Deere 350d winch cable sizing

Andy1981 · April 09, 2018, 05:02:39 PM

I have a Deere 350b dozer with a Deere winch, I am planning on replacing the cable that's on there which is 3/4 swaged. It's old has a few bad spots with kinks and only like 50 ft left. What type, size , and length would work best as a replacement cable for this machine ? I pretty much use the winch for pulling logs that are to big for my tractor skidding winch.

ST Ranch · April 09, 2018, 06:08:17 PM

On my Komatsu D37E crawler, I use 75 feet of 5/8 inch "swaged/swedged" blue strand cable from Canada or the US [not the crappy Chinese stuff]
I run/use 10 - 1/2 by 6 foot blue strand cable chokers as well. Both have less tendency to twist and fray than the cheaper red strand wire rope from offshore.
Tom

Andy1981 · April 09, 2018, 09:32:54 PM

thanks for the reply

jwilly3879 · April 10, 2018, 07:33:35 PM

5/8 wire rope won't turn into slinky.

BargeMonkey · April 10, 2018, 08:50:45 PM

I run the 3/4 swaged to 5/8 on 2 skidders and a dozer without issue. Do you always need more than 50ft ? When a cable gets short it goes to my dozer, usually less than a 50ft piece. buy the ferrules, one of the best things ever.

coxy · April 10, 2018, 10:04:08 PM

i run 9/16 and don't have any trouble just have to use your head and not thr throttle ;D

BargeMonkey · April 10, 2018, 11:48:47 PM

Quote from: coxy on April 10, 2018, 10:04:08 PM
i run 9/16 and don't have any trouble just have to use your head and not thr throttle ;D

TING TING TING as you send sliders thru the woods like a rocket 🤣

mike_belben · April 11, 2018, 09:42:56 PM

Speaking of which, where do you guys buy your cable tackle?

BargeMonkey · April 11, 2018, 09:56:15 PM

Quote from: mike_belben on April 11, 2018, 09:42:56 PM
Speaking of which, where do you guys buy your cable tackle?

Comstock in Dolgeville is where all my stuff comes from, he has an online store and will ship stuff.

coxy · April 12, 2018, 06:55:35 AM

Quote from: BargeMonkey on April 10, 2018, 11:48:47 PM
Quote from: coxy on April 10, 2018, 10:04:08 PM
i run 9/16 and don't have any trouble just have to use your head and not thr throttle ;D
TING TING TING as you send sliders thru the woods like a rocket 🤣

i run it on a 518 cat my case skidder and both 350 dozers with no issues isn't the cable bigger than a chocker ;D

teakwood · April 12, 2018, 07:08:23 AM

swaged 9/16" cable has a breaking strength of 26to, i think that's alot more than most small and middle size skidders or dozers can pull

teakwood · April 12, 2018, 07:16:02 AM

and i'm reducing cable size to 1/2" swaged on my 540A because i can't get enough cable length on the drum. will see how that works out

mike_belben · April 12, 2018, 09:03:33 AM

Dump a mix of diesel and motor oil over your cable drums now and then. Lubed cable experiences much less internal friction among individual strands vs a dry one. Theyll also jumble up and pinch other loops a lot less on the drum.

coxy · April 12, 2018, 08:13:26 PM

Quote from: teakwood on April 12, 2018, 07:16:02 AM
and i'm reducing cable size to 1/2" swaged on my 540A because i can't get enough cable length on the drum. will see how that works out

i ran it on the 350 dozer one time it was ok and real nice to pull up hill 8)but had to put a few knots with in each other so it didn't pull through the slider

Andy1981 · April 12, 2018, 08:37:40 PM

Hey guys thanks for all the response, ended up ordering 75' of 9/16 swaged cable with a crimped on ferrule on the end. Also having them send a chocker bell to use on the cable so I can use it as big as the cable will go and will have 4 of the 3/8 slider and grab hook assemblies on there as well . I'm sure this is probably way more than I need but might be nice if I grab a bunch of small spindly stuff.

thecfarm · April 12, 2018, 08:58:38 PM

Having something you don't need is better than not having something when you need it. ;)

Andy1981 · April 17, 2018, 04:41:03 PM

Well the UPS man dropped off my new winch cable . What is the best way to put this on , should I spool it on the drum the same way it wants to naturally coil , or should I try and make it roll up the opposite whay? And how much tension should I have on it as I wind it the first time ? Just trying to make sure it doesn't birds nest and kink up the first time I use it.

teakwood · April 17, 2018, 10:01:43 PM

when they are new they wind up the nicest, after that it gets worse and worse

Just wind the cable in with some tension, can be handheld.

every week or so i attach the cable to a tree and unwind the whole thing and let it sit tensioned over sunday and put some used oil on it. that helps alot, good for the cable and get helps to straighten it out, at least a little bit

coxy · April 17, 2018, 10:23:50 PM

if you run it out and leave it over night or the weekend just make sure you put some ribbon on it i did it one time on a Friday by Saturday night i forgot about it and took me right off my 4wheeler i was not impressed called my self every thing i could think of and then some :D

Andy1981 · April 17, 2018, 10:32:04 PM

Quote from: coxy on April 17, 2018, 10:23:50 PM
if you run it out and leave it over night or the weekend just make sure you put some ribbon on it i did it one time on a Friday by Saturday night i forgot about it and took me right off my 4wheeler i was not impressed called my self every thing i could think of and then some :D

Oh that's funny stuff, I could se myself doing something like that , and calling myself every name I can think of , I do that quite often.

Skeans1 · April 17, 2018, 11:43:28 PM

Last cable I put on we tied off to a large stump put the d7 in neutral then pulled the cat backwards steering the cat back and forth to roll the cable straight.

Andy1981 · May 10, 2021, 08:25:45 PM

Ok reviving an old thread of mine . Last month I just picked up a new to me Deere 550k with a winch , it has a big nasty 7/8" or 1" cable on it with a short piece of heavy duty chain on it that's not ideal for skidding. I was thinking of taking the pretty much new swaged 9/16" cable with all the chokers off of my 350 ( out of commission for a reverser and tranny rebuild) and putting it on my new machine . Does anyone think I will have any issues using the smaller cable on my newer machine.

Firewoodjoe · May 10, 2021, 08:40:29 PM

You own it already run it. I would. 9/16 swedge is pretty tough. Besides I'd rather fix a cable once in awhile then pull heavy cable all the time.

grabber green · May 10, 2021, 09:43:58 PM

You can use it for sure. It will be just like fishing with low test line on your fishing reel.
Be careful and you can still pull in big fish or in this case logs. Just remember you can break it at anytime . Use to pull alot of wood with 9/16 line on a jd450c back in the early 90s. But your 550k really needs stronger cable.

BargeMonkey · May 10, 2021, 10:41:22 PM

You had a 3315 winch on your 350 ? And you've got a large drum 4000 on that 550K, night and day as far as speed and pull. Easier to pull the lighter cable, but that winch will walk right thru it when you get bound, just go easy 😆.