My 8274 / in-cab control / bumper / winch remote

[Overdriven]

I was asked by a few folks to do a quick writeup of my winch/bumper/control build.

Picked up my 8274 for $150 back in June. I put it in a storage box till I had the time to mess with it.


Started tearing it apart and found out why it was so cheap.
The two bosses in the top half of the case that hold the electric motor screws were busted out. There was really no oil left in the case to speak of... just some thick brown sludge. I spent alot of time cleaning this thing inside and out.

Took apart the brake assembly.... (actually, I beat it apart) only to find that it was in pretty good shape.

The electrical wires were rotted and falling apart, the plastic cover was half made of fiberglass making it look as if it were wearing a cast. And lastly one of the solenoids had stripped threads on the post.

I made a call to BlackJack(Dan) and got some great advice. He pointed out that WARN had made extra bosses for the screws to thread into, I just had to cut threads into them.

Dan also suggested I go ahead and replace the pads and bearings in the brake and rebuild the seals in the lower assembly as well as upgrade all the wires to a heavier guage. Since Dan knows all, sees all when it comes to winches, I listened.

I replaced one of the solenoids and bought an extra to carry as a spare. I rebuilt the drum brake, the seals, and painted the entire thing. I also drilled a couple holes that would allow grease zerks to add grease to the dead side of the spool. I also tapped a 3/8" hole in the top and bottom of the case for fill and drain for the oil.

Here it is ready to put back together. I took a wire wheel to everything to clean it up Then painted it with some hammered silver and black.


And now put together, sealed up and into my bumper that I modified to drop the winch down and not block my radiator so much. (As it sat on top of the bumper, it was as tall as my hood.


Here is the solenoid box mounted behind my battery. 1 gu wire connects the power and ground going to the motor of the winch. I have (3) 4gu wires going from the solenoid box to the F1, F2, and A of the winch motor. These will be upgraded later to 2 gu wire but for now I'm using what I have.
The orange wire is an old 3wire extention cord I used to remote mount the plug in for the winch remote. And lastly the trailer wire is going to in the in cab control box on my roll cage.


In cab winch control with arm button.


Here's the remote mount for my winch control. I also covered the ID plates for the motor and winch to preserve them while painting.... Still can't read them....

(Notice the clutch handle.... I lost the one that came with the winch.... or at least my kid did.... so I grabbed this from my parts stash. It's part of the stock cherokee spare tire holder. Worked perfectly but looks getto as hell.)

Got a little bored and staying with my "cheap" theme, I made this winch control from the rest of the extention cord, a DPDT momentary switch and a small project box from Radio Shack.

[Overdriven]

Since I put my M8000 on my wifes ZJ with the original steel cable and hook, I had to come up with something to use as a hook. I got the winch rope from CopperTopToy and I uses some heat shrink to protect and clean up the end of it. I stretched out the stainless steel thimble to fit a 3/4" clevis through that I got for Christmas. I was going to buy a safety thimble and fancy hook but Brook posted this is what he has run for years on his rigs..... So why not...


And there you have it. Less than $300 total including buying the winch, rebuild kits, and the little stuff to build the controllers. Free stuff like the solenoid cover from Cody "N3RD" helped too. Now it's time to go get stuck and try this thing out.

[Bronco85]

That looks pretty good. I like your new remote It's actually a pretty good idea...

I've been running a D-ring for my hook for probably 6 years. It works great. and it doesn't fall out. Only sucks when the pin gets stuck and wont come out...

[gwilliamson]

shackle is the only way to go, cleaner and much safer. i would like to see a pic or 2 of how the control pack looks behind the grille.

[gwilliamson]

ok i see it i guess i scrolled past it.

[Rolling Rock]

looks good i love the 8274. the only thing that made me worry with them is it keeps going after you let off the remote. if you have someone not experienced spooling it in, it might be a bad thing. i went with the safety thimble when i got syn. the thing is great and it wont spool past the fairlead.

[Overdriven]

Originally Posted by Rolling Rock

looks good i love the 8274. the only thing that made me worry with them is it keeps going after you let off the remote. if you have someone not experienced spooling it in, it might be a bad thing. i went with the safety thimble when i got syn. the thing is great and it wont spool past the fairlead.

Rob (RWC) Warned me of the same thing. I've been training Skyler (my 9yr old constant wheeling companion) on how to spool it and the dangers. He listens well but I understand the concern... May eventually go to the safety thimble... We'll see.

[nate]

Pay attention and it's not a big deal. I could cut my arm off with a table saw, does that mean all table saws are bad? Nope.... probably just means I'm a dumbass

Originally Posted by Rolling Rock

looks good i love the 8274. the only thing that made me worry with them is it keeps going after you let off the remote. if you have someone not experienced spooling it in, it might be a bad thing. i went with the safety thimble when i got syn. the thing is great and it wont spool past the fairlead.

[stonerosan]

were did you get the male and female plug for the remote

[Overdriven]

4 pole trailer connector from Schmucks... Identicle to original Warn connector.

[jcrossman]

That is the old one warn has an updated kit for a few bucks six pin I think way safer. It was the recall for the gen two plug.

[CopperTopToy]

You need a Warn Safety strap on the shackle.

[ryantowry_81]

looks good! did you use the stock solinoids or aftermarket? i upped mine to snow plow solinoids that have alot more duty cycle and were cheaper...

[CopperTopToy]

At the rate you go through engines Ryan you need a higher duty cycle solinoid for you winch.