Rebuilding a 20 YEAR OLD Warn HIGH MOUNT Winch 

Great work rebuilding the winch 👍 Don't forget to mark/paint the cable at the 1 or 2 metre mark (from the drum end). That way you don't accidentally unwind the entire cable during long distance winching.

You should put a winch on the back of the Nissan, Liam. That way when you get the old Datto' up the top of an impossible track, you can pull the Toyota's up!

To be honest it sounds a bit like two things. Slightly undersize cable, and the battery voltage dropping as the winch flattens the battery. Really needs two batteries in parallel as it will be drawing 200 or more amps, so no way any alternator will keep up.

Some tips: Stock 80 series alternator is only 80A, but you can still help by holding engine rpm at 2000 which is about where the alternator is at max output. Mine has a hand throttle so you can lock the rpm at a set number while winching. The alternator supplements the crank battery but isn't the main source of current for the winch. All winches have a duty cycle, say 60 seconds on 2 minutes off, to let the motor cool but also let the crank battery recharge. With no load at all the winch will pull about 80A. Under load it will easily be in the hundreds of Amps. The motor is essentially a starter motor so you are holding the starter on the entire way up that hill, really bad for your crank battery. If using a secondary deep cycle battery, it can be done but its not good as a deep cycle is designed for capacity instead of instantaneous high amp output like your crank battery. The more rolls on the winch (near the top of the hill) the less leverage the winch has so it will struggle more than when you started.

Ah dude please run oil in it, they are splash lubed and rely on oil being flicked around for lube, greased m8274s always have terrible wear in them when I have rebuilt them. They only take a small amount of oil, 80w90 is perfect

Great vid lads, awesome to see these old winches being rebuilt and used. From my experience high mounts suck alot of juice from the battery system. I run 2 parallel crank batteries for this reason and a high output alternator to keep the winch pulling strong.

This was a good video and the comments from knowledgable people is great. I've learnt something new. Looking forward to the next winch test.

Great video. Thank you! When you winched up the hill, keep in mind that as the rope spools up on the drum, it’s getting thicker and therefore loosing mechanical advantage. It makes since that it would slow down if under load, all else being equal. In addition, your alternator is likely not putting out as much juice as the winch is using, so the battery is draining as well.

Great to see. I’m actually heading out the shed to install my old PTO winch on my 47.

That was really nice to watch love how you make your video you explained everything so well and gave confidence to fix my own also lovely to see Liam again its been a while

When’s the next episode on Dan’s GQ Patrol?

At full load those winches can need over 600 amps. 2/0 cable and 2 x batteries in parallel is the preferable setup.

Always use gear oil, the grease is a temporary solution only and won't lube the gears properly when it gets hot.

Rule of thumb when winching, 30 seconds on, 30 off.. it lets the winch cool, and allows the battery to recover- also the cable looks ok, but it never hurts to have thicker gauge cable 👌

I had the same winch back in the day and I found that it got really hot with my cruiser that weighed heaps easy fix and pretty cheap I always used a snatch block, used it all round Australia up the cape never let me down halves the load on the winch, love your vids young dudes having a crack keep it up

These winches are legendary.

Pull the free spool knob out & pull the cable out by hand rather than waste battery power winding it out. Don't turn your car off for a while after winching to let your battery charge back up & run at high idle to speed the recharge.

Hey mate, just discovered your channel and loving it, your a legend. Im old now but you remind me of me when I was your age just having a go at everything. Just one thing, the bushing you made, it needs to be made of BRONZE, not brass. It wont last long and brass will flog out very fast. I had a high mount in my MQ Patrol in the early 90's, unbeatable winch. great work mate, respect 👍

That winch is a work of Art! Mint! Very nice resto! Old one is better!

A lot of the race winches have upgraded motors and gear sets for faster winching. Also they often upgrade the cable to 0b&s over the 2b&s cable they come with so it can pull more power. Additionally if you use the hand throttle to give the 80 some more revs that can help keep up the power while winching.

Nice work guys 👍

My man said "We have test FISTED this winch!" Absolutely love it

Great video guys! Good to see the old high mount getting rebuilt. Have a look at daniel kistlers RU-vid channel, he has a high mount redwinch that he runs off 24v. He explains a lot of things, well worth a watch

I see some new/un-used WARN 8274 drums with new cable on eBay that were taken off new 8274 winches at Roadrunner offroad for $315. Those 8274 winches are beasts with fast line speeds, up the motor to 6.5HP for better results, cheap as chips online for a new WARN one. Can't beat a WARN winch, I'd bet even your old one would still do a recovery.

can't believe I'm the only one gonna talk about the brass ring you made. I think your play originally was because you were missing the oil seal that attaches into the ring. Looking for water trouble without that oil seal! The grease was cause your drum seal not being great. well, one only uses 6 oz. of 30 W oil so a leak is probably not going to happen up where the seal is o. the drum. I think you need to rebuild the brake mechanism with the correct ring and seal. It's gearing is designed to carry oil up to the gears above as it is working. I also add about one oz. of Lucas oil stabilizer.

