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Installing a winch system?

vtach

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North Dallas, TX
How hard is it to add a winch to a duece? I have an opertunity to by a complete winch system, but I don't know if it is a fairly easy bolt on job or not. Two guys and a day?What is a good price for a complete winch system?
 

txdodge43man

New member
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4
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Magnolia, texas
Is pretty easy to install one It all bolts in. You do need a engine lift or something to pick the winch up with. I did it by myself in a weekend. Not sure about price but ive heard they go for about $1000.00 to $1500.00
 

Blood_of_Tyrants

Active member
1,614
11
38
Location
Lebanon, TN
Are you talking about a deuce PTO winch? If you remove the cable first, two men can easily pick the winch up as the winch alone weighs only about 130#. Don't forget to get some gaskets to get enough gear lash. Too little and the transmission will be hard to shift into 2-3-4-5 gears. Ax me how I know. If you need some gaskets, I have about 8 I can sell you for what I bought them for, $2.25 each. You will need at least 6.
 

Barrman

Well-known member
5,259
1,769
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
Put card board or plywood in front of your radiator too. The pointy parts of the winch will put a hole in a radiator real fast.

Basically, the hardest part is getting all the bolts to line up right with that big thing hanging on your engine hoist. Don't tighten anything up until all the fasterners are in place. This is also true of the bumper mounts.
 

BFR

Rocket Surgeon
2,330
42
48
Location
North Georgia
Re: RE: Installing a winch system?

Blood_of_Tyrants said:
... Don't forget to get some gaskets to get enough gear lash. Too little and the transmission will be hard to shift into 2-3-4-5 gears. Ax me how I know. If you need some gaskets, I have about 8 I can sell you for what I bought them for, $2.25 each. You will need at least 6.
how many are needed varies... and I have found thick and thin gaskets...( I would get an assortment)
 

vtach

Member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Location
North Dallas, TX
Okay, so how do you determine how many, or how thick of gaskets one needs? Is this to put some distance between the PTO and the tranny?
 

Jake0147

Member
782
18
18
Location
Panton, VT
Trial and error. The point of the variable thickness gaskets is to make up for machining differences so that you get a little bit of backlash between the transmission countershaft gear and the PTO input gear that matches it, so it's not like there's a large difference from one to the next. The standard gaskets that are available are .010 and .020 inches. Typically a place that has one will have the other. They're very inexpensive, a pair of each is a very conservative purchase, while there are exceptions to every rule, you could expect to have one or maybe two left. Some brands come in bags of five. You should have plenty of extras then.
 

DanMartin

New member
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Location
Hillsboro, Oregon (USA)
I just finished mounting mine...most of the original bolts/nuts were pretty rusted. Plan on spending about $200 in new hardware (all grade 8 stuff) to install it correctly (1/2" and 5/8" bolts, plus nuts and lock washers). Note also that there are a few 12" bolts that you will most likely have to order (few places carry them)...

Also while you have the winch off, I would recommend replacing any seals (get those from OD Iron...Mike has the kits). Easier to do while the winch is on the bench.

I also did a bunch of sandblasting/priming/painting on mine to make it perfect.

Don't forget to get the proper upper bumper mounting plates...they have a 1/4" steel plate mounted to them to make up for the spacing differences made by the winch plates and the upper clevis mount (it's a bit hard to explain...just get the right parts).

Gaskets were already covered above...I managed to get a few kits that had both thicknesses of gaskets. These were official Spicer/Dana kits (I've sold them all except for the one I plan on using). You can find them online if you look around...standard 6 bolt SAE mount.

So far the only thing I'm missing is the floor plate with the hinge to protect you from engaging the winch accidentally....need to find that online somewhere (don't forget this part).

Other than a bit of planning, it's a pretty simple bolt-in operation. Remember to protect the radiator when you do the final install with a piece of plywood...that winch will punch a hole in the radiator when it's swinging from the hoist if there's nothing to protect it.

If you get stuck, feel free to drop me a line...happy to assist with answers or photos to help your installation.
 

vtach

Member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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5
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Location
North Dallas, TX
Well I found one for $1400.00, + $100.00 in fuel to go pick it up, maybe I should keep shopping. Or maybe I should just bid on a winch truck and for a couple of thousand dollars more, I have a spare truck. I don't know. What to do??? Thanks for everyones help though.
 

omega231

Member
205
0
16
Location
Huntsville, AL
sorry to dig up an old thread, but i need to know how to go about installing the drive mechanism on the transmission for the PTO. the winch is currently mounted on my parts rig. the plan for now is to simply switch out the front bumper assembly with the winch still mounted. once that is done itll be time to install the actual drive.
 

Jake0147

Member
782
18
18
Location
Panton, VT
The "drive" is the "PTO". Power Take Off. Six bolts will remove the rectangular cover, and by peeking under there you can see where it'll be prudent to have the transmission oil drained before you remove the cover...
The PTO it's self will bolt to the same bolt holes as the cover plate. Looking at the PTO you will see that some "holes" can not accept bolts, and require studs with nuts.
You can go to almost any truck or equipment dealer and get Spicer, Chelsea, or Munsie stud kits, (the short ones for a direct mount, I don't have part numbers handy). They'll have studs that are 3/8 coarse on one end to fit the transmission, and 3/8 fine on the other end to match the included nuts. Blue locktite, a stud collet if possible, otherwise great care... It makes the installation much easier and much more vibration resistant than coarse thread bolts.

You need some backlash in the gears. That's the PITA. You need to mount the PTO (two opposing bolts/studs torqued, and you need to actually check the gear that meshes with the transmission countershaft for clearance. .010 inches is ideal, which is just a tiny "bump" if you don't have a feeler gauge you can get in there. Heck, you can barely get in there at all via the PTO cover plate. Some folks have gone so far as to remove the transmission top cover to set it that way. You can "feel" an acceptable backlash between gears on the mainshaft and countershaft of the PTO it's self, that will be about the same backlash, and definately in the acceptable range. Better too loose than too tight, but the closer the better.
The gaskets are papery, dry, and it's hard to envision them working well to keep in transmission oil. Here's a tip. Keep the surfaces clean and trust the gaskets. The FASTEST way to make those little gaskets leak is to apply a sealer to them. The sealer seals the gaskets to the metal but isn't necessary, however the "gasket to gasket" joint where you stack the gaskets... Sealer makes leaks there.

All in all, it is not a hard job at all. It is a touch awkward at times, and if you don't get the shims (gaskets) right in the first time or two, the steps start to get VERY redundant, but it's absolutely not difficult.

One last thing... Watch the fuel lines under the injection pump. If somebody has installed, corrected, adjusted, replaced, or otherwise disturbed them while there was no driveshaft installed, there's a good chance that there'll be interference with the winch driveshaft. No big deal t adjust, no parts needed, but make sure you have the lines out of the way BEFORE you make your final bolted connection, as you'll need the driveshaft out for access.
 

Armada

New member
3,046
4
0
Location
Buick City, MI
Give Goerge at White Owl a call. He will have exactly what you need, and tell you how to bolt the pto in. They only install the thick gasket and have never had an issue. They have built MANY trans w/ pto's.
 
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