Jeepzjlover

M starting to have my regrets buyin a cheap frickin winch I am having a very difficult time getting this winch to free spool has anybody had this problem? If so what's the fix? I gotta put all my body weight into it I was stuck tonight and I had to leave it engaged and power the cable out I know that's bad but I just couldn't pull it

ct67_72

yep, common. They use a very heavy grease. The solution is to take the end caps off, clean all the grease out, and regrease with a good quality synthetic grease.

Jarrett

had that problem with mine today while wheeling as matter of fact.

RenegadeT

x2
my buddy just repacked his xrc8, said it now freespooled like easily like a winch should. With the factory grease/paste, it took 2 people to pull cable.

xjcherokee90

i have the xrc 10 and never had any problems at all with it

zr2toxj

Yeah mine got to the point where I couldn't pull cable alone. Other guys in the club are having the same issue. I plan to take it apart and use synthetic grease, but in the meantime I removed the cover and sprayed WD40 in the holes, etc to thin the grease out some. Worked good so far, at least until I get a chance to tear into it.

OnlyInMyXJ22

Yup, that's it.

Same.

zr2toxj

Wait, what? So you think an XRC8 is a cheap winch but the 10 isn't? I've got some humbling news for you.

I bought my XRC8 used with only a couple of pulls on it, and bought it cheap. I really wanted a Warn 8000 with synthetic line, but missed it. I'll see how the 8 stands up, so far so good. I had to have the motor repaired. I was getting a dead short in it and took the motor off and found the brush assembly was not installed properly. They sent the original owner a new remote, but that didn't fix it. Only cost me $20 to fix, so I'll see how it does from here. I would prefer a Ramsey or Warn, but didn't have the coin. I bought my winch bumper and winch for $200, so I'm not disappointed and know I can sell it easily if I upgrade someday.

xjcherokee90

\

dont get your panties in a twist...nobody said either one was better than the other. just simply stating which winch i owned and that i have had no issues. as far as price i would have bought the xrc8 but the day i ordered mine the 10 was just 50 more so i figured why not right..but either way sounds like you got a killer deal

xjmarc

My brother has the opposite problem, his won't stay engauged. He has to hold the leaver while winching, which is dangerous, otherwise it just pops out.

ct67_72

There is only a slide collar inside. When you turn the handle, it rides a ramp that shifts the collar over. Maybe there's some crap inside.
I'd pull the cover and check it out. They are pretty simple in there.
My winch is a gorilla, which is made at the same place the smittybuilt is and its been through hell, between me and my 2 other friends that had it over the last 4-5 years. I've never had a proven.

OnlyInMyXJ22

Wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Or just not understand any form of sarcasm?

ProudXjOwner

Have yet to have a problem with my xrc8.

PingPong

Call the smitty built customer care line.. they have parts to fix it... ask me how I know

Just give it time and use it some


I too have an XRC8k.... let me just say they have real goood customer service. The winch works good when it works. They had to replace my whole winch, cause the one they sent me never worked right. The second one I have had no issues with, and I had to use it in a critical situation and it worked flawless. When it takes a crap I will be buying a WARN or a Tabor winch.