My Warn winch developed a problem a few weeks ago

Mr. Bills said:
The guy on ih8mud probably didn't claim to be an influential internet journalist
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I didn't mean it that way although I guess it reads that way. Just really wanted to share the pictures of the brushes.

I'm sure if you call and trash the product they wont work with you but if you shoot straight you get better service just like anything.
 
EClipp's said:
Warn may be the best and wonderful, but, for the price I can carry 2 more spare winches and still have cash left over for lunch. I have a cheap Engo winch that I put on 6 years ago and always works when I use it despite always being in the elements and never any type of service or oiling. Used it last week to pull an engine out of a pickup. Bought it after reading a 4-Wheeler winch shootout article from around 2011 where all winches failed except the Engo, although they still named Warn the winner because it was faster or some other ambiguous reason. I don't contest anyones' beliefs in their Warn winch, just saying that for the price, it is not the best choice.
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Everyone likes what they like. To put your choices and priorities in perspective compared to my choices and priorities, I would pay good money for the right used Warn before I would install and use any free new in the box Engo. They have served me far too well since 99 for that to change and in fact, the first one we bought in 99 is still in use on my crawler.
 
mrblaine said:
Do you have any knowledge of that claim being slung around by anyone in this thread or just speculation to stir up some shit?
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As an influential internet journalist with a track record of veracity in my thread-postings that is beyond any reproach, I can professionally and categorically state that nobody in this thread has made any such claims.
 
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mrblaine said:
Everyone likes what they like. To put your choices and priorities in perspective compared to my choices and priorities, I would pay good money for the right used Warn before I would install and use any free new in the box Engo. They have served me far too well since 99 for that to change and in fact, the first one we bought in 99 is still in use on my crawler.
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Then give me the free Engo. 99 is last week. I wear T-shirts older than that. I am not trashing Warn. Just saying that they are vastly overpriced in comparison with the competition. But your money is yours to blow.
 
EClipp's said:
Then give me the free Engo. 99 is last week. I wear T-shirts older than that. I am not trashing Warn. Just saying that they are vastly overpriced in comparison with the competition. But your money is yours to blow.
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Unfortunately, all of the economy winches share one thing and that is slow line speed. Where I wheel and for what we need winches to do out there, the low speed is very problematic and often leads to the line getting fouled by a tire. That isn't good for anything so we need the higher line speeds and my HS9500i has worked flawlessly in that regard many times. If someone drops off a free Engo, I'll send it your way. I have no use for it.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
After nearly ten years of regular and occasionally hard use, the motor in my Warn 9.5xp winch finally developed a problem. It started running slower than usual during a pretty difficult recovery 3 weeks ago and then it just stopped working while unspooling the winch rope in my garage last week. I started troubleshooting it and the solenoids appeared to be working fine and providing full battery voltage to the motor, both directions. That meant its 6 HP motor had a problem. I was bummed, I was hoping I just needed to replace a solenoid or two.

Officially the winch has a lifetime mechanical but on electrical things like the motor, it has a one year warranty.

I started pricing replacement motors, aftermarket 6hp motors were $240-250 or so. I emailed Warn's Customer Service department about the problem and asked for gaskets, confirmed what kind of grease they recommended, asked about an overhaul document I heard about, etc. I was planning on getting into it and just doing an overhaul. I also told them I was a bit surprised the motor had died since it had never been abused, submerged, etc.

Then I got a call from a really nice lady at Warn and they offered to replace the motor and get the winch working like new again. For free. I was so stoked I could barely talk on the phone with her, she knew she had made my day lol. They even shipped me a shipping box. I was thinking it'd be $80 or so to ship that 90 lb. box back to Warn but inside the box was a pre-paid UPS shipping label to Warn in Clackamas Oregon. Wow. I doubt they do this for all electrical problems but they must have believed I hadn't done anything to cause the problem so they are covering it 100%. I can tell you getting that 90 lb. cardboard box to UPS Saturday was hard on my 71 year old back. Yowsa

And some wonder why I have always recommended nothing but Warn. Yes I'm a happy man. Especially since I have my first 5-day trip on the Rubicon Trail coming up in August. Good timing. Maybe I'll even throw a new rope on the winch lol.
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That's great to hear about them. I'm actually going to get a M8000 this coming week. It will be my first, and hopefully last, Warn winch.
 
