Winch questions

[Mastiff]

I'm a new winch owner, got a used Warn 9000i for a song and finally got around to installing it today. My first question is, how best to route the cables? I'm going to a driver's side battery, so the simplest looks to be running the cables behind the winch, then into the grill and through the factory holes in the radiator support. Doesn't look great with the cables exposed so long, and definitely a chafing hazard over time where it goes through. I could put some braided protection over the cables, or maybe some heater hose...

Next one: I fired it up under no load and it's making a rattling noise, kind of like ball bearings in a coffee can. It does function though. I assume this isn't normal and it should just hum? If so, any ideas what might be wrong? I'm certain it was not abused. Got it from an old guy friend of the family who used it just a few times.

 

[Fordum]

Well, its a planetary gear system, so I assume there might be some noise with no load, but your description sounds iffy.
If you don't have any cable on it yet, lay your hand on the spool and apply some light load to take any slop out of the gears.
With cable, pay out some and hold it back as you reel in.

If that does not stop the noise, you might want to pull the motor to see if something is loose in there.
Worm gear winches use gear oil which needs to be checked and changed every so often.
But planetaries like yours are pretty much greased for life.

What did you use for a mount? A lot of those winches are kinda held together by the mount.
In other words, when its not mounted, the ends will slide off. So, if you did not have a predrilled bracket, the ends might not be in the right position. Either too tight or too loose.

As for the wiring, heavy cable and as short as possible is the way to go. Warn recommends 2 gauge, I would probably go heavier unless you already have the cables.
Having the cable exposed to sunlight should not be a problem. If you were worried, you could paint them.
BUT chaffing is a huge problem. If the positive cable chafes through, you are probably talking instant truck fire or a battery explosion.

Heater hose will work if the edge is not too sharp. But even heater hose will wear through.
On some runs I have used a piece of PVC conduit. I either taped it on, or pumped some glue inside to keep it from sliding.

You might check around, that is a fairly popular winch. You might either find someone else with one you can listen to, or a dealer with a demo.

 

[Bent77]

You can also grommet the hole through the support, i have done this with success.

 

[Mastiff]

Adding some resistance with my hand quieted it up quite a bit. I think it's probably okay. I need to get some cable and I'll learn more then. Thanks.

 

[Mastiff]

So, what accessories do I need? I'll need a cable of course, then probably a tree saver and some clevis hooks, which I already have. I can't actually think of the situation where I would use a normal hook. It seems like bad form to hook back onto the cable. If you don't have a hook, what do you put on the end of the cable during storage?

 

[Bent77]

I always ran a normal hook, maybe just old fashioned that way.
I always carry a snatch block, 2x of 3 sizes of clevis hooks, tree strap, and a recovery strap.

 

[skunked]

I always ran a normal hook, maybe just old fashioned that way.
I always carry a snatch block, 2x of 3 sizes of clevis hooks, tree strap, and a recovery strap.

^ this and some quality leather gloves.

 

[Mastiff]

So can you give an example of how you've used the hook? When I looked through the Warn guide, they showed the hook, but always just dangling while they attached the loop to a clevis.

 

[nvrenuf]

My bumpers have clevis eyes, hook goes on the clevis to pull me out.

Tree savers have eyes on the ends, hook goes to the eyes or to the clevis connecting the eyes.

 

[Mastiff]

My bumpers have clevis eyes, hook goes on the clevis to pull me out.

Tree savers have eyes on the ends, hook goes to the eyes or to the clevis connecting the eyes.

Just being dumb here... you are saying the hook is able to go around the clevis itself (not the bumper clevis mount)? I wouldn't have thought the hook would be big enough. My thinking was that the loop on the winch cable be directly attached to the clevis (open it up and slip the loop on).

 

[nvrenuf]

Putting a clevis directly on the cable loop is fine, not uncommon. The problem is when the other truck doesn't have a spot to use the clevis, this when you'll wish you had a hook.

It's all about hook selection. Most hardware store hooks have a thin slit for a mouth so it'll hook to chain easily, these don't work well for winching. You'd need a hook with a large mouth opening (about the size of a ping pong ball), this will hook onto a clevis or strap eyes. Better hardware stores and such have them.

Imo, another important part of hook selection is the manufacturer, I don't trust Chinese stuff. I don't have avoid source to give, just saying be sure it'll handle the work load.

 

[nvrenuf]

All that said, I'm thinking about getting one of these flat links and putting a hook in the tool box.

http://factor55.com/product/flatlink-e-expert/

 

[wheels87k5]

So, what accessories do I need? I'll need a cable of course, then probably a tree saver and some clevis hooks, which I already have. I can't actually think of the situation where I would use a normal hook. It seems like bad form to hook back onto the cable. If you don't have a hook, what do you put on the end of the cable during storage?

A large blanket wouldn't hurt. Not only for warmth if needed, but also to lay across the cable. If the cable breaks, it will snap towards both connect points which can cause serious injury or death. The blanket, tarp or whatever you use, will help force the cable down to the ground. Even a couple of heavy winter coats would be better than nothing.

