Who Else is Running a 15,000 LB+ winch

Dean2 · May 6, 2022

I have a Smitty Built 17,500 LB winch mounted on my 2500. Real nice looking winch, pulls great but it is a real bear to pull the line out in free wheel. It is so stiff that even in free wheel the electric motor will still reel in and out as long as there isn't much load on the cable. I have had lots of other HD winchs, mostly Warn but a couple of others as well. None of them behaved like this, once in free wheel the electric motor did nothing and they were pretty easy to free spool the line out. Wondering if this is a trait of the Smittybuilts or this one is defective. Either way I am going to replace it becasue I really don't like the way it operates in free spool.

OC455 · May 6, 2022

That doesn't sound right. Any way to adjust it?

Dean2 · May 6, 2022

OC455 said:
That doesn't sound right. Any way to adjust it?

It is still on warranty. It is going back to the off road shop I bought it from, who also did the install, next week. They can fix it or replace it. Only reason I am asking on here is this is the first Smittybuilt I ever owned so I want to be prepared in case the dealer tries something like, Oh, all the Smittybuilts are like this in the HD models. I don't really expect them to try that, I have dealt with them a long time, but times are a changing so always good to have as much info as possible going in.

olyelr · May 6, 2022

That certainly dosnt sound right. Are you sure the free spool lever is fully disengaged when trying to pull the line?

I have never used a smittybuilt winch either.

Dean2 · May 6, 2022

I did some Google searching. Apparently this is fairly common on Smittybuilt winchs. They are packed with a ton of very thick, conventional grease. When the grease gets older, or it is a little chilly outside the resistnace produced by the grease is huge. Cure is to remove the gear pack, clean out all the grease and replace it with a Quality Synthetic grease like Amsoil Offroad or the Shell version that Warn actually uses. Depending on what the shop has to say, I think I might just punt this Smitty and go back to a warn. Stuck up to the running boards in a mud hole is not where I want to find out there are other issues with these winches. Only reason I took it in the first place was there were ZERO 15,000 or bigger Warns available when I had them rig the truck Sept last year.

OC455 · May 6, 2022

If it doesn't free spool like it's supposed to, I would have it checked. Like you said, not something you want to find out about when you are buried up to the rockers...

Whiskey13 · May 6, 2022

I have had two Smittybilt 15000 lb. winches. Both worked exactly the same and when the lever was in free wheel the drum was in freewheel as it should be, the line was easy to pull out by hand and the electric motor would not drive the drum at all. If your drum is moving with the lever in freewheel than your freewheel lever it not fully releasing the drum. It certainly could be a defective winch or it might be the lever is not fully in the freewheel position. I have had to rock the drum on a couple occasions to get the lever to completely disengage the drum.

DILLIGAF · May 6, 2022

Take it apart and clean it and put in better grease.

bcbouy · May 7, 2022

my oem warn did the same thing right off the dealers lot.it exploded shortly after i tried to use it the second time out.i had to force the freespool lever the first time i tried to use it and the drum was really hard to spin.

Dean2 · May 7, 2022

DILLIGAF said:
Take it apart and clean it and put in better grease.

Well since it is a nearly new winch, like I said above, I think I will let the installing dealer fix whatever the issue is, even if it is just new grease. If I open it up, no more warranty, if the dealer does, all is good. What the replies to this thread have been really helpful with is, I know for certain this is not a normal condition for the large Smittybuilt winches. Will provide an update once the dealer has fixed or replaced it.

OC455 · May 7, 2022

Dean2 said:
Well since it is a nearly new winch, like I said above, I think I will let the installing dealer fix whatever the issue is, even if it is just new grease. If I open it up, no more warranty, if the dealer does, all is good. What the replies to this thread have been really helpful with is, I know for certain this is not a normal condition for the large Smittybuilt winches. Will provide an update once the dealer has fixed or replaced it.

Let us know, I was always under the impression that Smittybuilt was one of the top tier winches that were made up there with Warn.

