Warn 8274 Winch

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Big Sexy

Big Sexy

10 Year
Joined
Jun 7, 2011
Threads
49
Messages
199
Location
Hendersonville North Carolina
Gentleman,

Anyone have the Warn 8274 mounted on their rig?

I've got an opportunity to purchase one with the Warn mount at a reasonable price but was concerned about mounting it without major modifications to my stock front bumper.

Pics are always the best description.

Many thanks,
Jeff
 
fj55tlc said:
I had one for a while until I realized that it was not strong enough and I could make the motor smoke even with a snatch block. I made the bumper and mounting plate.
Click to expand...

I was always under the impression these 8274 model were THE old school winch to have, (they certainly look the part) what did you end up with that was better?
 
Lil'John said:
I'm curious about what situation caused the motor to smoke.
Click to expand...

Me too. I'm pretty ignorant about winches, but I do know that vague accounts of malfunction drive me up a friggin' wall.

"It's not strong enough"

"the motor smoked"

Really not helpful due to utter and complete lack of useful background information.

Under what conditions did this happen?

Would it work under other conditions?

Is it good enough for light duty or medium duty?
 
The situation that I got the motor to smoke goes like this. I was on a hard road (Hackett Gulch before the Hayman fire) with my then stock fj55. I made the problem worse by taking the hardest line over the hardest obstacle, lovingly referred to as Hackett rock. I didn't quite make it to the top and slid back down so my tailgate was even with the ground and buried in the decomposed granite. So there are winch points in the rocks so I had plenty of winch line for the snatch block. The poor beast had to pull the cruiser almost straight up for 8 feet or so before it got easier. Do you get the mental picture?
I like to think I have gotten smarter since then.
I would have kept the warn had I not had an offer to trade for this Pierce.
I do wish that the Pierce had the line speed that the warn did, but the Pierce is crazy strong.
Don't let me talk you out of the warn. Any winch is good when you need it and they look great on the front of a fj55.
 
I like the 8274 as a period correct device on a mostly stock pig. On a pig like mine I want some strength and as streamlined as possible.
 
Thanks for all the replies.
My mind was made up regarding the merits of the 8274 before posting.
My concern was centered around mounting it...
As it turns out, the 8274 I was hoping to purchase has sold. There's another one for sale but it's over the mountain pass several hours away. I'm presently out of town for Christmas so got plenty of time to think about it.

Thanks for the replies.
Jeff
 
Don't mean to bust in on your thread, but you can more than double the horsepower of an 8274 by just dropping in the motor from the Warn 9.5XP, which is a bolt-in replacement. If you have a really old 8274 (like mine), you will also have to replace the motor pinion gear with a modern splined one instead of the original keyed one. The 9.5XP motor runs about $300 new IIRC and the splined pinion gear is about $20 I think.

I did this, and the winch is a powerhouse! I have pulled a big domestic diesel pickup w/ a 5th-wheel trailer attached, with stuff on the trailer, out of a ditch and up a steep hill, with mine. I haven't found anything yet that it won't pull. My biggest problem when winching is anchoring my 40 - keeping it from being pulled forward.
 
One of my immediate concerns when I started the resto-mod on the ‘79 was properly cooling the SBC 350. I had the radiator recored and made a very nice custom fit fan shroud. It was a great investment as the engine temp is solid at 190 degrees at idle for 30 minutes - same temp at 55-60 mph. I live just north of Seattle so temps here during summer are lower than 80% of the country.


I'm a big believer that you don't get something for nothing - everything we do impacts something else. The effect of decreased airflow to the radiator is a valid concern.

My family and I have decided on Asheville for our next place to land. Temps there are compatible with Seattle so I'm thinking that the piggy will not suffer from overheating after winch installation.


I'll post both my progress and any temp changes when I get the project completed.

Jeff
 
mine under a cover , with a high lift , does not take up much air space
20171221_123939.webp
 
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