Oh Man.... I'm enjoying your videos so much ☺️😊☺️ Keep it up! One suggestion though, instead of steel cable it's better to go with synthetic rope!

This is a Warn High Mount Winch, now this has kindly been donated to me by a mate. Thanks dad haha... Liam must be a bit jealous of Pat bahaha

good vid guys. If i can throw my thoughts in then when you mention winch and intend to use them regularly then big amp delivery capabilities are a must and basically that means an extra battery. If you intend to use it once or twice a year then hey, what's the bother in just giving it a spell when in use so the alternator can catch up..be aware that after a good winching sesh that you need to top your battery up to ensure you have optimal engine cranking ability or you might start having cranking problems. Your call though mate, and its dependant on your intended usage. Keep us posted though please..

Yay. It’s finally Sunday. 🇦🇺🇦🇺

This is great...you right...there is something about a high mount every 4wdriver likes...I do notice you can get a twin motor mount if its work load is not up to standard. Nice rebuild

Nice rebuild. You have to increase the rpm - pump in more charge to the battery.

Really liking your content buddy. I've got a dodgy old tigerz 11 winch on mine that needs some love one day when I get around to it.

GOOD ON YOU BOYS, I LIKE YOU KEEPING THINGS SIMPLE FOR THE POOR MANS FIXES. NOT EVERYONE HAS A FIST FULL OF CASH.

The old 8274 Warn. Still the best of them all.

Pat, use the idle-up when winching to keep the voltage up for the charging system or you'll end up killing your battery. Also, I'd be looking at a minimum 800CCA battery for that high mount to handle the current draw from the winch motor. 🤠👌

yep ! u guys are right I reckon the voltage speed and the motor did sound low . altho I wasn't expecting u guys to say this .. I was also thinking maybe the gear ratios being high mount are a bit different .. I wonder if it was supposed to be a 24v winch ?

Nice work. I’m still using my warn that I bought 26 years ago. It’s been on a my 60 and now my 80. It’s better then any modern Chinese stuff. I also changed it to a Solid state solenoid. Those old original warn Solenoids are so temperamentally dodgy. I think you just ran the Battery down. If you were really stuck you’d be revving it and probably winching for shorter burst.

need thicker cable mate , and also run some Dyneema rope to , i run 40 meters , and 95 mm cable from tycab

Good vid boys, I built a highmount for my ln106 and it started similar to this rebuild until I started trying to get more line speed and still be reliable. Honestly rope is so much safer and I just run oil and change the oil every service as they can suck a bit of water in. Also definitely worth doing a few cheap mods even though it's a touring rig, like drilling and tapping the brake shaft as the circlip can break and you'll loose your brake assembly. A lot of people drill a hole in the freespool lever so it can pinned with a r clip because the freespool lever can pop out while the winch is under heavy load. It's definitely worth drilling and tapping a breather in the top hat and run a line up to where your diff breathers are. This can also be used as a oil filler.

I really agree on using synthetic cable instead of the steel. Definitely winch is bogging down mate. Needs more juice. Dual battery setup and a higher supply of alternator should do the trick

I think the comp guys run these on 24 volts. You will need 2 12v batteries in parallel and toss the steel rope - just bending the steel rubbish over the spool robs considerable power from the motor.

Love your channel, Important to know that as you winch in the drum diameter increases and this reduces your line pull significantly. So the rated pull of the winch is ONLY for the first layer of cable on the drum. 4 or 5 layers later the drum diameter is larger, thus reducing pull. Always use clutch when pulling cable out. And have a dedicated battery for winch. In the wrong hands and heat of the moment winches are lethal pieces of kit. Winch safe my friends 😊

I was a Toyota dealership mechanic that process you did was brilliant 👏 We never took things apart just replacing so imagine new actuator 2400 + 580 for New relay plus labour . 5k 😂

Great video mate. Could you please advise me on your solenoid ie power ratings & would I be able to to use the same one on my Warn 9.5 winch like your old winch. Cheers

You need a bigger battery (ideally another) and bigger cables for sure. Put a switch in to connect your aux battery to the start battery in parallel and switch it on if you need to do a hard pull.

