Winch clutch lever difficult to engage

Submitted: Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 10:34

ThreadID: 71495 Views:7998 Replies:5 FollowUps:2

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BiG_ReD_80

Hey guys, I bought a brand new winch a few months ago and have noticed that it is sometime difficult to engage the clutch. It is always easy to move the lever to the FREE SPOOL position but when I turn it towards the engage direction, it will only turn 1/4 of the way ( not fully engaged ) I sometimes have to keep pulling the cable out and rocking the lever back and forth until it finally engages. When it does engage it does so easily. ( the lever itself is not stiff ) Its almost like something is not lining up correctly inside the gearbox.

Is this fairly normal with winches? Its only a cheap one but have had a few mates with Warn winches with the same issue, they just use a hammer to tap it into place.

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Reply By: Member - Tony V (NSW) - Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 12:02

Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 12:02

BiG_ReD_80

The gears are not meshing properly, not uncommon with many winches, a slight movement of the cable drum will normally get the lever to engage.
If you cant do it by hand then give the power a quick burst.

There will be 2 trains of thought,
1 = leave the gear engaged to prevent the drum moving and the cable unspooling.
2 = leave the lever in free spool.

I leave mine engaged to prevent the cable from loosening and snagging, using power to loosen the cable then click it into free spool for action.

AnswerID: 378959

Reply By: Member - Alan John C (WA) - Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 12:10

Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 12:10

Big Red it all comes down to maintainance if it not being used on a regular basis this causes corrosion and needs to be serviced contact who you bought it off they should be able to service it then again if it is a cheap version they may tell you to suck eggs regards Alan.

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AnswerID: 378962

Reply By: Atta Boy Luther - Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 12:37

Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 12:37

My himount warn does it . Every couple of weeks run the cable in and out a couple of meters half a dozen times .

AnswerID: 378967

Follow Up By: warfer69 - Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 17:07

Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 17:07

Mine did the same but under warranty it was fixed,reading threads its a common issue,ive decided to do the same as you ABL...Sometimes once a week,It annoys me though that other Warn winches never get touched and still work without doing the above.I have noticed the older ones are not as temperamental..

FollowupID: 646386

Follow Up By: Atta Boy Luther - Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 18:22

Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 18:22

I took the himount apart and cleaned it out . Then i put moreys heavy duty oil stabiliser in but maybe i should be using a gear oil like a transmax diff oil . I dunno .

FollowupID: 646392

Reply By: BiG_ReD_80 - Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 16:32

Friday, Aug 14, 2009 at 16:32

Thanks guys, yeah I was hoping it was from lack of use etc. It was brand new in the box but fairly old stock so has probably been sitting there for a while. I remove the clutch lever and put a bit of grease in there and Ill keep using it and see how it goes.

AnswerID: 378998