Thread: Winch Motor drain hole- Seal or enlarge?

1. Seal the hole...
2. Drill and tap the lowest point and fit a pneumatic elbow with push fitting.
3. Run nylon hose up into engine bay fire wall..
4. Seal the motor ends and refit to Winch.

That was the preferred option, from further reading, it seems common practice with the winch challenge guys.
If I'm going to that effort, I'd probably also drill a top breather. Even if it is just a grub screw.

I've posted about this very issue before; they have 2 drain holes which are used depending on which way the winch is mounted. Most US winch mounts have the bolts downward, and that is the way the winch will be set up from the factory. Most Aus winches are mounted with the bolts forward, and you need to clear the silicon from one hole and put some silicon in the other.
If you seal the hole that is at 3 o'clock when the winch is mounted in your vehicle, and clear the hole that is at 6 o'clock, you won't have any problems. Sellers and installers seem to be universally ignorant of this.

open em both and put in lines to a positive ventilation pump.

feed that to

diff housings ,gearbox, tcase winch, dizzy, startermotor. and bell housing while you;re at it.

I think half of the problem with the winch I have (Warn XDC-s) is not the location of the drain holes, but the fact that they are too small and are easily clogged. Once the motor is fastened to the side plate of the winch, the hole is all of 5mm wide and 1mm deep, which easily clogs with mud, silt or anything else that finds its way in there.

Anyone doing a new winch install should keep an eye on the motor location, as there are 2 long retaining bolts on my model, and 4 holes, allowing it to be rotated 90 degrees to make best use of the drain hole location.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

open em both and put in lines to a positive ventilation pump.

feed that to

diff housings ,gearbox, tcase winch, dizzy, startermotor. and bell housing while you;re at it.

Interesting concept. So, connect the pump to the breathers I already have, with an extra for the winch? How about connecting them to the vacuum pump ( 300TDi ), or would that be too much of a scavenge?

Originally Posted by johntins

How about connecting them to the vacuum pump ( 300TDi ), or would that be too much of a scavenge?

Hi,
That would give you negative pressure, and encourage ingress of water.

Maybe one of those small fish tank air pumps would provide about the right volume/pressure?
Cheers



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I use one of those centrifugal mattress inflators.

when I set it up I tee everything off of the bell housing and leave the bell housing drain open.

that provides 1-2 Psi normally and when you ford as the water level comes up the back pressure increases raising the pressure slightly.