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So I thought I would share some of my experiences "piecing" together a standard deuce winch set up for my truck. My best advice would be to get a complete set up all at once if at all possible.
I got a great deal on a used winch, with cable, chain, hook and frame extensions. The price was 400 and it was brought to SOCAL from somewhere way back east. Ok, he was coming out this way anyhow, but it still had to mess up his gas mileage. Complete set ups have gone anywhere from 800 bucks in CO, to 1500+ in SOCAL since I started on this project. That's just the ones I've seen. I'm sure if I looked hard enough I could have found one for 1200ish within decent driving range.
Two years ago when I started this money was a little tighter. Still it would be tough to convince the wife that I needed 1200+ worth of parts in a truck I paid 1400 for. Piecing it together seemed like a great idea. I even thought I might save some money.
So I brought the winch which is rumored to have been owned by Wreckerman home and had the boy and his friend install it on my truck. They were 12 years old then. It took about 90 dollars with of hardware to do it. The long bolts were ordered off the internet. I didn't bother to read anything in the TM or the site before installing it. The boys had a blast and it went on with no problems. Later I read that I should have protected the radiator, etc, etc. I suggest you follow the advice on the site and read the TM first - I got lucky.
The next thing I did was to drain the soupy, milky crap out on the winch. When a spring from one of the seals came out the drain I figured they were probably bad. I searched the internet and found four replacement seals, cheaper than any of the MV supply houses. I think I spent 60 bucks on them, but don't quote me. The real answer is probably buried in a thread somewhere. Those seals are still sitting on my desk, waiting to go in.
I got a tip that Saturn had the winch/PTO cab handle cheap and 40ish later with shipping I had one. It's been stashed in the garage a long time.
I heard that the winch requires special shouldered bolts so I set out to find some. After several days of trying everywhere and only finding ones made out of solid gold, I got a tip from a SS old timer to call George at White Owl. That is is the single best piece of advice I've ever been given. I called him up and he sold me a used, bead blasted set for 5 bucks each. I was pretty happy that I had this parts chasing thing down and I was still under budget.
Somehow I managed to break a special shouldered bolt in half when installing it. George at White Owl sold me a single replacement when I was worried I would have to buy a whole set.
At this point I just needed "a couple" more parts and I'm all set. Life is good and the winch looks great mounted up there. NK14 has plenty of material to give me chit about in chat too. Now I'm hunting the PTO.
This is where it gets a little sticky. Winches are out there all the time with no PTOs. Shafts (my other missing big piece) are all over the internet new and used. Lots of them. The PTO? Not so much. They show up on eBay for 500 bucks sometimes for a new one or even 400 + for a used one. Not THAT often though. My winch project stalled until I found one in the classifieds here for 275.
When I was doing the PTO transaction I remembered that I needed the bracket that holds the winch/PTO lever. I had looked but only found them for 80-100 dollars. It's nothing special, but hard to find so you pay the price. The PTO seller had one and we did a deal for 300 on the PTO and bracket AND shipping. I see the light at the end of the winch tunnel now.
With the PTO in route I looked around for install info. I guess I need gaskets and studs. I found the studs locally but no gaskets. Again I email George. He gives me some detailed instructions on the PTO install and sends me gaskets for free. Says it isn't worth hassling with charging me. I suspect he wants to see this winch actually finished too. It's going on two years. I asked him about a shaft and he said he could get a new one to my door for 150. Not the cheapest, but very competitive pricing and he has done more to get my winch going than I have. I emptied what I had in paypal and the shaft is currently in route.
So we're done, right? Um, no. I have no way to connect the PTO to the lever. Duh. Oh and what about that hinged lock thing for the floor? Duh. Oh and the PTO is missing the eye bolt that the linkage, if I had the linkage, attaches to.
After trying to dig up something for a linkage I gave up and emailed George. He has all the missing little parts including a proper shear pin. As soon as he opens in the morning I'll get all that on order.
So like I said - buy a complete take off winch set if your budget allows. If you piece it together ask around more than I did and try dig up the hidden stuff. I'm sure I could have found parts faster and maybe cheaper, but I have a few other hobbies and some ADHD.
I haven't totaled the price up yet, but I don't think I saved any money. Who knows, even with new seals, maybe that ole winch don't even work.