 

[Mastiff]

All that said, I'm thinking about getting one of these flat links and putting a hook in the tool box.

http://factor55.com/product/flatlink-e-expert/

Cool products. I like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Factor55-FlatLink-Loaded-Shackle-16-000/dp/B00K284HKE/

or this maybe, though it may look a little funny sticking straight out:

http://www.amazon.com/Factor55-ProLink-Loaded-Shackle-Titanium/dp/B00QQNKPE6/

I guess it would take two clevis's to hook to a bumper with this? One to attach to the other person's bumper, and one to go through the prolink/flatlink? I mean, assuming there are clevis mounts on the bumper.

 

[Fordum]

I've been trying to get back to this, just been busy.
There are lots of do's and don't's when it comes to winches. A few of them are:
Never winch with a full spool, always use a tree strap, never hook around something and hook back to the cable, never pick your entire truck off the ground with the winch to grease the U-joints........

In my almost 50 years of winching, I have violated......Lets see.....ALL of them on a regular basis.......

Winching with a full spool will not actually hurt anything, but you lose a lot of pulling power.
For instance, here are the specs for your winch.
First wrap: 9000lbs
Second wrap 8190lbs
Third wrap 7500lbs
Fourth wrap 7010lbs

And that is with 5/16 cable. Probably all you need for that winch, but if you went bigger you would lose more strength.
The way I do it, is to use a winch strong enough that it can pull me out where ever with a full spool.
That way, I have enough to reach an anchor, and it just gets stronger the farther away I reach.
I had a guy advise me once that I should put 25 or 50 feet of cable on my winch to preserve the pulling power, and then just carry lengths of chain to reach where I had to pull to.

I backed away from him carefully, he was obviously disturbed.......

As for the tree strap, yes. In your part of the country, you should always use one to protect the trees.
Down where I live, nature is more the enemy than something to be protected. I could show you a pine tree so big I know one person could not reach around it, I doubt two could.
If you look very closely, you can spot slight ripples in the bark that are cable scars from where I used to winch myself through the bog hole just in front of it when it was just a 8 inch tree.

GOD, that makes me feel old........
I could also show you some tracks in the mud and some scarred up trees that I ran over in my truck to go pull a guy out.
They look like they are 20 years old. I made them last year. I can't show you anything from the year before, they are healed up and grown over.

So, bear in mind my situation if some of my ideas don't agree with other folks here. We are both right.

Speaking of cable, there are a lot of choices.
Watch out for rope center cable. Its cheaper even for the quality stuff, its more flexible, and will hold oil to extend the life of the cable.

You will also wind up walking out for help when it is not strong enough to pull you out.

BTDT.

You want steel center 7X19 or so cable. Where you live, if they do not salt the roads, you can get away with regular steel cable.
Otherwise, get the galvanized type.
I predate galvanized cable, at least in this area.
I used to buy the regular steel cable. Wind it on my winch, then pour about a half quart of motor oil on the spool slowly, letting it soak in.
Every time I changed the oil in my truck, I would let the empty can sit on the spool while the last few drops ran out and relubed my cable.

Made for an incredibly messy cable, but it would last and not break when pulling me out.
Galvanized is SO nice.

This is getting too long, and I'm starting to ramble. Let me think on it for a while, and I will get back on hooks and other stuff.

 

[Mastiff]

Raising this one from the dead because I'm still thinking about what to do for a hook. I thought I was going to go with a flatlink, but I'm liking the idea of the large sized hooks that can fit easily over a shackle. Any opinions on the Warn "epic", or the Master Pull? Warn is like half the price, not sure what the other offers for an extra $75 (besides 25K limit instead of 18K).

 

[sweetk30]

I hate tab lock hooks like pics posted.

we get our cables at work for the tow trucks now with these . . .

b/a products.

ebay seems to be cheapest and can get 35/50/75/100/125/150 lengths with cable already on .

 

[mrk5]

I've been rethinking winch hooks myself. I have a Prolink, although I wish they flatlink would have been available when I got as I like it better. Anyway, when we had our snowmageddon fiasco of a trail run back in November I found that we had some trouble getting enough d-rings for all the recover connections we needed. So I've been trying to figure out ways to eliminate the need for d-rings where possible like using a hook for the winch line.

I really like the looks of the new Warn stuff, but we all know we shouldn't choose based solely on looks alone. My preference for a hook would be the style sweekk30 linked.

 

[Mastiff]

Those hooks come in 10K, 18K, and 25K ratings. I have a 9K winch, do you guys think the 10K hook is sufficient? It's big enough to easily fit over a 7/8" shackle. I know people like to overkill stuff...

 

[Bent77]

I think overkill is the standard, really. Having been in several "Snowmageddon"™ winch fests, I reevaluated how heavy my equipment is, as well as how much. I will not use synthetic line, and replace all my cable with 7/16
I typically carry 2x of every size shackle, a snatch block, tree strap, tow rope.
Because some days just suck