Adjustment tool: Drag Brake 20K lb Front Winch

[MyothersanM1]

Disclaimer: I have searched the following question extensively to no avail.

The drum on my 20K lbs. front winch spools out to quickly resulting in some bird nesting of the wire rope. Easy fix and after consulting the -20 TM, I firmly understand how to adjust the tension of the drag brake. Just put a drag link socket on it and do your 1/4 turn...right? No, it is not that simple of a task with an installed winch. There is approximately an 1 1/2" of clearance between the large set screw and the winch to frame main bracket to work in. I see no way to get a large screwdriver or a drag link socket with ratchet into that space to effect any kind of adjustment. I have thought of making my own tool out of some strap steel.

My question to all of you is have you made this adjustment with winch installed and what tool or contrived device did you use to make it. Thank you for any help in advance.

 

[73m819]

I have a set of those 90 deg. bend screw drivers, the big flat blade end works great.

 

[Makincold]

I took a hole saw, (same size as the one at the BACK of the support angle that SEEMS like it should have been over that adjustment screw anyway....) low speed Milwaukee 1/2 drill and put a hole big enough not only to adjust through but remove the adjustment screw and spring
I also found the spring was not actually strong enough to do much adjustment so I added a small spacer to give me some adjustment room
Works like a champ and no hassle with special tools or special screw drivers



You may also find that if ANY oil has leaked from around the main seal, that brake is now useless, no matter how far in you adjust, and you will have to remove the winch to service and clean the brake material (feel free to ask me how I know this....)



View from the inside (of the drag brake)

 

[MyothersanM1]

Makincold...thanks for the response. The hole in the mounting brackets is a good idea. I think I'll do the same. This is a bad design feature on the original equipment. The hole provision should have been there from the start from the manufacturer. Put an adjusting screw up against a solid steel plate...uh...oh, yeah Sure glad they remembered the whole for the gear side oil filler plug.

What did you use for the spring spacer?

Also, did you notice any exterior oil seepage/leakage on the underside of the brake side of the drum or was it dry. Mine shows no signs of leakage on the exterior.

I did read up on your earlier posting about your winch woes. Good info.
Anyway, thanks again.

 

[Makincold]

Make sure you get a heavy duty bi-metal hole saw (Milwaukee 1-1/4 in. Bi-Metal Hole Saw Model # 49-56-9613 , used this from Home Depot)
Took maybe 10 minutes slow speed to cut through, but really easy job


As for the spacer, note the drag brake is a "tube" and the spring fits inside. I just started stacking flat washers till I could feel I was actually getting tension or pressure on the drum from the spring
You can take it out a dozen times and add or subtract at will with that nice 1 1/4 hole you just drilled!

Seepage was not evident with the winch on the truck, but after disassembly there was a film of oil on the drum
In addition to that, since this truck got a depot level rebuild in about 2006 the drum still had red chromate primer that also clogged the brake material and allowed no friction between the brake material and drum. So before reassembly I took a small disk grinder and removed the primer and left a slightly rough surface so the brake material had something to bite, not much mind you (pic is pre grinder...) Note the freshly machined seal surface


It started out as a "woe" and not getting info here, I just did it myself. Learned a lot on my own.
Glad to help you if you need anything else, just let me know

 

[MyothersanM1]

Thanks again. I have a whole grip of hole saws and I have that exact size and mfg'er in the tool box.

Between the leaking lube and built up paint, I can see why yours had the issue. The learning curve is always present with these trucks.

 

[MyothersanM1]

Makincold's MWO Complete

Problem solved! Thanks to Makincold's MWO. Took about ten minutes to core out the access hole and now I have a clean shot at the adjustment screw. Just pop a large flat tip screwdriver in there and adjust away. I did remove the screw and added some spacers (washers and a 1/4" nut) as recommended. The drag brake now works good. I did not find any signs of oil contamination around the brake shoe.

 

[Artisan]

I need to do this to mine just because! Great MWO Makincold Thank YOU!

 

[Makincold]

Glad the mod went well! Easy fix for the problem