Posts : 5943 Join date : 2009-07-15 Age : 44 Location : Celina, Tennessee
Subject: KFI U4000W upgraded to 4500lbs Fri Oct 22, 2010 8:59 pm
A few weeks ago my rocker switch went bad, tripped the winch, bent my mounting bracket, and stalled the winch before I could get to the rhino and switch the ignition off. After I replaced the switch I found my winch would work at times but some times would not so I pulled the motor apart to find one of the magnets had broken, I suppose from the stress, heat, and abuse of time. I also found it had been wet and was rusty so I called Corey to find they offered the motors for sale separately but had upgraded the 4000 to 4500 so I ordered a replacement 4500lbs motor.
I got the replacement motor today and decided to remove, clean, and regrease the gear box while I had it apart. After clean up and assembly my winch works great and is a lot quiter now.
Here is a short video with a few pictures and at the end is a short video of how quite and smooth the winch is now..
Moto92 Extreme Mudder
Posts : 999 Join date : 2010-06-02 Age : 47 Location : Mt. Vernon, IL
Subject: Re: KFI U4000W upgraded to 4500lbs Fri Oct 22, 2010 9:14 pm
mine needs some work too. i cant get mine to free spool anymore. i hope its just something like sand and dirt. just not real sure about taking apart a winch. im real screwed if i cant put it back together
Mud-and-Guts Admin
Posts : 5943 Join date : 2009-07-15 Age : 44 Location : Celina, Tennessee
Subject: Re: KFI U4000W upgraded to 4500lbs Fri Oct 22, 2010 9:57 pm
Moto92 wrote:
mine needs some work too. i cant get mine to free spool anymore. i hope its just something like sand and dirt. just not real sure about taking apart a winch. im real screwed if i cant put it back together
If it is like my KFI their is nothing to taking them apart.. Just around 6 allen head screws one Phillips head, and one clip to fully disassemble.. If I had known it was so easy I would have done it before..lol From now on I think I will be disassembling the gearbox on mine atleast once per year.
I wish I had gotten a video of taking it apart and reassembly but I never thought about it till it was to late. Maybe next time..
As far as free spooling their is a bearing on mine which was getting tight and was causing the engage/disengage switch to be real stiff. I greased the bearing along with everything else in the gear box and mine spins freely now.. I'm not sure what brand you have but KFI offers bearing and from my understanding about any replacement part you could want separately and very reasonable.. The complete 4500lbs motor was 44$ plus shipping..
Have you ever used your winch when it was submerged? I know you have and so have I, from what I understand that is the problem.. Winches are designed water resistant and can be submerged without getting water into them but if you use them while they are submerged the motor and gear box will create a vacuum and suck water into them which will break down the grease and cause premature failure..