Hello guys

This past weekend I crimped my winch cable ever so slightly. I was able to bend it back with a towel and some channel locks.

I've been told I need a new winch cable since it's been crimped. What do you guys think?


Part 2:

If I do need a new cable which would you prefer - synthetic or metal?

And

How tough is it to replace the cable?

Thanks

 

i would say you dont need a new cable until strands of wire break - a little bend insnt going to hurt - i wouldnt think. Thats one of the reasons why I went synthetic though so I wouldnt have to worry about bending it but then the syntetic can fray. they both have the plus and minus. my choice is synthetic

 

yea i have multiple bends and crims in mine from reeling it in iver another part of cable i don't have a problem and ive seen alot of other people with the same crimps i think its fine i whant to get a synthetic when i get the money to change and to change the cable is easy all you have to do is reel the cable all of the way out with free spool then there should be a screw of allen set screw that is going into the spool the cable is going threw a hole if you loosen the set screw the cable will pull out its you will see when you unreal the cable its self explanitory.

 

Best thing about cable is its cheap, but some of the synthetic stuff is not. A few irregularities won't hurt a cable, but it can hurt your hands.....kind of like grabbing a porcupine. Any time your working with one, leather gloves are a good idea. I have several, different lengths for different times of the year. I keep my nice long ones (50') for the summer time (towing and skidding)and my short sanky ones (6') for snow plowings. I have several short ones made up with clevises in my tool box so I have spares when plowing. The shorter ones are much easier to change out when it cold.

 

Great idea zaptoad! I think I may follow your lead.

Thanks for the info guys. I really appreciate it.

 

Keep in mind different winches have different ways of attaching the rope/cable to the drum........Either way it's very easy to respool.....If you have any problems just post back.

John

 

All of the above is good advice. Whether you stay with wire rope or go to synthetic, each requires a different kind of care to maintain reliability.

The biggest problem with wire is it's just about impossible to duplicate that nice even factory wrap, and once you get spaces in the wrap it binds and kinks resulting in damage. Compared to synthetic it's not very cooperative to work with, it's very unfriendly to handle once it begins to fray and because it stores energy it can become a whip if it breaks under tension, requiring more caution in use. On the plus side it's cheap.

Most synthetics have a better load to diameter ratio. Although it's preferable, they don't require a perfectly even wrap to avoid damage, it handles easily and doesn't store energy under tension. On the down side it will abrade if abused, abrasion sheaths are a bit of a pain and it's more expensive than wire.

With some care synthetic winch rope will outlast the winch. I'll take synthetic every time.

 

I have a Warn winch and have not uncoiled it all the way down to see how it attaches. I will be doing that this weekend.

The crimp is very minor and hardly noticeable once I took the towel and channel locks to it. After reading all of your thoughts and concerns, which BTW I really appreciate, I think the damage it very very minor and I don't see any reason to make the change yet.

In the furutre I may give the synthetic a try - we'll see

Thanks again

 

i have had many winches w/ cinks in the cable and never had any issues. there again it is impossiable to wind the cable in corectly when your winching. this is why when im all done w/ my winch for the day i unwind what i have used and will wash it off when cleaning and have some one wind it back in while i make sure the cable goes back to its orginal (closes as i can) to the factory overlapping. i aslo never leave my cable loose and always have some tenion on the cable to keep the cable wound tight.

 

king5.....
Just incase you're wondering how the cable connects to your drum on the warn this is how it will look.....As you get close to the drum the cable will go thru the drum,then loop back into it with a small button which fits into the loop to prevent it from pulling thru if you ever unspool too far.....So when you do change it out to whatever you want to use either cable oe synthetic, be very careful not to lose the small button......But if you use the synthetic I didn't even reuse the button I just made a knot in the end of the rope and it never pulled out....Hope that helped.

John