Leaking winch and Yota warranty problems

[saillaw]

So I replaced my winch cable with synthetic winch line (amsteel blue 5/8ths from Steve at Southeast overland). I used the winch 3 or 4 times then it started leaking red hydraulic fluid.

I thought that was strange since it is not a PTO. I took it to the local Toyota dealer, at first they said it would be covered under warranty, but they needed to order the parts and would call me when they arrived. (It's a 2013 76 series with factory winch and only about 4500km on the odo at the time).

I thought that was strange since they couldn't tell me why it was leaking and I could tell they hadn't removed the bumper to actually look at it.

About two weeks later I still hadn't heard from the dealer so I called them back and they said Toyota had rejected the claim because I had "modified" the winch by replacing the steel cable with "normal" rope. I sent a long email with the specs of the rope and lots of links showing that it is not normal rope and is in fact meant for winching. I also complained that they had not really looked at the winch and couldn't even tell me what was wrong with it. They agreed to look at it again and reconsider.

I left it with them for another day, wait two more weeks and they call me back saying that my claim is rejected because of the modification. They still can't give me any cause/effect reasoning as to how this could have caused the leak, or even tell me exactly where the leak is coming from.

Today I removed the winch. I can tell that they did not remove the bumper and there is no way they could see the winch with the bumper still attached. I removed the rope and will bring the winch one last time to try and get them to show me where it is leaking from and how the rope could have led to that leaking.

I think the fluid may be coming from the little rubber hose under the motor visible in one of the photos below. You can also see from the photos how much fluid has leaked on my driveway. I'm pretty sure my previous winches have all had grease inside, not red fluid.

I hope they come around because I think the winch appears to be well built (except for the leak ) it seems very heavy duty compared to most other winches I've seen and owned.

Is there a way to appeal something like this directly to Toyota, or am I stuck trying to deal with the local dealer?

 

[kbushnz]

That looks like ATF fluid... The little drain tube is a water drain for the electric motor...
I cant understand how there would be ATF fluid coming from this tube...
In less its going from the winch gearbox, thru the winch drum, into the motor...Not likley.
I would look further up and make sure there are no fluid leaks from the power steering pipes or ATF cooler.
Looks like your steering box is also on that side.....
There is a single tube running behind the winch. It looks like a cooler pipe and the connections look like they are behind the winch motor... Check them !!!

As for the dealer.... He needs a kick in the behind !!! As this fault could lead to an accident if you loose full control of your steering..
Or if its auto trans fluid related then you could destroy your auto ...

 

[saillaw]

Thanks but I am 99% sure the fluid is coming from the winch. There is no fluid anywhere else except for under the winch. I checked after I removed the winch and can't find any of the fluid anywhere else.

I found this old thread https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=428565&referrerid=38753 and PM'd Kzj78 who responded saying that after he disassembled and reassembled he hasn't had anymore problems.

It is definitely strange that the fluid seems to be coming from the motor side of the winch. Is it possible that the electric motor sits in a fluid bath? I've never heard of such an arrangement. It's not a small amount of fluid either. It has been leaking for more than a month now and shows no sign of stoping.

Anyone here ever tried to appeal a warranty denial directly to Toyota before? I guess if I have no luck getting them to cover it, I will try to disassemble and reseat the rings like Kzj78 did, but I'm a little nervous about disassembling the guts of the winch.

By the way, the winch is very heavy. I would guess about 40kg without any cable on it. It is very stout, i think Toyota is substantially under rating this thing.

Cheers

 

[Radd Cruisers]

The lubricant for these winches is indeed ATF, the gear housing on the opposite end is filled quite full with ATF to lubricate the gears.

If the leak is making it in to the motor, it's travelling along the winch drum internally and then passing out through the motor. On these winches, it's totally critical that they are mounted securely and can not move. It is also totally critical to never get the winch rope between the drum and the housing or it will cause problems with the winch - perhaps destroying parts of it depending on which side is affected.

I would suggest that you just take the thing apart and see which seal is leaking and what caused it. Replace the offending parts and put it back together again. The parts for these winches are not that expensive event though the winches or horrifically expensive on their own.


John

 

[saillaw]

Thanks John, I'm giving Toyota a few days to come arrow d (they said they would resubmit one more time). If they don't come around I will give your advice a try. I'm tempted to do it now but if I open it I'm sure they will no longer warranty it.

The one place where I found a replacement on line they listed the price as US$9400!!