Bad Winch Motor Superwinch Talon 12.5

[RayRay27]

All,

Just wanted to share this with you real quick that way you don't end up in the same situation as I did. I have had my Superwinch Talon 12.5 SR for about 18 months now and the motor was completely toast already. I purchased it brand new from Amazon and I have only used it a handful of time on light loads, never to the max. The winch has never been submerged and if I wash my truck I never directly spray the winch itself. I contacted Superwinch to get a replacement. I asked them if this is a common occurrence for Superwinch motors to fail after less than two years and obviously they said no. Well after 2 months I finally got a replacement motor free of charge from Superwinch and this is what I found inside once I swapped out the motors today.

I noticed right off the bat that the two long studs that hold the motor to the main body/frame of the winch were not tight and fairly easy to unbolt. Once I slid the motor off I could see the whole inside was corroded. From what I could tell the motor had filled up with water/moisture over time and just toasted it. The swap wasn't too much of a pain. Reinstalling the rope itself was a major pain in the arse.

So my advise to anyone who owns a Talon series Superwinch, double check the two long bolts holding the winch motor on and if they are loose I recommend removing the motor just enough to check the condition of the gasket and see if there is any corrosion inside the motor itself.

Cheers!

 

[Dragos80]

Hold on a second.
You said 2 bolts holding the motor to the main body. Aren't there supposed to be 4 bolts?

 

[RayRay27]

No, there are only two. There is a forward and an aft bolt.

 

[red mud fj]

Looks like it was used for a boat anchor! I have drowned every winch I have owned and none ever look like that.

 

[Dragos80]

?

 

[Blasst]

I'm surprised to hear this. In winch shootouts they have usually come out at the top. I suspected they were made by Comeup since they use the Comeup patented brake. The new waterproof series they now offer is the fastest 12,000 lb winch around. Same as the Warn 12 Zeon platinum series. They have setup their facility in Oregon and have gotten great press. Also make winches for the military. They have a very interesting way of waterproofing their latest series. So I am expecting good things out of them.
I read a winch test where they used the winches to their stall point. In this case it was a 9.5 Superwinch and a Warn 9.5 still in the game.
After the stall point test they each reached 16,000 lbs. The Warn imploded and the Supewinch would no longer come on or work. So they put the Superwinch in 2nd place. ) I am watching them and hoping this new waterproof series is a kick ass winch. It has the best overall specs around these days. The 12,000 lb model is super fast. So I have been keeping my eye on that company.
cheers,
Jim

 

[RayRay27]

?

View attachment 1620587

I know you would think 4 but there are only two. I marked up the following photos. The bottom photo shows the two studs. There vertical in the photo but are horizontal when you install the motor. The top photo you can almost see the threads inside of the hole.

 

[RecklessTacoma]

Did it seize up or just not turn. My field coil took a crap on me due to bad solenoid. Was wanting to know how it failed. Needing the case parts.

 

[Pin_Head]

I have seen a lot of winch motors that looked worse, but still ran. If they sit a long time without running, sometimes the motor housing needs a good smack to seat the brushes.