This is the third and final part in this series on ATV winch cleaning. See ATV Winch Cleaning and Maintenance Guide Part 1 and Part 2 for steps 1 through 22 on how to clean your ATV winch.

Thanks to Todd Sandberg for the following information and photos on cleaning and maintaining your ATV winch.

Winch Cleaning Instructions (Steps 23-32)

Step 23

Once the motor is cleaned up, place the motor end cap on your table; then carefully put the motor into position on the end cap. Ensure that the armatures are aligned properly and that all 4 springs are in their respective areas and not bound up.

Position the motor on the end cap.

Step 24

Once you have the motor and motor end cap mated together, carefully slip the housing over the motor, making sure that the motor never loses contact with the motor end cap.

Slip the housing over the motor.

Step 25

Reinstall motor housing bolts into motor housing; then mate that assembly to the gear housing, making sure that the motor end cap never loses contact with the motor and motor housing. If this happens, redo steps 23 and 24, as you risk having the armatures out of place and damaging your winch. Once everything is back together properly, tighten down the motor housing bolts to secure the motor housing assembly to the gear housing assembly. If you wish to add another level of water protection, you can run a small bead of silicone on the gear housing so that once the motor housing is mated up, it forms a good weather seal. That is optional, but it won’t hurt anything, so it’s worth your time in my opinion.

Mate the motor housing to the gear housing.

Step 26

I like to run a bead of silicone around the motor housing and motor end cap joint for good measure as well.

Seal with silicone.

Step 27

Locate the gears that were removed in step 16. Clean them and inspect them for damage.

Clean and inspect gears.

Step 28

Repack them with grease just like you did in step 11; then reinstall them into the motor housing.

Repack gears with grease.

Step 29

Locate the lower bolts that were removed in step 14. Also, locate the metal plates from step 15. Reinstall the metal plates using the bolts you just located.

Reinstall the metal plates.

Step 30

Locate the top two hex bolts and connecting rods from step 14 and reinstall them into the gear.

Reinstall connecting rods.

Step 31

Clean the drum sides. Personally, I like to apply some grease on there as well so as to prevent some rusting and such. If you have a waterproof winch, make sure you account for the seals (what’s in my hand in the picture) and that they are installed in the correct position.

Clean the drum sides.

Step 32

Finally, locate the hex bolts that were removed in step 2, line up the connecting rods to the handle housing, and reconnect them using the hex bolts. Please note that during this cleaning, I changed out the handle so the pictures appear to be different, but it is indeed the same winch.

Reconnect the connecting rods.

Related Posts:

• ATV Winch Cleaning and Maintenance Guide, Part 1
• ATV Winch Cleaning and Maintenance Guide, Part 2

See ATV Winch Cleaning and Maintenance Guide, Part 1 for steps 1 through 10 on how to clean your ATV winch.

Thanks to Todd Sandberg for the following information and photos on cleaning and maintaining your ATV winch.

Winch Cleaning Instructions (Steps 11-22)

Step 11

After cleaning and inspection of gears, repack all gears with grease. One thing to note is that the more you put in there, the more resistance the winch will have in freespool mode, especially for those in colder winter climates, as the grease will get a bit tighter in the cold.

Repack the gears with grease.

Step 12

Reassemble gear assembly; then reinstall the complete assembly into the housing.

Reassemble gears.

Step 13

Reinstall the two rectangular nuts in the housing. Once they are put into position, locate the two metal plates that were removed in step 6, put them into position and secure using the two hex bolts which were removed in step 5. Set this completed assembly aside for later use. Sorry, no pics. I forgot to take them for this step.

Step 14

Locate the motor housing and remove the top two hex bolts and the two connecting rods. Lubricate the two hex bolts with spray lubricant and set those aside with the connecting rods for later use. At this time, also remove the two bottom hex bolts which retain the two metal plates to the housing. Take note of the orientation of the metal plates. After bolts are removed, apply some spray lubricant on the threads; then set aside for later use.

Remove the two top hex bolts and connecting rods.

