Moab_Rockstar
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2017
- Posts
- 168
- Reaction score
- 165
- Location
- Lake Orion, MI
- Ram Year
- 2001 2500
- Engine
- 5.9L
First off, this isn't the most cost effective way to mount a winch to your truck. The brackets alone are going to cost you about 700 bucks. I found a complete winch assembly at a parts swap meet for a ridiculously low price, and just had to have it.
If you decide to use the factory mount, the bolt pattern for the winch base is a standard 4 bolt. The mount turns the winch 90 degrees from upright, which shouldn't be an issue for most winches. Your control packs are generally able to be mounted anywhere on the winch. One possible fitment issue may arise with the gear box lever. The PW winches have a special handle that is longer, and fits just under the top lip of the bumper. Standard levers usually sit right on the gearbox, so it may be more difficult to mount depending on the size of your hands. You may need to cut some relief in your bumper.
This is a direct bolt in for 2500 and 3500 trucks with a gas engine, 3rd gen and 4th gen. If you have a diesel, you probably won't be able to use a factory mount because of interference with the intercooler for your blower. It might be possible to move the intercooler, but that's another topic outside my realm of experience. For 1500 series trucks, I don't really know. The 1500 bumper will definitely not clear without a lot of cutting. The grill probably won't work either. I believe the frame rails are the same width, but I don't really know for sure.
Here it goes:
Required hardware:
Winch bracket parts: (prices are liable to change)
52121221AF - winch bracket $469.00
52121225AC - frame bracket left $107.00
52121224AC - frame bracket right $99.10
Fairlead rollers: (they include pins and clips)
05143198AA (2) - horizontal roller $28.00 each
05143199AA (2) - vertical roller $10.10 each
Bolts: (I'd recommend just going to the hardware store, get metric grade 10.9)
06102018 (8) - bolt M12x1.75x65 $9.00 each (4 Winch to bracket, and 4 winch bracket to L&R frame brackets)
06508337AA (4) - bolt M12x1.75x110.00 (no listing) (frame brackets to frame)
Optional hardware:
If you really want the factory winch, there are a couple parts numbers. I'm not sure what the difference is. Not sure if the winch is complete with cable and hook. For the price it better be.
68320402AA - winch $2900
68323333AA - winch
Additional part numbers:
05161040AA - hook
05161038AA - cable kit
05161063AB - remote control
68066669AA - winch motor
68323334AA - control unit
05161037AA - solenoid (4 in the control unit)
05161039AA - Tie bar
Installation:
Start by popping the hood and removing the grill. The black flap/deflector is removed with the black panel retainers. There are two bolts holding the grill on, and there are two clips down either side you will have to carefully disengage once the bolts are out.
With the grill off, you can access the top bolts for the bumper. There are two more on the bottom. There are also panel clips for another deflector/splash shield you'll need to pull out. On the Tradesmen, the bumper is actually fairly light. Probably 50 pounds. With the brackets exposed, you can now see the two bolts that hold the bumper brackets on, this is where the winch frame brackets will go. You will need to have one of the bumper brackets off to slide the winch in from the front. With a trans jack, you should be able to lift the entire assembly straight up from the bottom. That would be the easiest route.
I used a German torque spec for these bolts, gut-n-tite. They weren't that tight to begin with. There should be sleeves in the frame to keep from crushing it. Using the right metric pitch fasteners, you can reuse the factory nuts, but nuts are cheap anyway.
I used an engine hoist to get the winch assembly up, then got a bolt started from bracket to bracket on one side. The passenger side bumper bracket had to come off to swing the winch into place. The brackets are threaded specifically to the metric M12x1.75 pitch listed, so don't try to use something different.
Re-assemble in the opposite order you took it apart. For the wiring, the factory battery cables have posts for the winch power cables. For the bumper, the stock Tradesmen bumper worked just fine. All that had to be done was to remove the plastic grill insert. Note on the passenger side of the frame is the connector port for the winch remote control. On all other winches, you will need to mount the control box in a way to make the port accessible, or find/make an extension and use the provided location.
If you decide to use the factory mount, the bolt pattern for the winch base is a standard 4 bolt. The mount turns the winch 90 degrees from upright, which shouldn't be an issue for most winches. Your control packs are generally able to be mounted anywhere on the winch. One possible fitment issue may arise with the gear box lever. The PW winches have a special handle that is longer, and fits just under the top lip of the bumper. Standard levers usually sit right on the gearbox, so it may be more difficult to mount depending on the size of your hands. You may need to cut some relief in your bumper.
This is a direct bolt in for 2500 and 3500 trucks with a gas engine, 3rd gen and 4th gen. If you have a diesel, you probably won't be able to use a factory mount because of interference with the intercooler for your blower. It might be possible to move the intercooler, but that's another topic outside my realm of experience. For 1500 series trucks, I don't really know. The 1500 bumper will definitely not clear without a lot of cutting. The grill probably won't work either. I believe the frame rails are the same width, but I don't really know for sure.
Here it goes:
Required hardware:
Winch bracket parts: (prices are liable to change)
52121221AF - winch bracket $469.00
52121225AC - frame bracket left $107.00
52121224AC - frame bracket right $99.10
Fairlead rollers: (they include pins and clips)
05143198AA (2) - horizontal roller $28.00 each
05143199AA (2) - vertical roller $10.10 each
Bolts: (I'd recommend just going to the hardware store, get metric grade 10.9)
06102018 (8) - bolt M12x1.75x65 $9.00 each (4 Winch to bracket, and 4 winch bracket to L&R frame brackets)
06508337AA (4) - bolt M12x1.75x110.00 (no listing) (frame brackets to frame)
Optional hardware:
If you really want the factory winch, there are a couple parts numbers. I'm not sure what the difference is. Not sure if the winch is complete with cable and hook. For the price it better be.
68320402AA - winch $2900
68323333AA - winch
Additional part numbers:
05161040AA - hook
05161038AA - cable kit
05161063AB - remote control
68066669AA - winch motor
68323334AA - control unit
05161037AA - solenoid (4 in the control unit)
05161039AA - Tie bar
Installation:
Start by popping the hood and removing the grill. The black flap/deflector is removed with the black panel retainers. There are two bolts holding the grill on, and there are two clips down either side you will have to carefully disengage once the bolts are out.
With the grill off, you can access the top bolts for the bumper. There are two more on the bottom. There are also panel clips for another deflector/splash shield you'll need to pull out. On the Tradesmen, the bumper is actually fairly light. Probably 50 pounds. With the brackets exposed, you can now see the two bolts that hold the bumper brackets on, this is where the winch frame brackets will go. You will need to have one of the bumper brackets off to slide the winch in from the front. With a trans jack, you should be able to lift the entire assembly straight up from the bottom. That would be the easiest route.
I used a German torque spec for these bolts, gut-n-tite. They weren't that tight to begin with. There should be sleeves in the frame to keep from crushing it. Using the right metric pitch fasteners, you can reuse the factory nuts, but nuts are cheap anyway.
I used an engine hoist to get the winch assembly up, then got a bolt started from bracket to bracket on one side. The passenger side bumper bracket had to come off to swing the winch into place. The brackets are threaded specifically to the metric M12x1.75 pitch listed, so don't try to use something different.
Re-assemble in the opposite order you took it apart. For the wiring, the factory battery cables have posts for the winch power cables. For the bumper, the stock Tradesmen bumper worked just fine. All that had to be done was to remove the plastic grill insert. Note on the passenger side of the frame is the connector port for the winch remote control. On all other winches, you will need to mount the control box in a way to make the port accessible, or find/make an extension and use the provided location.
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