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pagrey said:
Looks like the average Joe might get a different response from Warn
Edit: or this guy might not have been as nice to Warn on the phone as @Jerry Bransford was, didn't mean to suggest otherwise although it reads that way

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/warn-9-5xp-internal-rust-rebuild.252735/

This also has a few good pictures of the brush assembly.
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My warn m8000 motor failed after 7 months but since I bought it off amazon marketplace (used) my warranty was void.

I called warn and they sent me a new motor no questions asked.
 
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My winch shipped back to me today. New motor, drum, new end housing, and the solenoid pack was replaced with the newer contactor design. The tech said the root cause of the motor failing was the screw holding the rope to the drum was a shade too long chewing up the motor side drum support which deposited metal shavings into the motor. I've replaced the rope 3X over the years so I don't really know for sure when that screw got replaced.

Warn stepped up for sure. I'll say it again that Warn's post-sales support reputation is unsurpassed.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
That sounds too high for a used M8000. I'd rather wait to find one for less or save a little longer for a new one that isn't that much more.
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I bought mine from amazon warehouse. They aren't really used per se they are just open box or returns. 99% of the time ordering from amazon warehouse items have a small scratch on them so people return them.

I got mine for 472 from amazon warehouse and the box was open but everything was still in the plastic.
 
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Current best prices that I can find as of 6/7/19:

M8000 (steel cable, used) - $564, Amazon Warehouse
M8000 (steel cable, new) - $629, Amazon
M8000-S (synthetic rope, new) - $862, Amazon

Northridge 4x4:

VR8 - $445
VR8-S - $599
VR10 - $540
VR10-S - $730


So if you were replacing a S*ittybilt XRC8 with steel cable that is seldom used and your winch budget is capped at $600 (sale price for VR8-S), would you stretch to the VR10-S for $730 or really stretch to the M8000-S for $862?

Discuss.

Pros and cons of "lesser" winch with 10,000# capacity vs. "better" winch with 8,000# capacity for TJ/LJ self recovery which won't include much mud but may include snowwheeling in winter? Would the extra capacity of a 10K winch be an advantage over an 8K winch in pulls with line still wrapped 2 or more layers? Enough of an advantage to override the difference between a VR10-S and M8000-S?

Discuss some more.
 
I bought my M8000 because I simply needed a winch that wasn't going to let me down at the wrong time. I've been in a few situations where the winch was the only thing between me and walking home, so having a winch that is proven to be reliable is nice. I've had my M8000 for over 3 years now and haven't had a single problem with it. If you actually use your winch for its intended purpose, I would definitely consider spending more the Warn.

For example, I was running as a support truck for one of the off-road race buggies we build at my University just last weekend. About 150 yards after this photo, I lost traction, slipped downhill and ended up getting completely hung up on 1 standing tree and 2 fallen trees. Without the winch, the Jeep would have been stuck out there for a while. No way in the world that our 10HP buggy would have pulled me out.

98240
 
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Sundowner said:
What's the matter with using a better, smaller winch and a snatch block?
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Nothing. Conversely, wouldn't it be faster and simpler to use a winch with a 20% greater load capacity in those situations where an 8K winch would be at or just beyond its limit without a snatch block but a 10K winch would still have pulling capacity for a straight pull? I have not been in a position where I've said "wish I had a 10k rather than an 8K" but I'm also relatively new to snow wheeling where winch lines seem to be out much more frequently during the day than I'm used to. A lot of guys in the area where I live who frequently wheel in the snow are using 10k and 12k winches on their jeeps, hence my question.
 
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