Someone asked a question on wire rope maintenance and I posted the following. It may not be new to you or it may remind you of something you have forgotten. Either way, hope it helps.

This is from Warn's Q&A under winches:
Is wire rope on my A2000 a warranted item?
No, as per the owners' manual, wire rope is excluded from any warranty coverage. The wire rope is an aircraft grade galvanized 7 by 19 construction. When new, this type of wire rope exceeds the pulling capacity of the winch and the strength should not be an issue. (Note) In most cases where the wire rope has failed. It has been determined that the winch and rope were used without first stretching the wire rope and wrapping it tightly on the drum. Never use the winch to tow or be towed!

Q) What do you recommend I use to grease my wire rope with?
Warn uses a high quality aircraft grade of galvanized wire rope. Therefore, our wire rope does not require any lubrication from the factory. There are spray lubricants that can be purchased thru wire rope dealers and can be used if desired, but they are not required.

Q) I have heard that there is a new synthetic winch rope made from Kevlar. Are these ropes better than traditional wire ropes?
Warn Industries does not recommend using synthetic wire rope on a Warn winch.

***Pre-stretching---
The life of a wire rope is directly related to its first use. A new wire rope must be spooled onto its drum under a load at least 500 pounds. Spool out the wire rope length leaving 5 wraps on the drum. Stretch the new wire rope and create a goo wire wrap around the drum. Failure to do so may result in the outer wire wraps drawing into the inner wraps, binding and damaging the wire rope. Wire rope damage is spwcifically excluded from warranty