What to watch out in buying a used winch????

[blazindorito]

I found a used Warn winch 12000 for $500 bucks.

I am going to look at it tomorrow. What things should I look for or be careful about?

I have seen pictures of it and looks good.

 

[dremu]

Look at condition of the cable, gives you an idea of what (ab)use the thing has seen.

The only internal wear items to consider are the motor and the solenoids. Well, the gears could get worn, I s'pose, but I think if that were the case the rest of the winch would show abuse. You can check the gear oil in the box as you would a differential.

Run the thing, listen to verify that the motor doesn't grind, and that the solenoids click on and off as they're supposed to.

Having been through a grand total of precisely, oh, umm, one winch, that's my .02.

-- A