[amaintaylor]

So I have had my Warn Dualforce winch for 4 years now and the freewheel lever froze up. Today I removed and disassembled it and was not surprised what I found. It has been submerged several times for a short period and it obviously had some water intrusion. It took forever to free the moving parts and then I cleaned and greased the gearing and it works like new. It was pretty easy and now I will make that an annual tear down. This is one of my most important pieces of recovery equipment and I had neglected it for too long. Just saying don't forget that maintenance on your winch if you swim.....

 

[sinerasis]

Somewhat related, is the grease in a winch special, or is it something I can find anywhere? When I took my winch apart to clock it I noticed it was purple if that means anything special.

 

[amaintaylor]

Jeff, the little grease mine had on the edges of the gearing was dark and crusty looking. I searched everywhere to find out what they used and after a call to several different places they said to use synthetic high heat grease but very little. They said to be sure not to over grease it. I used some synthetic marine wheel bearing grease to handle the high heat and moisture and guess what. It was purple.

 

[sinerasis]

Good to know, I should probably put this on my list of things to do at some point...

 

[amaintaylor]

Good to know, I should probably put this on my list of things to do at some point...

I have some pics of you and it seems you might need a snorkel mod on yours...:rofl:

 

[sinerasis]

hehe I'm usually following you!