I just had the common problem of the spare wheel winch getting jammed (that is the third thing on the D3 this week so confident I am OK from now on). Rather than buy a new one I;


  1. took the old one off
  2. ground off the rivet heads
  3. used a screwdriver to pry open the 2 halves
  4. pulled out the black plastic cable holder (gently pried up and/or pushed out via the shaft hole)
  5. straightened the cable using a vice
  6. welded some threaded rod (cut down M5 bolts) into the rivet holes (holes already exist no drilling required)
  7. greased and reassembled using M5 nuts and spring washers to clamp the halves together
  8. mounted and tested


Very easy job that took maybe an hour max and saved money!

You cannot use bolts to clamp the halves as the winch mounts flat to the bottom of the car.

Just thought somebody might like to know that they are easy to fix.