Just after a bit of information about servicing a 4WD winch. I pulled it all down, and it isn't in too bad nick except the needle bearings in one of the planetary gears, and slight marking on the shaft. I have sourced new bearings and will pick them up today. My dilemma is what to lubricate the bearings and gears with.
I rang the company that is the distributor for Superwinch (which is the brand I have) and the bloke I spoke to recommended to use Wurth HHS5000. I picked up a spray can of the lube, but it seems very thin even after the solvent has evaporated. It is actually the consistency of oil rather than grease. The bloke from Superwinch said it is a good lube because it has high creep, so it will get into all the gaps etc and into the bearings. I'm just not convinced that being an oil consistency it will stay on the gear teeth for very long.
Has anyone else serviced their winch and did you seek advice about lubrication? If so what was recommended and for what reasons.
Cheers
Bob
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Thanks guys.
JC, I have heard of others using wheel bearing grease on other forums, but usually marine blue type. The problem is it's a bit thick and doesn't allow the winch to free spool very easily apparently. Also, as the Superwinch bloke said, when it gets squeezed out from the gears when they are loaded up, it doesn't come back to the centre of the gears. The Wurth HHS5000 has a lot of "creep", so when it gets squeezed out under pressure, it returns once the gears are unloaded again.
I've had a bit more of a play with the Wurth's HHS5000 spray grease/oil (also bl**dy dear dybs at $32 for a spray can of it) and may just use it after all. This time I coated a bearing with it and let it sit for a while. The grease thickened up more than I thought it did the first time i looked at it. It's still a bit runny, but it's kind of gelled as well. Hard to explain, but when it's between your thumb and forefinger, it makes longs strings when you pull your fingers apart.
I'll have to pull the winch apart again before much longer to replace the shafts in the planetary gears (hopefully, instead of replacing the whole planetary housing) and of course another set of bearings. But it will be a good opportunity to see how the grease performed.
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
G/Day Bob
I've serviced my Warn 9000lb winch a couple of times now and used a moly based grease like the one you'd use to grease ya cv's with had no prob's yet
You would think a hypoid oil would do ok ? Or graphite / Molly type..
Yes, hypoid or EP is what is needed, but because the gears aren't sitting in a bath of oil like in your diff, you need something that will stay on the gear surfaces. The wurth HHS5000 spray on seems to stay on the gears OK, so I'll use it and see how it goes after a bit of use.
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
G/Day Bob I've serviced my Warn 9000lb winch a couple of times now and used a moly based grease like the one you'd use to grease ya cv's with had no prob's yet
cheers Gaz
Hi Gaz, That's what I was going to use originally, or possibly a lithium based grease. How did it look when you pulled it apart the next time? Was the grease still coating the gear faces or did it all get squeezed out to the outside of the gears?
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
G/day Bob
Mate it was really good,the grease stayed on the gears and seemed to still be good,I like to service it every coupla years because we do a fair bit of off road and water crossings,so it cops a bit of grief.
cheers
Gaz
sorry it took so long to get back to ya ,been flat out
Thanks for the reply Gaz. I ended up using the Wurth HHS5000 and fitted the winch back on the troopy. It sounded a bit noisier when I tested it, but did seem like it was much easier to free spool. I doubt I'll actually use it on my up coming trip, but will try and give it a bit of work before pulling it down again and having a look. I'm not to worried about the planetry that's in it, it'll need replacing soon anyway, the shafts are a bit knurly on the ends.
I had a thought they other day though, and should have tried it when I ordered the bearings, the needle bearings are only $5.00 ea, plus GST, so I thought maybe I could try fitting 3 per shaft. That way there would be less strain on the bearings overall, and it might prolong the life of the planetry as it is. The shaft and bore in the gears are both parallel and smooth their full length, so I can't see why it wouldn't work.
Cheers
Bob
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
