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Ramsey Winch Rebuild 101
Brian “ College Boy” Gabriel
We spend a lot of time and money on our rigs in this
sport. Countless hours and sleepless nights are spent
getting that new modification or upgrade done in
time for the upcoming wheeling adventure. No matter
how far ahead of time we start preparing, most of the
time we are still tightening the last couple of bolts at
3am when we have a 6am departure time to head to
the trail. Why do we beat ourselves up and deprive
ourselves of sleep and miss out on the new episode of
Duck Dynasty? The payoff from the first adrenalin rush
from conquering that first big obstacle makes it all
worthwhile!
The buzz kill that every wheeler has encountered
during their offroading career is getting stuck in goopy
mud, wedged in a rock garden, or a big tree is across
the trail and you forgot your chainsaw in kitchen (don’t
judge me). Most of us have learned from past mistakes
or knew better in the first place and purchased a winch
for reliable recovery on the front of our rig. My winch
paid for itself after the second recovery it was used on.
Without it, I honestly don’t know how long it would
have been before I got someone with the right equipment to come help me out.
An even bigger buzz kill than that is venturing into
questionable terrain with the comfort of knowing you
have a winch. It’s not something you think about until
it’s too late and you winch is not responding to input
from the controller. Your winch is a very important
piece of safety equipment that needs to be reliable. After 9 years of use, sitting out in the weather, and a few
backwoods repairs to the wiring and motor brushes,
I knew it was only a matter of time before my Ramsey
REP 8000 winch was going to be leaving my high and
dry, and it was going to be no one’s fault but my own.
Equipment needs maintenance.
Step 1: RESEARCH!
Do a google search and print off of copy of the User
Manual for your model. If you can’t find one readily
available online, then give the manufacturer a call and
they will gladly get a copy to you one way or the other.
This manual gave a really good description of how to
tear down the planetary so that the user could change
the position of the engagement lever. While I was not
altering that, it did save me a lot of time by explaining
the proper procedure of tear down.
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April 2014
Step 2: Remove the two bolts holding the motor to the
bearing housing. While I know how to tear down and repair
mechanical items, I am not savvy in the world of electric
motors. I found a local electric motor repair shop, and for
$75 they replaced the brushes, polished the armature, and
tested everything to make sure it was 100% functioning
and reliable. It turns out I had some loose components and
it was a ticking time bomb until it failed. Take a look at what
a new motor costs though. For the REP 8000 a new motor
was $240, so it made sense to go for the rebuild in this case.
I have seen other motors for much less than that though
brand new.
Step 3: Remove the cable, being careful not to cur your
hands on any kinks or frays. This is a good time to inspect
your cable and determine if it needs replaced. Keep in mind
that kinks and frays are a stress riser in the cable and significantly reduce the load capacity.
Step 4: Remove the 6 screws holding on the planetary cover.
Place the winch vertically on the bench with the planetary
side down and carefully lift the drum off of the planetary.