Think my winch motor is fried.

[austinaubinoe]

I recently installed my 10 year old Warn M8000i on my XJ and it just clicked....so I guessed that the solenoids were ok and the problem was in the motor.

I took out those 2 long bolts and pulled the end cap off, it was full of grayish powder and the motor looked corroded. water had definitely gotten in.

Can I bring the motor to a shop that does alternators or something to be rebuilt? I read that even if water dosent kill it, the brushes wear out (sounds just like an alt!)

I unbolted the 2 long bolts, 3 cables from the top of the motor and the ground connection on the bottom of the motor. The motor pulls away from the winch like a quarter of an inch, but no more. So, how the heck does the motor come of the winch body. The winch is still on the jeep.


Thanks!

 

[jeeperjohn]

You probably have to remove a sprocket from the motor shaft before it will slide out.

 

[austinaubinoe]

This is a magnet piece that fell out when I pulled the outer motor shell off the inner rotating assembly.


This is the broken magnet (im touching it with my finger):

 

[austinaubinoe]

better picture of assembly:

How do you think this motor looks? Its a little corroded but it is 10 years old. Whats a good way to clean this up? Brake cleaner?? it spins smooth and without much resistance.

The thing at the very end isnt a ball bearing is it? it doesn't spin, but looks like a bearing.

 

[austinaubinoe]

Side note: winch rope.

it has seen better days, but would you consider the rope in the pic to be dangerous? Its not frayed or torn, just a little discolored from UV and rust.

 

[gm tech]

yea that thing is a bearing, well was. and its prolly locked up thats why it wont spin.

 

[ECKSJAY]

Yeah, that's a bearing. If you want to screw with it, you'll at LEAST need a new bearing and a new brush kit (that 'magnet' you found is one of the brushes...and they're soldered to the braided copper where your finger is in that pic). To clean up that motor armature you will want to brush off the copper contacts just in front of that bearing (they're copper, just very gray in the pic!). After brushing you can use a little sandpaper to bring it to a bright finish for good contact. For cleaning you'll need to use electrical cleaner (it comes in a can like brake clean). If the drum looks like the motor, you'll need a ton of work and a new brake kit. For the money, you'll be awfully close in price to a brand new M8000. If it were me and I wanted to keep that winch, I'd just get a new motor and brake kit, assuming nothing else inside is wrong.

I should note that even cleaning up that motor and tossing a couple of parts at it is a real gamble and probably not worth the time or $40 or so...

 

[austinaubinoe]

Yeah, that's a bearing. If you want to screw with it, you'll at LEAST need a new bearing and a new brush kit (that 'magnet' you found is one of the brushes...and they're soldered to the braided copper where your finger is in that pic). To clean up that motor armature you will want to brush off the copper contacts just in front of that bearing (they're copper, just very gray in the pic!). After brushing you can use a little sandpaper to bring it to a bright finish for good contact. For cleaning you'll need to use electrical cleaner (it comes in a can like brake clean). If the drum looks like the motor, you'll need a ton of work and a new brake kit. For the money, you'll be awfully close in price to a brand new M8000. If it were me and I wanted to keep that winch, I'd just get a new motor and brake kit, assuming nothing else inside is wrong.

I should note that even cleaning up that motor and tossing a couple of parts at it is a real gamble and probably not worth the time or $40 or so...

thanks for the long response, really educational.

The 3 other "brushes" look ok, just that piece that broke off is the problem. Im going to get some electrical cleaner and wire brush/ polish everything.


Its there a cheaper place besides WARN that I can get a new bearing and 4 brushes? The solenoids are very clean and the clutch assembly looks good.

What do you mean by brake? I know winches have brakes, but dont really know what or where it is. Is it those 4 fairly large magnets bolted to the sides of the outer motor cover?

I know what you mean about putting in more $$$ then its worth. Might just throw it on my sisters WJ for looks and get myself a new Hydraulic winch!

 

[ECKSJAY]

thanks for the long response, really educational.

The 3 other "brushes" look ok, just that piece that broke off is the problem. Im going to get some electrical cleaner and wire brush/ polish everything.


Its there a cheaper place besides WARN that I can get a new bearing and 4 brushes? The solenoids are very clean and the clutch assembly looks good.

What do you mean by brake? I know winches have brakes, but dont really know what or where it is. Is it those 4 fairly large magnets bolted to the sides of the outer motor cover?

I know what you mean about putting in more $$$ then its worth. Might just throw it on my sisters WJ for looks and get myself a new Hydraulic winch!

The brushes come in an assembly that consists of the entire rear plastic housing with all 4 brushes. That's as far as that is meant to break down. Usually runs about $30 for the whole thing. The bearing would be available from a parts house that has a good selection of bearings...if you could get the number off of it (unlikely with as corroded as it is).

The magnetic coils inside the motor housing are epoxied on, as well as connection made to the ground with the big screws. They're not coming off (at least not very easy!). The brake is inside the drum, which is where your splined motor shaft is stuck at the moment (likely rusted together!). I would venture to guess that the inside of your drum is rusted to hell, which means the brake is stuck...which also means lots of friction/heat to kill that rope and cause a huge amp draw on the motor. Take a look at this link for a breakdown of an M8000 (same principle as yours, just without the integrated solenoids).

http://www.fourwheeler.com/techarticles/electrical/129_0708_warn_m8000_winch_breakdown/index.html

As for hydraulic...they're nice because they're instant on/off, but they're usually slow as hell. We put the hydraulic winch guys in the back of our lines so we're not stuck waiting on them.