Melted / Damaged Synthetic Winch Rope

dlm1450

My check-engine light is on.
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I recently inspected my winch rope and found it to be damaged / melted in SEVERAL areas. I've only winched 4 - 5 times and I don't recall any major abrasion on rocks or trees. This is the factory rope on a Smittybilt X20-10k and I'm using the aluminum Hawse fairlead (no rollers) that came with it. What did I do wrong? Installed wrong? Too much line on the spool? Overloaded? Not enough pre-tensioning during installation?

I'm definitely going to replace the line, I want to make sure I don't do this again.

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That doesn't look melted or damaged, it looks normal for a synthetic rope on a lower layer that had a lot of of pressure placed on it from upper layers while winching. My ropes have all gotten that way once they have been used in tough situations, the strength should still be the same. Work the rope with your hands in that area to restore its normal shape and if you don't see actual damage with multiple broken strands I wouldn't worry about it in the least.
 
That doesn't look melted or damaged, it looks normal for a synthetic rope on a lower layer that had a lot of of pressure placed on it from upper layers while winching. My ropes have all gotten that way once they have been used in tough situations, the strength should still be the same. Work the rope with your hands in that area to restore its normal shape and if you don't see actual damage with multiple broken strands I wouldn't worry about it in the least.
Thank you Jerry. I'll hold off on getting a replacement rope.
 
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That doesn't look melted or damaged, it looks normal for a synthetic rope on a lower layer that has a lot of of pressure placed on it from upper layers while winching. My ropes have all gotten that way once they have been used in tough situations, the strength should still be the same. Work the rope with your hands in that area to restore its normal shape and if you don't see actual damage with multiple broken strands I wouldn't worry about it in the least.
I agree Jerry. Mine looks the same way.

You’re in good shape, OP.
 
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