Winch load test

[rizzo]

Get a snatch block. it cuts your cable in half and ensures you have enough power. kills two birds with one stone. I bought some from colemans for $35.

If you only have to unwrap 30-100 feet of cable to get you out, then hook on a object farther away to try and get down to the first wrap on the drum.

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

I like to safety wire the shear pin around the shaft through both ends with one wire so if it snaps I don't have to look in the mud for the cotter pins in the broken shear pin. My Son has broken mine more often than I have seems he picked up bad habits winching with his electric one on his Jeep. The duece is a real two person job when it comes to winching. I always use at least one if not two snatch blocks too in order to pay out more of the 200 feet of cable. I am still looking for the 5/8 cable for the M52 20K winch.

 

[gene]

Recently a fellow, who seems to be the type to know a bit about the winches we are talking about, told me that cheep grade 5 bolts can be used in leu of the correct shear pin. Is this wise? Has anyone done this and tested such a "modification?"

thanks,
Gene

 

[jeli]

First off grade 5 is grade 5 if it truely meets spec. I'd guess a std grade 2 bolt will rip the worm gear out. The only thing that might work is to cut two slots in a steel bolt so the diameter is reduced so the shear strength of that cross section is the same as full diameter aluminum. That doesn't solve anything because it's not off the shelf.

 

[cranetruck]

Perhaps it was because 90% of the answers to most questions are found in the manual....

If all the answers were to be found in the TMs, then there would be no need for the PS magazines, which serve as a Post Script to them...
besides it's fun to get answers off the forum, it's personalized sort of.

Shear pins PS mag style:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index....hear_pins&name=gallery&include=view_photo.php

BTW, does anybody know the alloy (aluminum)?

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

Plus the PS magazines make good reading in the latrine although not as good as when Connie was more prevalent in the magazine....

A great DVD is available free from Milemarker that shows static load testing of many brands of 8-12,000 pound capacity it is good watching.

It is available here. http://www.milemarker.com/video.html

PS Jeli can you get that girl in your Avatar to come over and pose on my duece?

 

[spicergear]

I've set my winches up on Key ways instead of pins. I believe that the winches are under-rated and will take a lot more abuse then what they're credited with. Castings are real beefy. The only time I've ever heard of a winch problem was with the M37 and M715 (I think the LU-4) where 'bouncing' them with the clutch can strip the driven gear, not dump the worm drive out. On my big M715 (two deuce 10K Garwoods) I've abuse the hell out of that. Bounced the clutch to bump things along made long, long recdovery pulls with it and it's taken it in stride. Yep, no aluminum pin as I had to build my own driveline for it and don't believe in engineered weak links.

You guys, of course, do what's safe or stated in the manuals but don't underrate the winch because of the pin. Like one guy posted about popping the pin when hooking the bumper. ..the pin is for other parts safety...not the winches. ...In my humble opinion.

Use a pin for your own safety.

 

[DDoyle]

My .02 - the correct shear pins are cheap enough - and winch parts are expensive enough - that I'd not go to the effort to try to make my own and hope that I had the right alloy.

As far as reeling in - when the pin shears - you can (and I have) reinstall the sheared bits to continue to operate the winch.

NEVER try to operate the winch from the front bumper. That is not how they are designed to work. And, having sat in the cab of my M62 and watched the wire rope pull in two and whip around, I can assure you that near the winch is NOT where you want to be.

First deuce I bought had a burst winch drive housing - and a bolt where the shear pin was supposed to be - does that tell you something?

Regards,
David Doyle

 

[gimpyrobb]

Yes David, in the PS mags, it shows how to re-use a busted shear pin.

 

[cranetruck]

My .02 - the correct shear pins are cheap enough - and winch parts are expensive enough - that I'd not go to the effort to try to make my own and hope that I had the right alloy.
David Doyle

Problem is to find the correct shear pin, in my case for the xm757 front winch. The NSN is 5315-00-880-5861, which for some reason is different from the other 5-ton truck winches.

Meanwhile I'm checking on different aluminum alloys.....it's a matter of coming up with the math formula that includes the amount of pull and relates it to shear pin shear strength....need to know the diameter of the worm drive......hmmmm

 

[spicergear]

My .02 - the correct shear pins are cheap enough...
First deuce I bought had a burst winch drive housing - and a bolt where the shear pin was supposed to be - does that tell you something?

Regards,
David Doyle

Not to pick, but looking at these winches, inside and out, I would think it would take a sensational amount of pull to blow the worm gear out of the bottom of the case. I would also think that the possibility of shearing off four hunks of bronze (driven teeth engaged) would be much more great than causing a catastrophic case failure. It's a shame that was the first duece you had purchased not the last- from the sound's of things the pin will shear if the clevis is run into the winch so it doesn't do a bunch of collateral damage. That bolt would absolutely do big damage then once it got to that bottom tie rod. Figure these winches stock have a near 500 inch diesel engine running them. You will break before you stall. I think an inspection of the bottom tie rod between the case sides of that winch may really tell us something. ...just my feelings after being around the 10K's.

 

[sailor2000]

I recently had the opportunity to un jam the front winch on a 5 ton wrecker. Someone had left it in gear, pulling the cable in, until it wouldn't go any farther. The end fitting had been drawn up into the guide sheaves and the big oval link on the chain had been pulled apart. The shear pin was fine. If it didn't shear under those loads, what would make it shear?