Step 15

Remove the two metal plates, clean, and set aside.

Remove and clean the two metal plates.

Step 16

Remove gears from housing and set aside. Take note of the two rectangular nuts that are located in the housing (in the picture below, they are located in the bottom right corner).

Remove gears from housing.

Step 17

Clean housing gears and look for any damage, such as chipped teeth.

Clean housing gears.

Step 18

Remove the two motor housing bolts, apply some spray lubricant, and set them aside for later use. Take note that these are NOT the terminal posts for the battery cables.

Remove the two motor housing bolts.

Step 19

Remove motor end cap, taking note of the armatures and also the springs underneath the armatures…do not lose those springs! If your winch is a waterproof model, take note of the rubber O-ring on the end of the cap. Clean the inside of the cap as well as the terminals and set aside for later use.

Clean the end cap and terminals.

Step 20

Remove motor housing from gear housing.

Remove motor housing from gear housing.

Step 21

Remove motor from motor housing.

Remove motor from motor housing.

Step 22

Take note of the condition of the motor end which (when fully assembled) is in constant contact with the armatures. It should be a shiny and untarnished surface. In the picture below, it is dirty. If yours is dirty, clean up that contact area by using a wire brush, fine file, or fine sandpaper.

Examine the motor end.

Read more…

Continued in Part 3 of the ATV Winch Cleaning and Maintenance Guide (Steps 23-32)

Ready to tackle cleaning your ATV winch? These detailed, step-by-step instructions will help you take apart the winch, clean and re-grease it, and put it back together again.

Cleaning your ATV winch is not required for maintenance, but it’s a great way to make your winch last longer and run newer. Just like any other mechanical device, the gears and other parts get worn down with use. A little TLC will go a long ways in making your winch last for years of use. The more you use or abuse your winch, the more often it will need to be cleaned. Most guys who clean their winches do it on an annual basis.

Thanks to Todd Sandberg for submitting the following article and photos on cleaning an ATV winch!

Winch Cleaning Instructions (Steps 1-10)

Step 1

Start by getting together some brake/parts cleaner, some shop rags, lithium grease (or marine grease will do too), an Allen/hex wrench, 10mm wrench or socket, spray lubricant (WD40, JB80, or something similar) and a couple standard head screwdrivers and (optional) RTV silicone (I prefer the black silicone, but I was out so I used blue in this writeup). Ignore the hammer you see in later pictures. I just used that to very gently tap a part which is not discussed in these instructions. A cup of coffee can help too! If you’d like to keep your hands cleaner, then you can wear a pair of latex gloves (or something similar if you’re allergic to latex).

These are the items you need to clean your winch.

Step 2

Start by removing the top two head bolts on the handle side of the winch.

Remove top two head bolts.

Step 3

Separate the two halves and set the motor half aside for later use. The motor half has the two posts on the casing for the battery cables.

Separate the two halves.

Step 4

Remove center spindle, noting that the end with the spring goes into the motor side of the winch.

Remove center spindle.

Step 5

Remove the two bottom hex bolts which retain the two metal plates to the housing. Take note of the orientation of the metal plates. After bolts are removed, apply some spray lubricant on the threads; then set aside for later use.

Remove two bottom bolts.

Step 6

Remove the two metal plates, clean, and set aside.

Remove metal plates.

Step 7

Remove gears from housing and set aside. Take note of the two rectangular nuts that are located in the housing (in the picture below, they are located in the bottom right corner).

Remove gears from housing.

Step 8

Remove center triangular shaped cam and clean cam. Clean housing gears and look for any damage, such as chipped teeth.

Remove and clean cam and gears.

Step 9

Apply grease to the cam and reinstall cam into housing.

Apply grease and reinstall cam.

Step 10

Locate the gear assembly which was removed in step 7 and take gear assembly apart, taking note of the orientation of the 3 gears. Clean the gears thoroughly and inspect for any damage.

Take apart gear assembly and clean.

Read more…

Continued in Part 2 of the ATV Winch Cleaning and Maintenance Guide (Steps 11-22)