doghead

I have been using winch shear pins that i bought from Saturn Surplus. I seem to shear them pretty easily. My question is, should I be able to winch the truck forward if the object I am hooked to does not move with the brakes depressed to the point that all wheels skid? (level sandy ground ,engine 800 rpm) When I first got the truck, it had a grade 5 bolt in it. I was able to shear that and a few more when i had not read the tech manual and chained the truck to a large tree and tried to winch something very heavy and the truck was facing a 30 foot drop-off. When I realized that it uses an aluminum pin, I promptly ordered some and have been using them. I can tell you that when the bolts sheared, there was a light "snap" noticed. With the aluminum pins, I feel nothing. The only indication of it shearing is the fact that nothing is moving. I really would like to think that the winch is capable of "dead dragging" the deuce with all wheels locked. For me this has not been the case. I do realize there are capacity increasing options such as doubling with a pulley and less cable on the spool. In any case I just want to know if you guys have had better success than me when it comes to Heavy winching with your trucks. Is everyone here using the aluminum shear pins?

M819
M35A2 w/w
M35A2
M109
M561 w/w
M274
M1008A1
M38A1
M105
Pioneer tool trailer
M116A2
MEP-002

Stretch44875

I haven't broke my aluminum pin yet. Only done some light winching thou. Pulled a cherokee out of the mud, it was to the frame.

Dennis

68 M35A2, W/W, Dump, many mods.
52 M108, multifuel
46 CJ-2A, rough
61 M422a Mighty Mite, project.

WillWagner

Funny thing, I was trying to winch out a bottle brush stump for my neighbor yesterday. 1st time I have put aload on the winch. Had it in low, slowly let the clutch out to take up the slack, stump started to move and the front of the truck kind of squated. pushed the clutch in and the cable slacked up, started to re engage the winch, nuthin, sheard the pin. Had the e-brake on, the truck didn't try to move...the front wheels were against a curb though. Would have thought the shear pin was a tad more robust! Have used winches b4..maybe it's the torque?

I'm developing a taste for tracked things
1968 Kaiser/Jeep M35A2 W/W
1968 Johnson Furnace M105A2
Tents, Camo netting, Lotsa other junk.
Why can't I walk to the back of my garage
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rdixiemiller

I read in one of the 1950's tech manuals that the steel pins had been replaced with aluminum to prevent damage to the frame or driveline.
I have seen wrecker frames twisted all over the place when people winched off to the side with the truck up against a tree.
The winches were designed to help recover a stuck truck, probably a 15000# pull was all they were rated for. Now, the winch is capable of much more, but you can wreck a truck frame in a hurry if you are not extremely careful, and knowledgeable of winch operation.
Think about it, these were designed to be driven by draftees.........

Robert Miller
Currently out on the road programming robots.......

ktm380

My truck had all-thread for the pin when I got it. So I replaced it with a new pin bought from ebay (aluminum pin). Well the pin broke the first time, I was moving my 83' Bronco on level ground in neutral and e-brake off. Is it possible that there are a bad batch of these running around?

DDoyle

Sounds like the winch and shear pins are working properly in the first instance. The winch is rated at 10,000 lbs. The M35A2 weighs more than that - without the coefficient of friction that would come with the "brakes locked" scenario.

I've gone through perhaps a half-dozen shear pins - all surplus, in various situations. The biggest strain, which did not shear the pin, was winching a tank from a ditich - the transmission housing flexed enough that gear oil leaked between it and the PTO (fortunately, it didn't break). I bought a truck once that had the shear pin replaced with a bolt - and it had a burst winch housing...and I've seen several burst transmission housings.

Best wishes,
David Doyle

Djfreema

I dont have any extra pins but was thinking of buying a 3 foot section of aluminuim rod and cutting it down to the right size for use as extra pins. Is there anything special about the aluminum used to make the pins?

williamh

it took me all of 5min. of playing with mine to shear the alum .pin off ... took 20 min to shear off the first bolt ...took another 15min. to bend the crap out of the top guard/bracket and ruin the cable ... still have the bolt .. have pulled down trees and pulled out other trucks and had lots of other " experences " with it .. the alum. pin was too weak and a grade 5 bolt is too strong ...

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DDoyle

DJ,
Yes, there is something "special" about the aluminum. As you probably know, aluminum (and other metals) come in a variety of alloys - and for the pin to work as engineered, the pin is to be made of a specific alloy.

Best,
David

ktm380

So what do thing of some cheap Harbor Freight bolts? Maybe that would be right between the aluminum pin and the grade 5.