Gearmatic Winch

[Woodboogah]

How easy or difficult are these to trouble shoot, work on?  good price on machine but winch doesnt work, seeing if I should take the gamble but I have no experience working on these winches.   Thanks

[mad murdock]

They are purely a mechanical winch, easy to troubleshoot, fixit may require some ingeinuity, depending on what is broke. The control is a glorified double acting brake master cylinder, and 2 slave cylinders one for free spool one for winch in. Doesn't get much simpler really.

[Woodboogah]

Perfect, sounds good.  Thanks for the info.!

[jocco]

Don't let Mad M fool you ;D He is right except he did not tell you they can be pure evil!!! Depends on wich modle but pull the side cover and have a look see smiley_mean. They can get very exspencive and many had problems with rust. OH DID I ADD THEY CAN BE TEMPERMENTAL iF YOU NEED ANY MORE HELP SEND ME A MESSAGE  smiley_devilish

[coxy]

the worst thing is getting the cluches ajusted   i have 3 19 19 119 whene i do mine i put all new dog bones new spring 4 brake new rods4 brake ; brake lever      the other thing is try not to slip the brake whene u have hitch hooked up there is vary little slipige to brake bands thene thay are shoot good luck

[coxy]

yah jocco u r not kidding

[Ed_K]

They just need to be used every day  ;D.

[mad murdock]

Not trying to mislead. They can be real temperamental if they are left sitting, unused, uncovered, they can rust up, and be a pain, but in my experience, everything has is good and bad. A more modern winch is good and works well, but when it breaks,  newer ones can cost a lot more to fix. It depends on your skills, and resources. I can fix and keep operational a gearmatic easier and for less money than I could a newer machine.

[PAFaller]

I love the one on my 240. I replaced everything on the clutch and brake side 2 summers ago for about 1300 bucks, including new hydraulic lines, not counting my time. Nicest thing I have found with it is the ease of adjusting pull on the winch, which can be done with an allen wrench in 30 seconds. Deere winches of the same vintage required taking the whole dang side cover off. As stated though they can be a bear if left to sit and rust or moisture gets in. I have a chunk of tire tube I put over mine every night. Keeps excess rain and snow off of it, not sure it makes a difference but peace of mind is nice. I also put gasket goop on the side cover when I put it back on. That side should be bone dry, but its a cheap way to ensure no moisture gets in.

[lumberjack48]

For some reason they sweat under the cover, if they set any amount of time they rust up. I've owned and ran the 9, 19, 119 and the 20 Cancar, all very good wenches. They are temperamental, once you understand its little needs, a twick here, adjust there, make sure theres no air, it'll treat you right.
The first twitch run the mainline out slipping the brake. Then winch back holding the brake pedal to make sure the cable spools straight.  This gets rid of the moisture on the brake band and shines the drum up.

I've often thought they have to develop a lot of heat at times under the over with no place for it to go. Even on a hot days and cool nights theres no way for the wench to breath. I was going to take a cover and drill holes in it, so it wasn't air locked. Maybe it would solve the moisture problem.