Hi everyone,

I'm new to this Forum and looking for experience relative to using a winch on the 650/700 Prairie.

I self-installed a Warn 2.5 c.i. yesterday (It's a very tight squeeze in the front - where Warn/Kawasaki intended for it to go).

Problem is > Now that the winch is installed, I really cannot see the drum and I'm concerned that I'll "Stack" on the drum while winching and never know till it's too late!

Q. Did any of you remove the plastic horizontal shield (located in front of radiator and over the winch) that interferes with seeing the winch drum?

Q. Will the winch take a dirt & mud/water bath if I remove the shield, or will I have radiator cooling troubles if I remove the shield/deflector??

Regards,
Jeff

 

yah its a tight fit. Do you have alot of sag with your plow?

 

i had the same concern so i removed the same plastic piece off of mine with no problems so far. your winch will get dirty no matter what. i think that the plastic piece actually keeps mud and dirt by the radiator causing overheating. also get some exhaust tape and wrap it around the front exhaust pipe by the radiator. that will also make you machine run a lot cooler. your fan will hardly kick on any more.

 

atcfan, Thanks for the help. Probably will remove the plastic shield then - as you did. Just don't care for the fact that I can't see the wire rope stack on the drum.

Good tip about wrapping the exhaust pipe near the radiator too. Never gave that a thought!

Regards,
Jeff

 

Now help me... long long time ago I had heat tape around my exaust pipe upfront and I felt my cylinders were getting hotter because of this so I took it off.

 

how much of the exhaust pipe was wrapped? you should only wrap the part of the pipe that is closest to the radiator, anything past that should be left exposed so the heat can escape. mine has only been wrapped since august, but no problems yet. you can check with other praire owners on this forum and you will find it is a common thing to do.

 

I left the plastic shield in. I also installed a roller fairlead instead of the cast iron one that comes with the kit.

Bob

 

Bob, I have a Roller fairlead as well, however - keeping the plastic shield in place - the winch drum & cable is next to impossible to view unless you're lying on the ground while winching[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Not a good situation at all...

Jeff