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Chris' Winch Project - LONG!

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  • Chris' Winch Project - LONG!

    I'm really excited tonight because my boat anchor of a winch is now a jewel on the front of my jeep. AND IT WORKS!!!!! :cocktail:

    I had been shopping for a winch for months. The chinese imports were looking awfully appealing. I kept shopping ebay and the forums, and one day this guy in Tulare runs this ad on Pirate for an 8274 WARN in "good condition" for $450. Now, I should have known better when it was that cheap and the guy says "I bought it about 6 years ago and had it on my Scout and never used it. It's just dirty and corroded from sitting out."

    So my research says they are the grand-dadddy of all winches, the fastest in the land, but $1200 for a new one? Out of the question. This one sounds like a good deal for a third less, it "just needs to be cleaned up a little". Yeah, right, that's what HE said.

    I Paypal'd him the $$ and a week or two later I got a buddy of mine that lives in Bakersfield to go get it for me. It sat in his garage for a month or so before another friend met him up in Barstow at an event and picked it up for me.

    Here's what I got:




    So I disassemble his 100lb beast and start cleaning and fixing. Strip off the old cable, take the rats nest of a control box off and start cleaning and polishing. It looks like new inside! The control box cover is broken, and it's just held on to the motor with a couple of giant hose clamps. BOGUS SETUP!!

    With some more research online about relocating the solenoid box under the hood, and running a lead to the plug-in for the remote and installing it under the drivers headlight, I got clean remote wiring and controls. I source Amsteel 3/8" rope, found a cool laser cut billet fairlead, and re-finished the old beast with urethane automotive enamel.

    In a couple of days of hard work I have a restored winch:



    I had to source a mount from Hansen Bumpers, and fit it to one of their front bumpers with an integrated winch mount. Double cost for an upright winch!

    I spent another day just fabricating 2 guage welding cables to run power and ground to it. But IT WORKS!! And it works Great!! I am so excited.

    I called WARN today and they told me how to ground it. They also told me based on it's serial number and components, it's about 25 years old. So as far as I'm concerned, it's a freakin' antique to boot!

    The good news is that ALL of the parts are interchangeble with a new one. Just minor updates. AND, they are sending me new cable boots, and a big red WARN insignia, FOR FREE!!. Gotta love it.



    Guess I need to splurge for a new OPTIMA!!

  • #2
    Saweet winch! 8274 is a classic and no heat problems to wear down your synthetic rope! Did the winch bring the front end down much?
    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
    2003 TJ Rubicon: 4.5" OME coils; RE SF2; NthDegree TT/oilpan skid/shock shifters; FXD rock rails; Anti-Rock; 5150'

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    • #3
      Thats frickin sweet! Looks great! What a find!

      Michael
      1996 Jeep Cherokee Sport
      3" Rough Country Lift

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      • #4
        Sweet Winch Chris!
        [COLOR=blue]Chris[/COLOR]
        SAVE JOHNSON VALLEY!!! - CLICK HERE
        Ya Savvy?

        Motech Performance

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        • #5
          Awesome!!I love seeing those old winches brought back to life.Most people won't part with them.
          "Good Girls and Dirty Jeeps" a song by Opal Justice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xRtRE45OVQ

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          • #6
            That came out really nice!
            ASM REAPER BUGGY ON 40'S SOLD
            00 TJ ON 37'S SOLD
            97zj ON 36'S SOLD

            04 CUMMINS CRAWLER HAULER

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            • #7
              jmbrowning

              Originally posted by jmbrowning
              Saweet winch! 8274 is a classic and no heat problems to wear down your synthetic rope! Did the winch bring the front end down much?
              With the old galvanized cable gone it knocks about 25lbs off the weight. It maybe dropped the front end a quarter inch. Heck, you don't even notice it's there.

              It is a nice design for synthetic. I enjoyed the European sites showing competition Rovers with modified winches. Some cool setups. Neat colors too, like yellow and red. I went dark gray like the newer models. Warn started powder coating the housings about 7 years ago.

              I used POR15 on the drum, and it has a hole in the hollow drum so you can tie a knot in the end of the rope. With it stretched tight onto the drum there's no way it can slip. A lot of the newer winches have the little swaged fitting onthe end of the rope, and they can pull out. Way cool setup.

              Thanks for reading :thumbs_up

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              • #8
                Winch looks great... Great job restoring it!
                Scott Poliseno
                www.4x4garage.com

                The trouble with political jokes is that very often they get elected.

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                • #9
                  Great job ! Looks really good , major props for the restore.

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                  • #10
                    I concur with everyone else. I was concerned with how it started with you buying what looked to be a basket case. But MAN you did a KILLER job! So what was the total investment?
                    '95 YJ 4 banging powerhouse.
                    www.longtallsally.50megs.com

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                    • #11
                      Winch Investment

                      Originally posted by longtallsally
                      I concur with everyone else. I was concerned with how it started with you buying what looked to be a basket case. But MAN you did a KILLER job! So what was the total investment?
                      Winch $450
                      Amsteel 3/8X100' rope $185
                      2 guage welding wire $40
                      Fairlead $40
                      HD Hook $22
                      New Warn sticker and terminal boots - FREE from WARN!
                      winch total $737

                      Winch mount $95
                      Bumper $200

                      Grand Total $1032

                      Plus a lot of elbow grease and some left over automotive enamel I had hanging around, and some POR15 for the spool.

                      When I loaded the spool under tension it damn near killed my battery, so I'm going to have to spring for an Optima one of these days. Pep Boys has them for $149. Unloaded real-in is REALLY fast!

                      Thanks for the compliments.

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                      • #12
                        Again, very cool. You might check out Costco on the Optima battery as I think they are a bunch less. I use a dual red top setup.
                        '95 YJ 4 banging powerhouse.
                        www.longtallsally.50megs.com

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                        • #13
                          Before you buy an optima, check out the odyssey battery line up. Much smaller and more reliable than any optima. They are small enough to fit two in the stock tray.
                          ASM REAPER BUGGY ON 40'S SOLD
                          00 TJ ON 37'S SOLD
                          97zj ON 36'S SOLD

                          04 CUMMINS CRAWLER HAULER

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                          • #14
                            I second the Odyssey battery suggestion.....
                            olllllllo <--- If you can read that, roll me over!

                            Price is soon forgotton, quality is not.

                            KG6OWO

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                            • #15
                              Odessey Batteries

                              Yeah, I saw them at my local offroad shop but wasn't sure what they were.

                              If two will fit in a stock battery tray that would be cool. Especially if they are 750cca each. Do you recommend an isolator or just run them parallel?

                              Thanks!!

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