Its a warn thing i had the same trouble with both my warns they just don't seal them.
Both my front and rear chinese winches are still good after many dunkings.
I recently stripped my ridge rider winch and not an ounce of dirt in it.very well sealed. All i found was 1 dry bearing on the shaft between the planetary set and motor.

 

My 20 yr old highmount spent about 1/2 hour under water one weekend, I stripped it about 3 weeks later and there was only a few drops of condensation in the motor and the oil was clean, I changed it anyway, was clean fresh water though.

 

This is the one i have on the front. Can't believe how well its sealed. one issue was dirt under the gear leaver stopping full engagement but easily sorted.

 

i have the xtm (bcf one) 1200 pound $500 been there for two and a half years, used it heaps and all i do is run it in and out a couple of times once a month.

 

Have a Warn Winch on my ute and noticed the last time I used it the brake didn't hold.
Pulled it apart to service it and found that water had entered at some time and not drained away leaving a tide mark.
Closer inspection revealed that when it had been originally assembled (have had the ute from new with winch fitted) the end covers had been incorrectly assembled with the drain holes at the top.:roll:
Something worth checking, if one was assembled wrong there's bound to be more.
Managed to clean/lubricate and back to working as it should.

Cheers
Peter

 

Any good installer either knows factory GU bars mount the winch upside down or checks to see where the drainage holes are.

 

X2

That's not an assembly fault of the winch it's a fitting fault from failure to give a chit about someone else's car and winch.

 

Help me understand please Lee. Can I be mounted in either direction? So I just get under it in my garage crawler, unbolt it, flip it, and bolt it back up so the holes drain via gravity? Or does it need to be pulled apart and assembled in another way??

 

The warn on my daily and the one on my race rig i have fully sealed the motors with rtv and drilled and tapped a one touch fitting in. than just run the breather into the engine bay.
They spend alot of time in water and never had an issue.
Dont trust the factory seals

 

Put my winch on 10 years ago. Haven't looked insidet it since. Probably should have a look one day.

 

X2 what Hally 76 said.
Did same thing (warn), got a pro to rebuild mine too. No water ingress at all and condensation has vanished with the breather hoses added. fully sealed now. Love it.

 

Drowned my xd9000 many times, serviced it twice, both times full of crap. But thats never stopped it, always kept pulling well.

 

Ive had a tigerz11 on the front of my gu for years. It works everytime and its been through some pretty ordinary situations.

Last time i looked inside it was clean as.

I still dont get why people buy warns and have to service them so much? But im sure they will justify it somehow...

 

Thanks everyone. Since I have a warn m12000 in an arb bar, I had a good look and it seems to me it can only be mounted one way and Im going to have to modify the housing with new drain holes and seal up the original ones. It doesnt seem a matter of just poor installation. Or am I missing something?

 

warn designed the winches to be mounted flat and the mounting bolts vertical hence the drain holes are now halfway up the gearbox and motor so will only work when the winch is half full of chit

 

found ARB incorrectly installed my XD9000






fixed with a modified XP9500.

 

I have a warn manufacturered 'tabor' Xd9000 which was installed when I purchased the vehicle. Would have been fitted from new as is ex government vehicle (2012). It is mounted inside a poly smart bar, and because of that, ie no provision for hands to engage gearbox, the lever handle (twist knob no lever as such) is on the bottom.Question is, other than being a pain when bogged, how do I tell where the drain holes are and if they are in the wrong spot what can I do as I cannot spin the gearbox?

 

My suggestion would be to pull it out and have a look. And while you have it out pull the gearbox off give it a clean and grease then inspect the motor. You'll soon know how it's held up and been fitted. This I would say is a must if your car has been anywhere near a water crossing or mud hole, especially been an ex-government vehicle.