Those early M8274's are a bit slower than the later ones. For starters, they only have a 2.1 horsepower motor, which is not a lot for the gear ratio of 134:1 - most winches are in the 200-300:1 range. Secondly, at full load they only have a line speed of 0.4 metres per minute at 585 amps current draw. Their reputation for speed comes from modified examples, and the later M8274-50 examples. They have a 4.6 horsepower motor which is more like it for the gear ratio. They have a line speed at full load of 2.6 metres per minute at 480 amps current draw.

Nice vid

Great refurbishment boys. Consider replacing the steel cable with a synthetic rope - much safer - No steel splinters and synthetic rope actually has a higher breaking strain. When a steel cable breaks that can tear a person in half. ( not that anyone should be in between the rig and the anchor point in any case). The synthetic ropes far less lethal, but can still give you a nasty injury if you get hit by it if it snaps. and you can splice them together if they do break. Also remove the steel hook and use a soft shackle. Those metal hooks also sometimes sheer and are a projectile.

Personally I would go for plasma rope on the highmount. To save a little bit of weight and it's a lot easier to work with than cable. Edit: I can understand why you used the cable from your old winch. Money doesn't grow on trees. Remember to please add a winch isolater in the cab. 🙏 Winch in and out controls (on a rocker switch) is also not a bad idea so that it's a lot quicker to start winching when in a tricky situation. Usually you or someone else is in a tricky spot when a winch is required. So that extra but of time can be a good idea.

I'd go a step further and have the motor rewound by the guy that did your center diff motor....as old as it is I'm sure you're loosing power and building too much heat no reason to risk a 🔥...also it'd be smart to get some synthetic rope and a new style hook on it.... lovin' the show from freezing cold OHIO USA

Well it looks like I better check my winch. It was on my jeep and works great but have never serviced it. No clue if it has oil of grease. Great video now of to the garage to check my winch for oil.

Replace the lights with two small light bars in the holes on your Bull Bar. Need to fill those ASAP.

Do a voltage drop test on your cables pos and neg to see if you have too much voltage drop. across the cables or just too much in general also give the 80 a few revs to get the alternator to put out some more amps when winching. If you want a faster winch speed fit a larger motor those old factory ones were only like 2.5hp or 4.6hp i think from memory. you can buy a bullet 6.8 hp motor for around $450 but you will need to have big enough cable and battery cca and or an alternator that can keep up with the current draw. Also the brake shaft mod / upgraded replacement is a good idea if reliability is your goal.

Definitely bogging down - should have been an easy pull. Check all connections for contact and tightness, upgrade cable to 0 B&S welding cable, if you have dual batts put in a solenoid to join them (takes load off alternator too). If still slow, replace or take the motor to that guy who fixed your cdl to have it rewound. Also get a synthetic rope - I’ll never use steel again after having mine snap and seeing what can happen. PS - I run oil and fitted the fill drain mod.

Do a quick check by whacking a jumper pack or jump batteries on it to boost the available amps. Sounds like it's not getting enough power when it demands it

Link your starter and second battery for winch usage. Via an in cab switch. Add nylon rope. Steel cable is deadly.

Finally a winch

Great choice, all the parts are available. I have a 15 year old W 8000 lb low mount that’s been flogged mercilessly and never let me down. It’s on my Hilux so the vehicle’s not to heavy. I’ve serviced it and looked after it but seriously it’s done some work. Hours and hours of winching. Your cheap ones won’t do that .

I have a high mount on my gq patrol, i rebuilt it about 5 years ago and it seems sluggish as well, has always got me out of trouble but.

19:30 it’s a century it’s a good one, ahaha

Also add some battery terminal protector to the lugs on the winch and solinoid block

Great work mate, well done. I know that a high mount is an old school design which hasn't been changed due to being awesome. Any chance you would switch to Dyneema? Great mate, cheers.

Mine drags my 79s with brakes on an in low reverse engine off 10ft an up a tree front wheels 3ft off the ground .yours did seem to bog a bit low altinator out put possibly an I think running dual battery's makes a big difference

Was your engine idling? Alternator was probably not putting anything out and you flattened the battery

Wow That’s a old one and I seen one like that once before

I've seen guy's boosting it at 24v on 12v motor. Using a second battery and only do on/off for 1 or 2 second at a time. I didnt try it yet. I now just received the 9.5XP Warn motor, that sould be better and bump it to 10 000lbs specs of the 75th anniversary.

Good one gents. Do you have a base figure on how much it cost to rebuild the winch?