DILLIGAF · May 7, 2022

Smittybuilt is made in China junk. You have to remote mount the winch box under the hood if you dont want it to fail due to rain... lol.. The circuit board is fully exposed under the cheap plastic cover... lol...

I take my apart once a year , and the grease is full of junk without fail every time. And mine is mounted behind my bumper away from the elements.

But reading the horror stories that Warn also has makes me think that these companies sell this stuff hoping guys dont actually use them... lol...

Dean2 · May 7, 2022

DILLIGAF said:
Smittybuilt is made in China junk. You have to remote mount the winch box under the hood if you dont want it to fail due to rain... lol.. The circuit board is fully exposed under the cheap plastic cover... lol...

I take my apart once a year , and the grease is full of junk without fail every time. And mine is mounted behind my bumper away from the elements.

But reading the horror stories that Warn also has makes me think that these companies sell this stuff hoping guys dont actually use them... lol...

So smitty is China junk and warn is just as bad. Who do you use and recommend for a quality which because I have one warn 8274 that is now 50 years old, a 8000 lbs level wind that is 27 years old and a 14000 lbs that is 12 years old. None have ever needed service or repair despite a ton of use. The 8274 did need new connector plug for the remote though about 10 years ago, that makes it real junk i guess.

DILLIGAF · May 8, 2022

You cant compare stuff made 25+ years ago to the crap thats made today. Unfortunately in this day in age its all about maximizing profits for shareholders.

some guys on the Jeep forum have better luck with cheap harbor freight winches... lol.

The only good side to Warn a Smitty is you can get parts and fix them when they break.

bcbouy · May 8, 2022

the first week of my old 12000# smittybilt the solenoid box broke right off the winch.every smittybilt product i've owned has been garbage.i refuse to buy anything from them now.

OC455 · May 9, 2022

I bought a Superwinch for my Kubota, 4000lbs pull. Haven't got around to getting hooked up though. Their bigger models look pretty good.

Dean2 · May 11, 2022

Took the truck in, it is definitely way too thick grease that is causing the problem. The grease is so thick that it acts like a near solid connection and allows the motor to turn the gears under light load, even in free spool. The dealer called Smittybuilt, apparently they started putting in much thicker grease in the 15,000 to 17,500 series industrial winches because many of the guys using the winches on wreckers, flat decks and car haulers were complaining they free spooled too easily and jumbled the nicely wrapped under tension wire rope when kicked into free spool. Pretty clear they have WAY over done the grease viscosity.

The installing dealer is going to pull the gear set off and replace the grease with a Synthetic/moly type grease under warranty and that should solve the problem. We shall see how I like it once they get that done.

olyelr · May 14, 2022

Dean2 said:
Took the truck in, it is definitely way too thick grease that is causing the problem. The grease is so thick that it acts like a near solid connection and allows the motor to turn the gears under light load, even in free spool. The dealer called Smittybuilt, apparently they started putting in much thicker grease in the 15,000 to 17,500 series industrial winches because many of the guys using the winches on wreckers, flat decks and car haulers were complaining they free spooled too easily and jumbled the nicely wrapped under tension wire rope when kicked into free spool. Pretty clear they have WAY over done the grease viscosity.

The installing dealer is going to pull the gear set off and replace the grease with a Synthetic/moly type grease under warranty and that should solve the problem. We shall see how I like it once they get that done.

Nice!
Keep us updated

Dean2 · May 14, 2022

They re-greased the winch yesterday. Huge difference in how it works. It now free spools nicely but isn't so loose that it unwraps itself and jumbles the cable. With the old grease, even in warm temps you had to power the cable out, at -30 it would have been rock solid, winch would have been unusable. Dealer said the original lube was so thick you could push a screw driver into it and it would stay upright no problem. Said it was a real bear getting the old lube out.

Who would have thought something as simple as grease viscosity could make that much difference. Anyone buying a Smittybuilt may want to ensure the vendor re-lubes it before installing it on a vehicle.

crazy jerry · May 28, 2022

people want cheap junk and companies know this. some day i would like to try one of these https://www.red-winches.com/

Who Else is Running a 15,000 LB+ winch

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