101 Winch operation

[101 Ron]

I use the winch on my 101 in anger often enough to know how to operate it and its advantage and disadvantages.
I have been many years ago a army recovery mechanic.

The transfercase must be neutralised for static winching with the winch 101 anchored and parking brake applied.
The main gearbox must be in neutral before the winch PTO lever is enguaged and a light on the dashboard shows this.
Then reverse gear is selected and the 101s driver or helper can get out of the vehicle and unsecure the winch rope from is storage position.
The winch rope will not pay out until the cable is lightly pulled from the vehicle.
The cable will not tangle.
being a capstan designed winch the winch can be reversed out , but the winch will not do anything until a slight tension is on the cable , if not the cable will just slip harmlessly on the capstan.
There is no free wheel on the 101s winch and all cable must be payed out with the gearbox in reverse gear and with a slight pull on the cable.

To winch in 1st /2nd /3rd/4th gear on the main gearbox can be used.
1st gear is best for controlled pulls.
4th gear can be used to speed up a 2 or 4 to one pull or to winch in a fully extended winch cable quickly.
being a capstan winch .....the cable must have slight strain on it to grip the capstan..........therefore if the the winch is enguaged in first gear on the main gearbox and the PTO is enguaged and nothing is happening give the winch cable a slight pull to get it to grip.
The winch fitted to the 101 doesn't not have any brake.
If you push in the clutch whisle the winch cable is underload the thing you are winching will roll back away without control.
You can stop and start the motor underload to avoid this problem , but the load on the winch will still have to be secured if you want to change direction of pull on the winch.
I don't not recommend using the engine stopping and starting the winch unload method is sooner or later the driver/winch operator will by habit push in the clutch and the winched load will roll away.
It is far better to chock or secure the winched load as the winch is winching in or out.

[101 Ron]

It is interesting to note when operating the 101s winch by my self on the farm moving fallen trees and logs off fences and roads I can use the 101s winch capstan design to my advantage.
I can have the winch cable payed most of the way out and have the engine idling with the winch enguaged and the main gearbox in first gear and be out of the vehicle at the log I want to move and hook the winch cable up, the chain I have around the log and it will not winch in until I pull the cable tight back to the vehicle and then it will start pulling the log towards the vehicle.
If doing thing this way you have to make sure you are back at the vehicle by the time you want to stop winching.
It only mention the above to point out the fact the 101s PTO winch is different.
The 101s winch will give the same amount of pull regardless of how much cable is used unlike normal winches.
The 101s winch drum is for storage of the cable only.
Standard cable length is 65 mtrs, but the it will hold up to 75 mtrs of cable with no problems.
The 101s winch doesn't have a great pull of 6000lbs, but it can be used with a 2 to 1 snatch block and in 4th gear and still have along reach and faster winching speeds than a normal pto winch twice its size.
The overload clutch is adjustable via a allen head screw and lock nut.
The adjustment screw is only moved 1/8 th of a turn at a time.
I have posted this because our UK friends seem to be giving out incorrect information about operation of a 101s winch.

[101RRS]

What are they saying?

[101 Ron]

The cable used on the 101s winch must be a 9mm internal wire rope core and of a special lay so it will grip,the capstan correctly and and be flexible enough to go around the many pulleys in this winch.
It pays to carry with our tools on a winch equipted 101 a 15/16 spanner so you can transfer the winch cable front to rear or visa/versa.
the spanner is needed to remove one pulley on the removable cable fairhead so the winch cables end swaged eye can be passed though the fairhead.
The whole operation of swapping the cable end for end takes me about 10 min
The hardest part is the feeding though of the swaged cable end though the 2 small pulleys just behind the front wheel.
The 101s winch will not get tangled in anyway , cable lose or tight if the winch winch and cable are in good condition , it looks after its self.
The winch does have a small oil gearcase and level plug.
A rubber bung can be removed to lube the drive chain and check its tension/wear.

[101 Ron]

Most of my winching on the 101 tends to be from the rear.( so others can follow)
I find the front pintle hook is perfect to use to anchor the vehicle.
I park the nose of the 101 up near a anchor tree and just use tree trunk protector around the tree and back to the pintle hook both ends.......simple.

[101 Ron]

What are they saying?

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[DasLandRoverMan]

I have some respect for Les Adams opinions, he's often correct, but having read Rons instructions its blatantly obvious that some of those offering advice hasn't a clue, Pete Steer being one.

[101 Ron]

The 101 user manual states the vehicle can be driven and winched at the same time for self recovery.
Because of the 101s winch totally self laying nature it is very well suited for this type of winching as normal winches can get tangled on the drum if the vehicle travels faster than the winch.

The biggest thing you must watch out for when operating the 101s winch is accidently driving off with the winch PTO enguaged and the cable stowed away.
This will in short order pull the cable hook though the sheaves and do a great deal of damage.
Before moving off and when you are not using the winch for even a short time disenguage the winch PTO.

[Homestar]

No wonder the OP is still confused... Geez, there are some posts there that confirm some thoughts I had about certain members there... DLRM just mentioned his name...

Ron, can you please clarify a point for me - does the cable drum have a clutch or something similar on it to keep the tension constant on the cable? Just thinking that as it is chain driven, as the cable layers build up, it would need to turn at a different speed?

My next project is fitting the rest of my winch up, so this thread came along at an opportune time and I'll probably be asking a lot of questions as I do it.

Cheers - Gav.

[101RRS]

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But not being a 101 club member I do not have access to the 101 forum.