Great vid. I need to reco my winch. It'd be nice to have all those extra hands and a decent workshop. Also being able to just fab up a new brass bush. Which is just "lying around" how many hours did the total rebuild take?

great video, i don't understand anything about winches or 12v in general. my 9 month old TJM winch looks like it's done a solenoid, would that gigglepin solenoid fit a low mount? the control box on mine is unsealed and gets wet even on low crossings.

Cool video I picked one of these winches up at the tip for $30. Can you let me know the solenoid part number you used please

Great vid lads, just wondering why you installed a cable rather than rope? Would have thought while you're upgrading it all you'd go a good Winch rope too

Next fix the paint of the car😅 i love to see it. U ar making monstar over ther

I'm using high discharge Lifepo4 batteries for my winching and camping setup, can push 1800 amps continuous at around 13v even if my alternator dies. (overpowered I know haha)

I would've replaced the brushes while you were in there, and if your voltage on the battery is dropping down while winching under load it may be the battery is on its way out of your alternator can't supply enough current

Didn't mention about rest time for winch 10 sec on 20 sec off or whatever it is gives a chance to get volts up again and cool winch down

for more speed upgrading to a 6 HP motor would definitely help. that looks like an old school 4.6hp motor.

I'd get some really nice welding wire and re do all the wiring with all mechanical fasteners, no solder. should add a battery to the it as well as ground directly to engine block ground. That thing should pull that truck up a tree and it sounded like it was having a hard time

Use WHITE HOT cleaning acid by challange chemicals one of the best cleaners for aluminum

You should respray the bullbar with just black paint (intercure 99 black) it is a hard paint and it makes it look good just painted my mates at work and his car looks heaps better

The wireless winch controllers can be pretty crappy and cheaply made and also provide imprecise control with lots of lag. Also, the battery is always dead when you need it. Much better to install an in-car winch control switch that you can operate just like the hand controller (but keep the cable hand controller).

Dude you need to run it off a minimum of 2 battery setup for 12v setup and you need to get any old 12mm thick rope will fit 40m easily and use 72mm cable can get it from road runner off-road and to make things simple run the same gear oil as your diffs and transfer case less different oils to carry as back up

While you may very well have electrical issues, I think you need to keep in mind a factory highmount isn't "fast" - all the quick ones you see will have upgraded motors, 24v, multiple batteries and different ratio gearsets. A decent lowmount will keep up with a highmount in standard form - as they are geared quite high they are fast with no load but speed changes dramatically when load is applied, as you've seen. They're also rated to 8000pound, which although conservative, isn't far off the weight of a 80 series with accessories, so it will be quite slow at that load.

you can check if its the cables by measuring the difference in voltage between your batteries and winch at full load. if its more than .5v its bad

That dead pull don't be surprised if your battery shits it self in a few weeks.love ya vids though. Wanna race my 550 Navara?

Yeah put oil in it, and up the cable size mate

YOUR USING PETROL TO CLEAN WITH IN THESE CURRENT PRICE'S!!!!! can tell RU-vid is paying well aye boys😂

Lovin your vids guys!! Just remember when yoir winching to give it a break.......10 seconds on 10 seconds off or so..........lets the motor cool and lets your alternator recover some charge to your batt !

Negative through chassis? put a wire there.

u definitely need someone to sponsor you 2 lithium batterie ;-)

Hi Guys great video can you please let me know where you purchased the solenoid? Regards Paul

That winch that came off the 80 is a 10000lb high mounts stock are only 8000lb. When underload, they aren't much faster.

Doesn't it have a free spool option when paying out the cable?

Looks like a 8274 classic warn its a legend in the USA nice 👍

I doubt the empty 80 weighs 3 tonne. Even if it did, you are not raising or lifting 3 tonne. If the slope was 25 degrees, then load on the winch is around 1/3 of 3 tonne, in other words you were applying a load of 1 tonne, approx. As the rope spools onto the drum, the more layers you put on, the harder the winch has to work, ie more current required to maintain speed. The 1 tonne load on bare drum is probably around 90 amps, but the 1 tonne load on layer 4 will be up around 320 amps. Rule of thumb - on a slope, twin the line. This gets rope off the drum AND reduces ampheres required to move the load. Keep in mind though, you have just doubled the load on the anchor point. Can it hold?

Nice rebuild After all that cleaning a little more paint would have been nice to see Just curious as to why you went with wire and not rope?

I wish they sold low mount winches with 50 meters of cable.

3 views 31 seconds ago, already popular 😂

Time to raptor the old red brick In red

You really should’ve included winding your cable on correctly under tension before winching…if the cable isn’t wound on correctly it can cause the bogging as it crushes the cable.

Run 24volts though to get it a lot quicker instead of 12