A buddy gave me a slightly used ARB bumper yesterday and I would like to know if anyone could post some pics and/ or pics advice on installing an EP9.0 Superwinch. I searched here and in the winch/ recovery forum, but there are no install pics I could find. Basically I would like to know if the clutch/gear box has to be clocked and if the solenoid pack has to be removed and relocated.
I mocked up the bumper with the winch and some Lightforce driving lights I had purchased many years ago.
First impressions are that I noticed a big difference in handling and it seems I have more of a stinkbug look, but the entire interior has been removed except the drivers seat so the lack any weight in rear isn't helping matters. Also, the fairlead that came with the Superwinch won't fit two holes for the vertical rollers and I need 1/2" spacers to allow the motor and gear housing to clear the angled portion of the bumper. I have a couple of things that I would like to mod on the bumper such as:
1. Weld on a pair of 1" thk shackle mounts
2. Slots for the highlift
3. Installation of fog lamp plastic hsg from another bumper
4. Mount a 2.5 gal air tank behind the winch with a couple of quick disconnects mounted to the bumper.
5. Installation of syn rope and Slee hawse fairlead
Yes, great thread and very clean install. I eventually found your thread a couple days later. I had taken my solenoid pack apart a couple years back and was wondering how it went back together, but I will likely remote mount the pack under the hood. How has the winch been holding up in the elements?
Since my setup popped up in one of the threads I'll throw my 2 cents out for the durability. My truck lives outdoors in the KS sun and other than disassembling, cleaning and fresh grease in 2013 I have done nothing but use it without any issues. I have been very happy with it over the last five years.
The ARB is drilled to mount the Warn fairlead. For some reason, it's slightly different than every other fairlead out there. It is possible to drill new holes and use another fairlead. But then you also won't be able to drop the pins that the vertical side rollers on the fairlead roll on through the two mounting holes in the reinforcing lip above the winch mount. The ARB has these designed in to use the winch itself to strengthen and reinforce the bumper.
After sizing things up and considering I'm running a 12k winch, I dropped the big bucks for a Warn fairlead. It's a little extra piece of mind knowing that things are bolted together the way it was designed. Which is not to say that the non-Warn parts don't work well. Plenty of folks don't bother with the upgrade and seem to do OK. Just thought I'd throw that out here, because nobody documents this (Warn, ARB, or the other winch vendors) AFAIK and it's not immediately obvious what all is involved if you're not familiar with the ARB.
When I purchased the winch over three years ago, I also got some syn line and a Slee hawse fairlead. Do you think I should just swap out the steel rope for the syn one, or should I get familiar with the winch first using the steel rope and then swap in the syn rope? This of course would mean buying a need Warn fairlead.
I've always used cable myself, but my recovery's are few and far between. I've had one in the 4 years it's been on the truck. Synth is nice stuff, worth it if that cable is going to be in and out a lot. But it's also something you have to learn to care for. Definitely, you want a synth compatible fairlead untouched by a cable, so that's a consideration.
If it was my first significant experience with the winch and I didn't have some buddies to show me the ropes with synth, I think I'd take the learning curve out oon the cable. It's cheaper to replace. That's probably even true once you factor in $100 for a Warn fairlead, but I'm sure you can do the math. Since you already have the synth, the decision is a little easier, just closely follow recs for using, padding and attachments. It also needs close inspection, while a cable tends to be more obvious that it's been damaged because the metal retains its warped position if it is.
One thing that's very important to know about all of the planetary gear drive winches is they get hot pretty fast. The enclosed motor hung right on one end tends to trap the heat. Heat is the big enemy of winches. Start off by being very observant of how quickly the motor heats up. Even unloaded, they get hot pretty fast. I'd say never plan on running one more than 20 to 30 seconds at a time once you've confirmed that's OK unloaded. Be careful you don't burn yourself until you get good at telling how hot it's getting versus how long it runs. Plan on doing pulls in short stages to limit heat buildup. Once it gets warm, even a steady 30 second pull with a load on could lead to way too much heat. Basically, these winches are not a Warn 8274...but they're way cheaper. Just be aware of their limits. Give them frequent breaks to cool.
When I purchased the winch over three years ago, I also got some syn line and a Slee hawse fairlead. Do you think I should just swap out the steel rope for the syn one, or should I get familiar with the winch first using the steel rope and then swap in the syn rope? This of course would mean buying a need Warn fairlead.
Personally, and without much experince in the area, I'd swap now. I wanted a nice clean surface for the Syntheic rope that wasn't marred by the steel rope. Plus IMHO the Dyneema is in most cases a safer setup. The wire rope that comes with the EP9 has a breaking strength near what the winch is rated to.
Otherwise winch is holding up OK...haven't used it really. A bit sun faded but otherwise just fine.
Personally, and without much experince in the area, I'd swap now. I wanted a nice clean surface for the Syntheic rope that wasn't marred by the steel rope. Plus IMHO the Dyneema is in most cases a safer setup. The wire rope that comes with the EP9 has a breaking strength near what the winch is rated to.
Otherwise winch is holding up OK...haven't used it really. A bit sun faded but otherwise just fine.
Yeah, that's a good point on using the synth on a virgin drum. Not too big a deal to dremel out any gouges/sharp lips, but it would save the hassle.
I am curious about what issues extended UV exposure may cause with synth, though. I've heard it discussed before, but can't recall if it mattered or if the rope has UV protective technology.
It would seem to matter, but I have no personal experience. I came across some reports last year, but those links I posted in a thread in the Winching and Recovery forum are no longer current, but I found this link from the same company. They reported a 12% loss in strength of rope that was "never" used after sitting on a shelf for 4 years.
I picked some 1/2" thk scrap pcs from Metal Supermarkets to space out the the winch. It just clears the bumper with them. I clocked the gear box so the clutch handle is pointing up with the feet forward mounting. The Slee hawse fairlead fits the existing holes, so I pulled off all the steel rope and I will use the Masterpull rope I purchased from Slee many years ago. The cut-out opening will have to be modified as the fairlead sits too low. I will likely mount the relay inside the bumper somewhere.
Can anyone verify where the ground wired should be hooked up to the winch? I've looked at a couple of different schematics from Superwinch and they just point to the motor body. I can feel a threaded hole near the bottom, but the winch is mounted so I don't have a good view and I would hate to remove it just to verify if this is the ground point.
Finally finished up mocking up the wiring. I decided to mount the solenoid inside the bumper which should keep it safe and hopefully out of the elements for the most part. I had purchased some Anderson connectors a while back with the intent of using them to easily remove the winch. That won't be possible now with remote mounting the solenoid, but I needed to use them anyway as the wires I already installed on my truck are too short to reach the winch motor and solenoid. I was also thinking of rigging up a quick disconnect lever to the Anderson plug to act as an emergency stop. I also went with 1/0 ga wire to match what I used on the truck from my batteries.
Nice work, canman.I really like how you tucked the Viair tank in there.
I had only one minor concern. In one pic you show the back of the winch with the three cables attached with brassy looking lugs to the various inputs. Maybe it's just the angle, but it looks like if the top lug of the two that are closest together was to loosen, it could rotate down and contact the lug below it. It's probably fine, but I like to arrange things so that there is a soft failure most likely and not something that would start smoking
