Recommended grease for winch?

L0jik

L0jik

TJ Enthusiast
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NE Florida
I've heard many say that one of the biggest downfalls of foreign winches, not to name any names (Smittybilt), is the 'toothepaste' grease that they use. What would be the reccomended grease for a winch? Specifically one that needs to stay water proof/resistant. A specific product name would be much appreciated.
 
Warn recommends a Shell product called Aeroshell 17. It's been phased out and replaced by Aeroshell 33MS. It's about $30 a tube.

I'll be taking on the same issue because my Smittybilt winch will only free spool as far as I can pull it with my feet on the bumper and using all of my 165 pounds to pull it out. I'm going to use Amsoil Synthetic Polymeric Offroad Grease, because it seems to be roughly equivalent to the Aeroshell for about 1/3 the price.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
Warn recommends a Shell product called Aeroshell 17. It's been phased out and replaced by Aeroshell 33MS. It's about $30 a tube.

I'll be taking on the same issue because my Smittybilt winch will only free spool as far as I can pull it with my feet on the bumper and using all of my 165 pounds to pull it out. I'm going to use Amsoil Synthetic Polymeric Offroad Grease, because it seems to be roughly equivalent to the Aeroshell for about 1/3 the price.
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They've since upped the name to Aeroshell 64 lol. I bought a tube back in Feb. from the maintenance department at my local airport for $25. It's enough to rebuild like four winches.
 
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jesseshoots said:
They've since upped the name to Aeroshell 64 lol. I bought a tube back in Feb. from the maintenance department at my local airport for $25. It's enough to rebuild like four winches.
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About how much grease did it take? I’m going to have to order it and they sell it 2 oz jars or the tube.
 
I tore apart my Smitty winch a couple years ago. Removed all of the original glue (yes glue, not grease) and replaced it with actual grease - Mobilgrease 28. 20201201_220024.jpg
Works VERY MUCH better now!
 
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SvtLdr said:
I tore apart my Smitty winch a couple years ago. Removed all of the original glue (yes glue, not grease) and replaced it with actual grease - Mobilgrease 28. View attachment 207140
Works VERY MUCH better now!
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I did the same back in August. I ended up using the amsoil product I referred to in my earlier post and am happy with it so far.

And yeah, that stuff inside was less like a lubricant and more like an adhesive that takes years to cure.
 
It's pretty ridiculous, really, that it would ever pass for a grease-like substance. I found that decreased temperature seemed to make it even worse. Damn stuff got really sticky. Was tons of fun to clean it all out of the internals and case too. It was worth it though. My winch works so much better now. Free-spools far better than it ever did, even when brand new.
 
freedom_in_4low said:
Warn recommends a Shell product called Aeroshell 17. It's been phased out and replaced by Aeroshell 33MS. It's about $30 a tube.

I'll be taking on the same issue because my Smittybilt winch will only free spool as far as I can pull it with my feet on the bumper and using all of my 165 pounds to pull it out. I'm going to use Amsoil Synthetic Polymeric Offroad Grease, because it seems to be roughly equivalent to the Aeroshell for about 1/3 the price.
Click to expand...
Warn currently uses Philips Moly Low Temp #1. That Amsoil you used is a good choice as well. Most #1 weight grease with 5% moly will work well. Be aware though that if you have a winch with seals on the drum you will want to not use the moly grease on them. I use a Chevron synthetic on those surfaces.
 
Blackjack said:
Warn currently uses Philips Moly Low Temp #1. That Amsoil you used is a good choice as well. Most #1 weight grease with 5% moly will work well. Be aware though that if you have a winch with seals on the drum you will want to not use the moly grease on them. I use a Chevron synthetic on those surfaces.
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Hmm. The smittybilt has seals. Material compatibility has always been a subject i wish i understood better. So I take it that eventually the seals in my winch are gonna decide they've had enough moly and disintegrate?

Honestly, I don't hate the idea of having an excuse to upgrade, so I'm not gonna take it apart and clean it out again.
 
freedom_in_4low said:
Hmm. The smittybilt has seals. Material compatibility has always been a subject i wish i understood better. So I take it that eventually the seals in my winch are gonna decide they've had enough moly and disintegrate?

Honestly, I don't hate the idea of having an excuse to upgrade, so I'm not gonna take it apart and clean it out again.
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Some seals have less issues than others. I do not know what Smitty is using for seals so I cannot tell you if it is a big deal or not. Aeroshell 17 is murder on seals even Viton.
 
Blackjack said:
So that winch definitely uses two different greases. Moly for the gears and a smooth synthetic for the drum.
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What is an example of the smooth synthetic? I gave some areoshell on order. I’d prefer to use what’s better rather than what will work.
 
The Mobilgrease 28 that I posted above is synthetic and came recommended by Smittybuilt.
 
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