Thread: What winch for defender 90?

Mako are worth a look

I suppose the question you have to ask yourself is how often will you use It ? if your going to be in a situation were you will need to recover on a regular biases , then buy a quality product . If It's for once in a blue moon a Turfer can be a good option , I have seen a cheep Chinese winch fail , It was pulling a 100 series up a long steep hill and wouldn't stop , he was lucky as there was plenty of pope out , and had time to disconnect the battery . I have a Super Winch , It's over 10 years old , and has never let me down , but like Warn there not cheap , I have thought about going Plasma pope , when my steel pope wears out , but It's still going , so until then I'll stay with what I've got . One other point I would like to make is treat all winching with the utmost caution , learn how to use It safely before you ever need to use It , if you don't know go with someone who does !!..Jim

I have an XD 9000lb Warn, low mount, I bough it second hand for 1000$, only used once. The galvanising was still like new on the rollers
I used it many times, submerged it many times, pulled a car and loaded wood trailer up long slippery slopes etc. It never let me down.

I had to rebuild it twice to replace the nylon bushes for the winch drum, they do wear out. but they were cheap and easy to change. Good thing about warn is you can relay on it, and rebuild it, buy parts for it. That counts in my view, cheap initial purchase price is not always a good deal. It's a long way from being the most expansive winch. Companies who make things for a long time usually know something about their craft, that's my opinion about Warn. I have faith in the winch and know it won't let me down. I would recommend an XD 9000 for your 90 as just about the ideal winch for your car size and weight. Plus it's low profile does not block off your radiators etc. My wire is still hanging in there , but i'm looking to change to Dyeema soon when i have the time. Avoid anything that's new to the market, very cheap, and doesn't have a good record or reputation. good luck, a winch is a great addition to your car if you live anywhere near forests or slippery tracks .

My $0.02:
Think about why you're fitting it. If it's going on your weekend plaything, a cheaper winch would probably suffice. Yes, it might see more use, but that will allow scope to upgrade motor/solonoids/etc as they wear/fail. If it fails on a weekend trip, chances are you either won't be too far from home, or there'll be someone there to give you a hand.

If you're fitting it to your remote tourer - a vehicle you and your family are going to use to see some remote areas, save your pennies and buy a good winch. You might only need it a few times, but you're paying for the peace of mind that - even after corrugations, bulldust, creeks and whatever countless other forms of abuse its going to cop sitting out front there - when you plug the remote in, it's going to work. On the rare occasion that it doesn't, buying something big branded means someone somewhere will have some parts and know how to make it work again.

FWIW, I run a Warn 12 XE with wire rope on my 130.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Mako are worth a look

I'll check them out, thanks for the heads up

Originally Posted by jimr1

I suppose the question you have to ask yourself is how often will you use It ? if your going to be in a situation were you will need to recover on a regular biases , then buy a quality product . If It's for once in a blue moon a Turfer can be a good option

Thanks Jim, Repair vs replace is a very valid concern. Whether you actually get 4x the life out of a winch vs its cheaper cousin is the age old conundrum. My golden rule is that water and power shouldn't mix. So having a well sealed unit is a big positive.
There is plenty of remote space up this way, and generally it's just me and the missus (we generally dont drive in a convoy). I wouldn't expect to use it every time we go out, but it's always good to know that we have the ability to get 'just that little bit further' on the track if needed. Yesterdays adventure was cut short by a fallen tree across the track which I was unable to shift with the hi lift, and Didn't have an axe handy to get it into more manageable pieces. A winch and a pulley or two would have made easy work of it.

Originally Posted by simmo

I have an XD 9000lb Warn, low mount, I bough it second hand for 1000$, only used once. The galvanising was still like new on the rollers
I used it many times, submerged it many times, pulled a car and loaded wood trailer up long slippery slopes etc. It never let me down.

I had to rebuild it twice to replace the nylon bushes for the winch drum, they do wear out. but they were cheap and easy to change. Good thing about warn is you can relay on it, and rebuild it, buy parts for it. That counts in my view, cheap initial purchase price is not always a good deal. It's a long way from being the most expansive winch. Companies who make things for a long time usually know something about their craft, that's my opinion about Warn. I have faith in the winch and know it won't let me down. I would recommend an XD 9000 for your 90 as just about the ideal winch for your car size and weight. Plus it's low profile does not block off your radiators etc. My wire is still hanging in there , but i'm looking to change to Dyeema soon when i have the time. Avoid anything that's new to the market, very cheap, and doesn't have a good record or reputation. good luck, a winch is a great addition to your car if you live anywhere near forests or slippery tracks .

This is the exact model I was looking at at ARB yesterday. Seems to be a good balance between brand, load rating, and price, coming in at around $1500. I was concerned about the HP rating of the motor though? Is this a concern when choosing a winch, or is it more to do with the gearing and quality of the gears?
For work, I sell industrial equipment, so fully understand how after sales service is a big part of any capital equipment investment. Sometimes junk costs more long term. Assuming the higher quality gear has the quality to last the distance (sometimes they build obsolescence into equipment )

Originally Posted by Cammo

My $0.02:
Think about why you're fitting it. If it's going on your weekend plaything, a cheaper winch would probably suffice. Yes, it might see more use, but that will allow scope to upgrade motor/solonoids/etc as they wear/fail. If it fails on a weekend trip, chances are you either won't be too far from home, or there'll be someone there to give you a hand.

The deefer is definately not the grocery getter,and usually flying solo on the tracks. So reliability is a real concern, especially given that I might not see another 4wd on the tracks out here if you are stuck.


I've been researching a lot about winching techniques, and understand the main points of setup, safety and winching. Once setup, I'll get a good run down from a mate who has been doing it for years.

This is a good video if anyone is interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StZHlHD09XM

Any thoughts / feedback on these units?
http://milemarker.com/pdf_downloads/...ingle_Page.pdf
Mile market 9500 ES winch. Sealed units to IP68 standards.
Looks to be decent gearing and motor HP. Decent pull speeds too. 2 year warranty though, unsure of spare parts availability.

Researched a few internet opinions on the warn XD9000 winch, claiming nylon bushes deteriorate and unit is poorly sealed from the elements.

I have a Mako (Avenger) 12000lb winch on my 110 play truck and a Warn
XD9000 on my 130.The Mako is an allround better winch in my opinion.It is well sealed from the elements,it is fully rebuildable and parts are available,unlike a lot of the cheaper winches on the market.You will expect to pay a premium price for this though,the last price I saw was around $1200 fitted with Dyneema rope.The relay units are also sealed unlike the Warn units,which are a type unto themselves,but can be swapped over to sealed units.The whole size/capacity thing of winches should jut come down to buying the largest capacity that you can fit in the space available and that you can afford whist maintaining quality.You will never regret having a inch that is has too high a rating,but you will regret buying one that has too small a rating.With the higher rating,you will always have the luxury of knowing that your winch is working a lot easier and within its limits.

I believe there is only 1 answer...the 8274 warn high mount with 6hp upgrade with good rope 10mm