JD winch problems

[BernieBraun]

I have a 550 JD Dozer with a hi-arch JD winch.  The winch works but it has lost its power.  It was sluggish to respond when engaged during the cold so I changed the oils and filters.  Same problem.  Then I tried a lighter oil as recommended by JD.  Started to work.  Then after a while the brake would slip and now it has little power and can barely pull in the cable. 

Any ideas.

[snowstorm]

how old is it?: havent worked on the newer ones old ones plenty. no oil pressure to it   water in it and froze   springs broke    the list goes on need more imfo

[BernieBraun]

1983 JohnDeere  The winch freespools first thing in the morning then won't let out after used for awhile.  I bought new filters and fluid and will change tommorrow to see if this helps.  I can hear the motor humming when I release the winch to pull out the cable. It wasn't always that noisy.  When it locks up i can put a load on it and pull out the cable and it will winch in.   I am hoping it is something simple.

[snowstorm]

motor humming?there is no motor in it. hydr pump yes if its low on oil it could do that. often tims they would get water in them from the fill plug on top. oil level plug on rite side

[woodtick#2]

I had the same issue with the John Deere 440B that I run, same exact symptoms.  Drained the oil full of slush, changed the filter and oil=problem solved.  The fill cap on the top of the winch had a pin hole in it which created the problem.

[duckslayingpro]

I had similar problem in the past. Ended up being low on fluid. Hope the filter and fluid change fix it for ya.

[BernieBraun]

Changed the filter and fluid and I still have the same problem.  Someone told be that moisture may be causing the brake bands to lock up.  They said hook it to a tree pull it out and use it in this manner to see if it frees up after use.  Is this sound advice?

[lumberjack48]

If its full of oil and still humming , make sure its not air locked.

Yes, hook to a tree, pull the line out, winch the cat back, do it about 10 times, might come out of its little fit its having.

[doghunter]

check the inlet screen on the pump

[snowstorm]

it will make a noise in freespool. have you taken the cover off the left side yet? the small plate dosent give a lot of room to do anything other than adjust the brake band. take the big cover off one oil line and the bolts. there are 2 springs are those broken? any oil in there? sometimes the seal on the cover will leak if its newer will have a suivel fitting. you can run it with the cover off but IN FREESPOOL ONLY ...... clutch disc's may cause it to free spool hard if there is rust on the steek discs or the fiber discs are broken pieces missing ect.they are inside the brake drum. cold be the inlet screen or pump put a pressure guadge on it

[farmer10]

 I just bought a jd550 with a winch.  The winch will not work.  The pressure guage is reading 1100.  I changed the oil and filter but this did not help.  The guy I bought it from said that it just quit working one day.

[tjdub]

I just bought a jd550 with a winch.  The winch will not work.  The pressure guage is reading 1100.  I changed the oil and filter but this did not help.  The guy I bought it from said that it just quit working one day.

Does freespool work,, but it just won't wind?  If so, you might just need to replace the clutch discs. Here are some pictures I took last winter when I replaced mine: http://www.jdcrawlers.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=6785  When the clutch disks went out on mine it went from pulling great to barely being able to wind the cable back in in a matter of minutes.  I would have expected it to fail more gradually than it did.

By the way, It should read about 1000psi on the test port when in either the "freespool" or "wind" position, but 0psi otherwise.