Warn M8000 Winch Breakdown - Winch Wear

13. A hex shaft is used to transfer power from the motor drive to the sun gear in the end housing. We checked for any excessive looseness between the shaft and the inner hex inside the gear.

14. For gear lubrication, Warn recommends using either Molylube 1 or Aeroshell 17 (or its replacement, Aeroshell 33SM) grease. We used Aeroshell 17, an extreme-pressure synthetic grease with wide temperature use range designed to prevent surface corrosion or seizure. It is available from aviation suppliers. We found it online at Pike Oil Company.

15. With all our parts cleaned and inspected for wear or damage, we were ready to begin reassembly. We applied a dab of grease to the end-housing bushing and a light coating of 20-weight oil on the inside of the end housing and outside of the sliding ring gear before reinstalling it in the housing. The beveled spline ends on the sliding gear should be towards the back of the end housing.

16. The first new drum bushing was lightly greased and pressed into the motor-side drum support. We applied a little grease to the motor shaft splines and slid the motor coupler back in place.

17. The drum assembly was installed and the second drum bushing installed in the other drum support plate. Each bushing has a small alignment slot.

18. We closed up the drum area and secured the drum support to the tie-rods with the two socket-head cap screws. Check that the drum spins smoothly at this point.

19. A little grease was applied to the splined drive gear, and it was inserted in the end of the drum. The hex shaft was replaced in the drum as well, fitting it into the hex end of the brake assembly.

20. Then the small sun gear was lubed and slipped into the bushing in the end housing.

21. The two smaller planetary gearsets were placed into the gear housing. Warn recommends that these assemblies be liberally greased but that the end housing not be packed fully with grease. On top of these goes the thrust washer (step-side up in this photo).

22. The largest planetary set fits on top of the thrust washer, followed by the large ring gear whose splines mate to the raised area on the face of the end housing.

23. The assembled end housing is reinstalled on the drum support and secured with the 10 screws. It's necessary to again align the ring-gear splines and the bolt holes for this attachment. The holes align every other screw hole, or every 72 degrees. Finally, the clutch lever and its seal and retainer are reassembled back onto the housing. The lower end of the lever is aligned in the sliding ring gear to operate the Free/Engage modes.

24. With the winch back together, we renewed the winch rope and installed a new abrasion guard from the guys at Rockstomper. Our winch was quieter again and ready to tackle whatever the trail would throw at us.