more winch questions...
Piling on with my own winch questions (hopefully not considered a hijack): on my M51, I've got my winch off and partway disassembled to deal with some cosmetic and maintenance issues.
a) I found my right-side gearbox had more water than oil in it (but clean-looking, not rusty, so I'm not that worried about ill effects... yet). I've used the winch once, like five years ago just to re-lay the rope, and it certainly hasn't been immersed in years. When I blew compressed air into the fill-plug to see if I could find a leak, the only obvious bubbling was through the lip-seal at the back, where the PTO couples. I'd expect at least some leakage there, and it wouldn't be easy for water to get in there from rain anyway...so have others found this to be a weak/leak point? If so, is this a generic seal I can get from any supplier?
b) Fairlead: the main roller (shaft & roller-bearing zones) was filled with a half-water, half-grease glop that's obviously rusting the crap out of those components. I live in a very rainy area, so I think the best fix for this would be some kind of corrosion-resistant grease - which I've no experience with. Anyone? I think it's going to always have water infiltrating, since there are no seals (and couldn't be without major re-engineering).
c) are the top & rear channels (heavy-gauge sheetmetal) available for sale anywhere, or should I make replacements? (yeah, I don't want to talk about it...see below...)
d) how much force might reasonably be expected to be required to engage/disengage the release lever during operation? Should one have a mallet or a cheater-bar around as a substitute for Soldier B (always AWOL), who'd otherwise be there to operate the clutch if needed?
Mahalo...Dave