Ok here's what happened.

I was out pushing some snow piles back making room for the next storm. I got the winch bound up too tight and it would not move. All it would do is click. I was able to get the pin out of the cable hook and drop the plow. I was then able to unbind the cable. I put the winch in free spool and decided I would pull most of the cable and rewind it all nice and neat. When I tried to get it out of free spool it wouldn't come out. after playing with it a few minutes it finally caught and I started reeling in the cable. I got a few feet in and the winch jumped back to free spool on it's own. I tried playing with it but no luck getting it to catch again. Any suggestions?

The winch is a 3000 lb. TACT that I bought off of eBay probably 5 years ago. This is the first problem I ever had with it.


Thanks in advance
Mike

 

On some winches where the free spool lever goes into the winch there is a triangular keyway that engages the gears. One way is engaged the other free spool. Often times I've seen the spring that holds pressure against the keyway broken which would cause your problem. On winches I've repaired for this issue I simply replace the spring with a heavier one of equal or close to the same size. Any competent hardware should have something to match for less than a buck. All you got is a dollar and a little time in it. If you've never disassembled a winch before pay attention to how the gears set together when you pull the winch apart, it's helpful for reassembly.

 

Thanks Redymix.

I got her apart and found the problem. There is a what I am calling a cover for the gears. This is located right where the spool assembly meets the motor. It covers the gears and has a hole in the center. Well that cover is now in pieces and one of the gears has some broken teeth.

Off to find a new winch before the next snow storm.

 

Ugh! That sucks. Check Ebay. You might get lucky and find the parts needed to repair it. Or just go buy a WARN and never look back.