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M35A2 Winch Issues

hnybdgr92

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Greensboro
I have a 1968 M35A2 with the PTO winch, but the selector lever on the back side of the winch wont budge. A friend of mine mentioned that the winch clutch might be broken, hence why the lever wont move, and why the cable wont budge either. Anyone have any advice/suggestions?
 

cattlerepairman

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Are you able to pull the drum lock? Does the drum turn by hand? Can you turn the drum a bit and try the lever again? Can you turn the winch driveshaft by hand a bit and try the lever again? Note that the lever does not move much, just a click to either side. You do know about the little hinged locking flap that locks the clutch lever out?

Also: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=winch+clutch+stuck+site:steelsoldiers.com
 

fasttruck

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Mesa, AZ
How is the drum clutch set now ? Disengaged ? If so to engage it you need to pull the drum lock out and rotate the capstan slightly to get the dogs in the dog clutch to mesh.MTA PICNIC 08.16.2014 011.jpgGILBERT SHOW 09.19.2015 015.jpgMTA PICNIC 08.16.2014 011.jpg
 

M543A2

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Warsaw, Indiana
With the pull-out drum lock lever pulled out and rotated to the detent slots that keep it out the drum should be able to be rotated by hand. Even if the clutch lever is engaged the drum will rotate a few degrees either direction then hit a stop which is the inherent free play the clutch drive dogs on the end of the drum. With the clutch lever disengaged the drum should free rotate to allow pulling out the cable. I can say that the lever on our winch moves quite hard. You cannot do it by hand so we carry a 24" piece of appropriate diameter conduit tubing that fits over the lever to shift it with. Just use good sense when doing this! A person who has done a lot of mechanical work will have a good idea how hard to pull/push on the pipe to prevent damage. The lever can move a bit and not fully engage because the drive dogs on the end of the drum are not in position to engage. Try rotating the drum around a bit until they do engage and the lever goes to the full engaged position. You can try putting your favorite kind of rusty bolt loosening spray on the lever rod where it goes into the back of the winch housing. We also have other winches you can shift by hand, both 10,000 and 20,000, but they take a bit of effort. Short of totally disassembling the deuce winch to fix the hard shifting problem we will just continue to shift it with the pipe as long as it works that way and keep some loosen-it spray on the shaft to see if it eventually comes around to easier shifting. We have 'bigger fish to fry' than working on that right now since it is working!
If nothing including trying a leverage pipe moves it then disassembly is your only option. Hopefully oil has been kept in that end of the winch housing so rust has not happened.
It is a very good idea to periodically, twice a year at least, engage the winch PTO on the winch and let it run for 5 minutes or so without the drum clutch engaged. Just watch that you do not overheat the brake. This will circulate the oil on the gears and bearings and into the drum bearings on the shaft that goes from the gear box through the drum to the opposite side where the clutch dogs are. Oil will not get there due to level but needs to be stirred by gear rotation to make it happen.
 

hnybdgr92

New member
17
2
3
Location
Greensboro
As of right now, the drum is locked up good. The notch that prevents the level from moving is disengaged but the lever will still not move. The drum will also not move by hand. The input shaft into the winch is also frozen, hence why I'm kinda stumped. I was in an accident in 2017 where a vehicle pulled out in front of me at an intersection and ever since the winch will not function. I'm thinking the best course of action is to dissemble the winch and try to find he broken piece the hard way. I managed to snag a TM off here for the disassembly but i am still hesitant since when I find the busted piece I'm not sure if i can find a replacement. Thanks for the advice all!!
 

porkysplace

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Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Location
mid- michigan
As of right now, the drum is locked up good. The notch that prevents the level from moving is disengaged but the lever will still not move. The drum will also not move by hand. The input shaft into the winch is also frozen, hence why I'm kinda stumped. I was in an accident in 2017 where a vehicle pulled out in front of me at an intersection and ever since the winch will not function. I'm thinking the best course of action is to dissemble the winch and try to find he broken piece the hard way. I managed to snag a TM off here for the disassembly but i am still hesitant since when I find the busted piece I'm not sure if i can find a replacement. Thanks for the advice all!!
Your not out anything by tearing into it , all it is now is extra weight .
 
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