Sure looks good up there though.
I got a great deal on a used winch, with cable, chain, hook and frame extensions. The price was 400 and it was brought to SOCAL from somewhere way back east. Ok, he was coming out this way anyhow, but it still had to mess up his gas mileage. Complete set ups have gone anywhere from 800 bucks in CO, to 1500+ in SOCAL since I started on this project. That's just the ones I've seen. I'm sure if I looked hard enough I could have found one for 1200ish within decent driving range.
Two years ago when I started this money was a little tighter. Still it would be tough to convince the wife that I needed 1200+ worth of parts in a truck I paid 1400 for. Piecing it together seemed like a great idea. I even thought I might save some money.
So I brought the winch which is rumored to have been owned by Wreckerman home and had the boy and his friend install it on my truck. They were 12 years old then. It took about 90 dollars with of hardware to do it. The long bolts were ordered off the internet. I didn't bother to read anything in the TM or the site before installing it. The boys had a blast and it went on with no problems. Later I read that I should have protected the radiator, etc, etc. I suggest you follow the advice on the site and read the TM first - I got lucky.
The next thing I did was to drain the soupy, milky crap out on the winch. When a spring from one of the seals came out the drain I figured they were probably bad. I searched the internet and found four replacement seals, cheaper than any of the MV supply houses. I think I spent 60 bucks on them, but don't quote me. The real answer is probably buried in a thread somewhere. Those seals are still sitting on my desk, waiting to go in.
I got a tip that Saturn had the winch/PTO cab handle cheap and 40ish later with shipping I had one. It's been stashed in the garage a long time.
I heard that the winch requires special shouldered bolts so I set out to find some. After several days of trying everywhere and only finding ones made out of solid gold, I got a tip from a SS old timer to call George at White Owl. That is is the single best piece of advice I've ever been given. I called him up and he sold me a used, bead blasted set for 5 bucks each. I was pretty happy that I had this parts chasing thing down and I was still under budget.
Somehow I managed to break a special shouldered bolt in half when installing it. George at White Owl sold me a single replacement when I was worried I would have to buy a whole set.
At this point I just needed "a couple" more parts and I'm all set. Life is good and the winch looks great mounted up there. NK14 has plenty of material to give me chit about in chat too. Now I'm hunting the PTO.
This is where it gets a little sticky. Winches are out there all the time with no PTOs. Shafts (my other missing big piece) are all over the internet new and used. Lots of them. The PTO? Not so much. They show up on eBay for 500 bucks sometimes for a new one or even 400 + for a used one. Not THAT often though. My winch project stalled until I found one in the classifieds here for 275.
When I was doing the PTO transaction I remembered that I needed the bracket that holds the winch/PTO lever. I had looked but only found them for 80-100 dollars. It's nothing special, but hard to find so you pay the price. The PTO seller had one and we did a deal for 300 on the PTO and bracket AND shipping. I see the light at the end of the winch tunnel now.
With the PTO in route I looked around for install info. I guess I need gaskets and studs. I found the studs locally but no gaskets. Again I email George. He gives me some detailed instructions on the PTO install and sends me gaskets for free. Says it isn't worth hassling with charging me. I suspect he wants to see this winch actually finished too. It's going on two years. I asked him about a shaft and he said he could get a new one to my door for 150. Not the cheapest, but very competitive pricing and he has done more to get my winch going than I have. I emptied what I had in paypal and the shaft is currently in route.
So we're done, right? Um, no. I have no way to connect the PTO to the lever. Duh. Oh and what about that hinged lock thing for the floor? Duh. Oh and the PTO is missing the eye bolt that the linkage, if I had the linkage, attaches to.
After trying to dig up something for a linkage I gave up and emailed George. He has all the missing little parts including a proper shear pin. As soon as he opens in the morning I'll get all that on order.
So like I said - buy a complete take off winch set if your budget allows. If you piece it together ask around more than I did and try dig up the hidden stuff. I'm sure I could have found parts faster and maybe cheaper, but I have a few other hobbies and some ADHD.
I haven't totaled the price up yet, but I don't think I saved any money. Who knows, even with new seals, maybe that ole winch don't even work.
Sure looks good up there though.
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