Did this break my winch?

Dunkut88TJ

Dunkut88TJ

Living the Dream
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So in an effort to be cheap I decided to “restore” my sh*ttybuilt winch. The goal was to clean it up and put it back on the Jeep. While taking off the control box and removing the cords I had one really rusty bolt under the yellow cover. I got the bolt off, but when I went to put the bottom bolt back on it cross threaded and the post is no longer attached. The post is circled in red, it won’t come out but just flops around. It’s circled just for reference. Did I roast my winch?
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Those terminals are the same type used in starters. Any shop that works on those can help. You can also find them online once you figure out what broke. If you have a fine cutoff wheel like a Dremel you can cut a slot in the stud so you can hold it with a standard screwdriver. You can also take the motor apart to get at it from the inside of the case.
 
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pagrey said:
Those terminals are the same type used in starters. Any shop that works on those can help. You can also find them online once you figure out what broke. If you have a fine cutoff wheel like a Dremel you can cut a slot in the stud so you can hold it with a standard screwdriver. You can also take the motor apart to get at it from the inside of the case.
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Terminal - that’s the word I was looking for! My hope/plan was to crack open that side and see if I could get at it. The winch isn’t great, but it’s a nice to have item. I don’t have the need for a winch much, so I don’t want to spend the money on a new one.
 
I believe there is a wire soldered to that bolt inside the winch. If you turn the bolt too much you can break that wire. Otherwise just tighten the jam nut under the cable
 
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Old_Crow said:
I believe there is a wire soldered to that bolt inside the winch. If you turn the bolt too much you can break that wire. Otherwise just tighten the jam nut under the cable
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If I’m reading this correctly, if I didn’t break the wire just get the jam but back on and should be good?
 
Yeah, that's what I mean. A small pair of pliers might help the stud to not turn while you're running the jam nut down. Once it starts to snug up you should be good.
 
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You are going to want to carefully pull the end cap and inspect. If the connection to the terminal post is intact you should be able to tighten it up and be good to go.
 
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I bought my LJ last June, and it came with a Smittybilt XRC8. I restored it over the summer, and one of the winding screws cross-threaded like yours. I ended up buying a copper screw from McMaster-Carr to replace it. I had to cut a slot in it and swage the winding onto it. The only special tools I used was a cutoff wheel and a hydraulic press.
 
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sab said:
I bought my LJ last June, and it came with a Smittybilt XRC8. I restored it over the summer, and one of the winding screws cross-threaded like yours. I ended up buying a copper screw from McMaster-Carr to replace it. I had to cut a slot in it and swage the winding onto it. The only special tools I used was a cutoff wheel and a hydraulic press.
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This is what I’m facing, not sure how to reconnect the wire once I get a new screw
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Mine didn’t break the stator winding like yours. The bolt stripped, so I cut the nut off and swaged the new bolt on. With yours, you could either buy a new stator (the one for the XRC8 is about $100) or graft a piece of copper to the end and swage a bolt on. If I was going to attempt the latter, I’d try two flat head cap screws countersunk into the new copper piece and threaded into the existing winding, but you’ll need to electrically isolate everything. Good luck!
 
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Oh, yeah - one more heads-up for you. The brushes visible in your last photo were a bit challenging to deal with during re-assembly. If you take the end cap off, you can push the brushes outward, and then you can put them “cock-eyed” so that the spiral springs side load them, holding them out so that you can install the rotor into the case without the brushes contacting the commutator and preventing assembly.
 
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sab said:
Mine didn’t break the stator winding like yours. The bolt stripped, so I cut the nut off and swaged the new bolt on. With yours, you could either buy a new stator (the one for the XRC8 is about $100) or graft a piece of copper to the end and swage a bolt on. If I was going to attempt the latter, I’d try two flat head cap screws countersunk into the new copper piece and threaded into the existing winding, but you’ll need to electrically isolate everything. Good luck!
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😂 gosh, I don’t even know what you said means. I’m not an electrical guy, but will do some googling! Thanks for your input, worst case I guess $100 isn’t as bad as a new winch, considering I won’t use it much.
 
sab said:
Oh, yeah - one more heads-up for you. The brushes visible in your last photo were a bit challenging to deal with during re-assembly. If you take the end cap off, you can push the brushes outward, and then you can put them “cock-eyed” so that the spiral springs side load them, holding them out so that you can install the rotor into the case without the brushes contacting the commutator and preventing assembly.
Click to expand...
Yes! I put it back together to store it for now and spent some time cussing, I thought it was impossible until I took off that end cap!
 
Just noticed the bolt in my drawing is 90 degrees off, but I think you’ll understand.
 
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No worries - glad to help! I don’t know if there’s room in the case for the extra thickness of the grafted-on piece, so be sure to verify that before spending any time on it!
 
I have all the space above the copper wire now, so I should have space. Getting it done in such a small area will be tough. What do the cap screws need to be made of and then new bolt?
 
I removed the windings from the case to do mine. I think there were four steel pads held in with two socket head caps screws each. There may have been a few other things connected (can't recall). Once out, you can drill and tap for the two flat head cap screws. You'll have to figure out the best diameter and length to use. I wouldn't go more than 50% of the width of the copper winding. For the electrical stud, here's what I used:

https://www.mcmaster.com/93270A545/
I cut a slot just wide enough for the winding and then pressed it on. For the flat head cap screws, I suggest brass, also, so you don't have to worry about galvanic corrosion:

https://www.mcmaster.com/screws/head-type~flat/material~brass/brass-phillips-flat-head-screws-9/
 
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