Broken Winch On My Deuce?

[GMOSC]

I am here for some helpful hints. Recently I moved my deuce up into the back of my property. I needed to winch the truck part way because it was a icy hill. Everything went fine, but once up I needed to wind the cable back on the spool. As bad as it is to do I only had myself so left the winch in low and engaged and disengaged it at the winch. I re-wound almost the whole thing, and at the last 3 feet I could not disengage it. I moved away thinking the worse the cable tightened the engine reved up just a little then the shear pin broke. Now three weeks later I installed a new shear pin and I am able to tension up the cable but once any real tension on the cable the shear pin breaks. I have broken three today, not sure what else could have broke, or are the pins not up to spec? Any ideas would be a great help.

 

[dmetalmiki]

iz Y

best to use (operate) the winch from inside the cab. Engage dog clutch then engage / disengage from the cab controls. ( I never operate outside ) (as) the dog clutch never releases when all else is engaged aniway. and it is safer. (T.M.s)

try checking the winch brake mechanism. And the brake tension. (T.Ms)

let us know what caused the problem and how you solved it.

 

[GMOSC]

I know not to use the winch from outside, but the wife was not home and just wanted it put away neatly. And as usual thats when stuff breaks When you are not patient.

 

[BEASTMASTER]

when there's no one around to help, i just rap the cable around the bumper until i can find ahelper. A LOT SAFER.

 

[GMOSC]

Ok I understand this point and am paying for it now. These pointers are not going to help me in my current situation. I have learned from this experience, and do not plan on doing this again. With that being said are there any pointers that can get me back up and running again?

 

[73m819]

you are lucky the shere let go, if the coupling was rusted bad and not let go, you could have lost the drive side gear case, the winch totaled, even the radiator,, the pto, it would have run, tairing up everything till there was enough force to shut it down or you shut it down

 

[ALA2]

have you unspooled your cable then respooled maby cable is bound in drum area. ask me how i know good luck i hope it is not serious al

 

[KsM715]

I know not to use the winch from outside, but the wife was not home and just wanted it put away neatly. And as usual thats when stuff breaks When you are not patient.

Or when you get hurt.

 

[steelandcanvas]

Ok I understand this point and am paying for it now. These pointers are not going to help me in my current situation. I have learned from this experience, and do not plan on doing this again. With that being said are there any pointers that can get me back up and running again?

They are not going to let you off easy.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Where did you get your replacement shear pins? Have a pic? Do they have a head on one end?

 

[gimpyrobb]

Even worse, are you sure the first one that broke was aluminum? If someone had put a steel pin in, it could cause the hole the pins go into to get out of round or have a jagged edge. If the hole in the driveshaft or the stub of the winch get damaged, that would snap a shear pin real easy. You'll have to drop the driveshaft to inspect the holes. Any slop in the holes will cause them to snap too.

 

[General Mcgregor]

I bought a bunch of shear pins from a guy that makes them custom for his fleet of powerline maintenance deuces. They are Aluminum and have two through holes at the ends for small cotter pins, he has HUNDREDS of them.

Anyway I had a similar problem a couple weeks back. I had to extract a stuck truck from a snow coverd embankment. The winch pulled it halfway up the hill befor I lost my first pin. The second broke as soon as I let the clutch out. Assuming there was a problem with the winch I decided to pull it out using a tow chain and my wheels. A couple of quick tugs pulled it out, turns out the rear pumpkin was hung up on a boulder, that would explain the pin breakage . Got it home and tested it out with a rolling load and stuck 4 wheeler. Seemed to work ok both times, keeping an eye on it for now. My guess is that your winch cable may be bound up. Either way I'm sure the SS panel of winch experts will chime in again shortly. Good luck with er'.

And uhh by the way WELCOME TO SS FROM EASTERN NH!!

 

[rosco]

The winch is inherently dangerous, so double thin about everything that you are doing - keep others clear... Read the TM

That said....

I keep thinking that your line in bound on the drum, but you should be able to see that. The shear pin should be aluminum, but the holes get wobbled and the new pins don't last long! You can't have the pin shearing every time you turn around. There are lots of times that replacing a failed pin is outright dangerous, because of where you are. Some of us use soft steel or brass pins, (once, a phillips screw driver) and a good deal of caution and 40 something years of experience.

As a practical matter, when your using the winch by yourself, winding it in as you describe, and are getting close to the tail chain, allow about 10 feet from the end/with enough time to WALK back to the cab, get in, and shut the winch down. If you insist on doing up the last few feet, do a foot at a time from inside the cab/get out and inspect the progress, then get back in and do a little bit more, till your wound up. As said though, its best to keep tension on the line always, which makes for a nice re-wrap, and that is tough to do by yourself. When you have a helper winching, ALWAYS have the helper (the one on the ground), keep a hold of the line with a pull on it. If the line is wound in loose, then a hard pull on it will cause the line to pull/cut down into the wraps and booger the line in other spots. I have seen that to the point of having to tie the line off to a big tree, and back the truck up under power to pull the line off the drum. A safety tip is to boldly paint the "In/OUT" respectively on the dog clutch, so you or others are not confused.

Another tip which may seem trivial: Be absolutely certain that the winch is in the gear you think it is! Mostly here, I am refering to NEUTRAL! You may think that you are all done, but have left it in gear, like power-out. It can be messy! The trick about not winding all your line in, but wrapping the extra in a figure 8 around you bumper, is sound advice, especially if you are not done yet, and just have to move a little. Keep some leather gloves under the seat, for handling the line/look out for whiskers. Never let a$$-holes form in a loose line - if pulled tight, they can cause a kink that will never go away.

Good Luck

 

[GMOSC]

I am pretty sure the cable is not bound because i am able to disengage the winch and pull cable out by hand. I can also reverse the winch and send out cable as well as tighten up on the cable, but as soon as there is any stress the pin breaks. The pins appear to be aluminum. I bought 5 from C and C equipment. They have holes in each end with a small cotter pin. No head on the pin.

 

[rosco]

Inspect things. Can you rotate the PTO drive line by hand? Can you rotate the winch by hand. Slide the shear pin coupling back/inspect the hole . Inspect the U- Joints. That isn't rocket science. Something is causing the problem! You have to identify it!

 

[GMOSC]

It seems that I have located the problem. When going out to the truck with a fresh mind and some new ideas, I tried installing a new shear pin. I did notice some play in the holes where the pin goes. I installed a new pin and hooked the truck up to a tree with a snatch block going back to the truck. I tried the winch and was able to move the truck. So I do believe in the spring I will identify wich part or both have wear and replace them. I thank everyone for the helpful, and sometimes ball busting advice.