LMTV Winch Maintenance

[Oski1042]

Wondering if any of you guys have worked on the 11k winch on your trucks? Specifically I am wondeing what I can do to free up the spool on mine. I had a good workout pulling out the cable .... all 308' of it! I have done my standard wander through the TM's and could not find anything related to maintenance of the actual winch. What I am hoping to learn is whether I can flush out the old lubricant via the four ports on the reel (see photo ... #1). Also wondered what goes in the access bolt hole on the drive unit (see photo #2)

Also related to this ... I found a great military publication in another thread detailing recovery guidance. To that end I would like to find a snatch block that can work for these units. Anyone have a source for such units?

 

[Green Mountain Boys]

I have the M1078 with the 11K SRW. I have not had to work on mine but I do use it a fair amount. Mostly to pull trees and logs. I have found pulling cable out in cold weather is a pain in the @#$! If it is really cold I try to anchor the cable end to a tree and back the truck up while the winch is free-spooling to get cable off the drum. If I use the winch frequently in cold weather the oil seems to warm up which makes pulling cable easier. I have not changed to a different hydraulic fluid. I don't know if that would help or not.
I have snatch blocks but mine are civilian snatch blocks of the appropriate size like Skookum part # 1918001 model 62

 

[Oski1042]

Thanks for the note. I ended up warming up the drum after putting in some solvent. After about 5 minutes it definitely improved. I plan to repeat the process a couple of times to try and loosen up and flush out the 22 year old grease (clay) that is in there. I think that should do the trick.

On a related note, have you done anything about the filter on the hydraulic system? While I am cleaning up the winch, I'd like to do something about the fluid side of the equation.

As for the snatch block, my post generated a lead to a fellow with a Skookum #62 he no longer needed. Hopefully it is on it's way. I don't know how often I will need it ... but it should be nice to have on board.

 

[wandering neurons]

I agree with Green Mountain Boys - if you can, anchor the free end of the cable and move the truck to unspool. Otherwise, it will be a real fight. I know for certain, most of my time using the SRW has been in cold weather either recovering myself or other vehicles. Unspooling is a real PITA, I've seen videos where it's a two-person job.
But, when it's cold out, that extra work unspooling will help keep you warm!
Make certain that the cable rides in the pulleys on the winch, not the steel bars, and also that the fairlead pulleys front and rear rotate and are properly removable if you need to swap which end you're pulling from.

 

[Mullaney]

Thanks for the note. I ended up warming up the drum after putting in some solvent. After about 5 minutes it definitely improved. I plan to repeat the process a couple of times to try and loosen up and flush out the 22 year old grease (clay) that is in there. I think that should do the trick.

On a related note, have you done anything about the filter on the hydraulic system? While I am cleaning up the winch, I'd like to do something about the fluid side of the equation.

As for the snatch block, my post generated a lead to a fellow with a Skookum #62 he no longer needed. Hopefully it is on it's way. I don't know how often I will need it ... but it should be nice to have on board.

Interesting observation about the winch having sludge in it Oski1042 ... You mentioned hydraulic fluid and the filter on that tank:

I am way behind where you are. I got a frame that had the winch, tank, hoses, and fairleads. In the process now of migrating that stuff onto my M1088. First thing to get moved was the hydraulic tank because their aren't but 6 bolts that hold it on. As I started disconnecting hoses it was immediately obvious that it was NOT 10wt hydraulic fluid in those hoses. While I had the tank unbolted (unstrapped) from the tank bracket, I turned it upside down so it could drain.

I didn't test it other than sticking my finger in the oil - but it appears that somebody put regular 30wt motor oil in this one. My oil was surprisingly dirty too. Who knows, maybe this truck was somewhere and needed fluid and they used what they had...

 

[Awesomeness]

First thing to get moved was the hydraulic tank because their aren't but 6 bolts that hold it on.

It's hard to get the PTO installed with the tank installed. Each bolt on the PTO takes tightening from a different awkward position... reaching up from underneath, laying on top of the muffler, reaching down from near the coolant tank, reaching around from where the hydraulic tank is, etc. We had to take the tank back off (bracket was left in place, but would have been even better if it wasn't).

 

[Mullaney]

It's hard to get the PTO installed with the tank installed. Each bolt on the PTO takes tightening from a different awkward position... reaching up from underneath, laying on top of the muffler, reaching down from near the coolant tank, reaching around from where the hydraulic tank is, etc. We had to take the tank back off (bracket was left in place, but would have been even better if it wasn't).

Ah well... No job is complete without bolting something up, then removing it and bolting it up again. I wouldn't expect any less for most of my projects - and the good part is that I have learned to deal with it. No need to pitch a fit, just unbolt those recently tightened bolts and move on. Thanks for the info.

.

 

[Oski1042]

I agree with Green Mountain Boys - if you can, anchor the free end of the cable and move the truck to unspool. Otherwise, it will be a real fight. I know for certain, most of my time using the SRW has been in cold weather either recovering myself or other vehicles. Unspooling is a real PITA, I've seen videos where it's a two-person job.
But, when it's cold out, that extra work unspooling will help keep you warm!
Make certain that the cable rides in the pulleys on the winch, not the steel bars, and also that the fairlead pulleys front and rear rotate and are properly removable if you need to swap which end you're pulling from.

I'm in the process of renovating/replacing as much as possible on my M1083 .... starting at the back. So that means the aft winch roller was one of the first projects ....

 

[fasttruck]

The snatch block is your friend. One is good two are better. They were at one time part the OVM for a truck with a winch. The ratio of cable to sheave size is 12:1 so 1/2" cable equates to a 6" sheave. Bigger is OK, smaller not so good.

 

[Awesomeness]

The snatch block is your friend. One is good two are better. They were at one time part the OVM for a truck with a winch. The ratio of cable to sheave size is 12:1 so 1/2" cable equates to a 6" sheave. Bigger is OK, smaller not so good.

The part numbers for the "issued" snatch block are in the back of the TM.