Problem with gearmatic 19 winch

[sedrick]

i have a gearmatic 19 winch. That is hard to pull out. Does anybody know what the problem might be? It had set for awhile i thought it would get better but it hasnt

[John Woodworth]

The most likely problem is rust on the brake band althouth I have run across linning material that would shirnk or swell with moisture.
Chances are itt's just rust and if you have enough slack to drum in a couple inches it should break free, then check your control for fluid and any leaks in brk. and clutch band cyl.  The Clutch cyl. leaking can soften the lining and it comes loose from shoes and will ball up inside drum.
If no leaks hook to a stump or tree and release brake and drive the length on drumline and winch yourself back,do this a couple times and should loosen up.
Last resort pull the side cover and re-adjust the clutch bands.
A good habit to get into with Gearmatics when parking for any length of time is to leave out 4 to6 feet of line and then upon startup drum in the slack and break free any rust on brakeband.

[sedrick]

Thanks i'll try that.

[sedrick]

wench still shard to pull out look inside looks ok pins that hold brack clutchs realy loose

[John Woodworth]

Problem has to be in the brake band either rust or problems related to the control unit, will E-mail you the trouble shooting guide from Gearmatic.

[PAFaller]

If you took the cover off and the bands are clean its an adjustment issue. On the top of the winch there is a 7/32 allen screw, on the model I have on my 240A its behind the hydraulic cylinder. The hole may be filled with dirt and crud but trust me its there, and it adjusts the tension on the brake bands when you release the winch. Trick is to find the happy median that allows it to pull out easy but not turn into a rats nest when you lower the hitch to go around a turn or in the landing. If thats not in then you have a bigger issue, but I would put my money on that before I dug deeper. I would also suggest buying a large floormat and covering your winch with it. I put a long cut in mine to slide around the cable and keep it secure. Its a pretty quick and easy thing to do, and by keeping the rain, snow, junk off the cable and drum it seems to prolong the life of the cable.

[frndly neighborhd loger]

try running it for a day it could start working again.if not check the linkage on the bands for wear a couple of thousand's of wear here and there adds up when your-talking thousands just to release it.the bearing in the cover on the band side could be wore allowing the drum to drop enough on the bands to drag.take the small outside cover off and work the winch by releasing it on if the end of the shaft moves excessively then the bands are lifting it from the play in the bearing.
here's some nicknames for the thing "gearabackache" and "gearabastard" :D