
The Thor winch did come hidden under the K5. Sweet!
http://books.google.com/books?id=fQEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA78&lpg=PA78&dq=Thor+winch&source=bl&ots=JSTPUnyARk&sig=M-8I7faYnix64luSvCPaYzEtsQw&hl=en&ei=EubcTKykFY28sQO-6onYCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCQQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=Thor%20winch&f=false
The Thor winch did come hidden under the K5. Sweet!
