If you have ever met someone who said something along the lines of “I used my winch once to pull myself out of a puddle, then a year or so later I went to use it again but it just didn’t work”, then you probably met someone who never maintained their 4×4 winch.

See, the thing about 12v Winches is the more often they get used, the longer they last. This is simply due to the fact that as 4wders, we are constantly putting our 4wds through their paces- weather it be salt water crossing, mud bogs or sandy/ rough dirt tracks. With all that abuse up the front end of our 4wds, the 4wd winch is pretty much first in line to cop the brunt of what we put our 4wds through. For that reason, they can collect a lot of mud, sand, rocks, corrosion from salt water and more.

When you put your Winch through this abuse without properly maintaining it, you are drastically degreasing the life expectancy of your 4wd Winch. Which is why it is so important to follow these maintenance tips every 6 months (that’ll only take about an hour) to ensure your rig’s 12v Winch stays in tip top condition for many years to come.

Tip 1- Cleaning your winch rope:
As previously mentioned, your 4wd winch takes the brunt of the elements you put your 4wd through and the main part of the winch that absorbs the majority of it is of course the winch rope. For that reason, it’s a great idea to spool the entire length of your winch rope out and leave it in a net roll in front of your 4wd. Then, grab a large bucket or storage box and fill it with warm water and a couple of splashes of mild dish soap. Please note; for this step it’s super important that you don’t go crazy with the dish soap or use harsh chemicals in the water. We’re only using a little bit to help release and mud, sand, dirt or even grease you might have on your rope. Harsh chemicals can deteriorate your winch rope and in turn make it weaker, so again- only a few splashes of MILD dish soap.
Starting with the hook-end take your winch rope in each hand (about 20cm apart) and feed it into the warm, soapy water while pressing it together in sections to open up the synthetic strands and clear out all the sand, mud and dirt you might have. The reason we’re not dumping the entire winch rope into the bucket straight away is because if we start getting rid of all the mud and sand on top of the rolled up rope, its going to make your job much harder because you’re doubling what you already have to do.

Let the Winch rope sit in the bucket for about 10-20 minuets, then take it out and replace your water with clean tap water and repeat this same process until there is no dirt left inside of your winch rope.

Tip 2- Cleaning your control box contacts and winch terminals:
After a few water crossing (particularly salt), the electronic components on your 4wd winch can start corroding and cause grief in the long run which is why it’s important to do the following:
For this next step you’re going to need a few bits and pieces to make sure you do the job properly. Contact cleaner, battery terminal protection spray or white lithium grease and a wire brush.
First, take your car winch control box off your bulbar and remove the plastic shroud. Inspect all of the terminals inside the control box and check for any corrosion. If there is any corrosion on the terminals, undo the nuts and clean them off with your wire brush. Do each of these one at a time, that way you don’t get confused as to where each wire goes when you’re done. Once you’re happy with how clean they are, make sure they are all tight and give them a quick spray with either battery terminal protection spray or some lithium grease. This will stop water and salt from sticking to your terminals and causing corrosion. Repeat this exact process on the cables that come from your control box and attach directly to the terminals on your winch.

Those last 2 winch maintenance tips should only take you about an hour or so to do, but these following 2 call for the winch to be take out of the winch cradle and placed on a work bench to be pulled apart. They might take a little bit more time, but trust me- it is well worth it because not only will it make your 4×4 winch last longer, but you’ll also get a good understanding of how and what makes the winch work once you have it pulled apart.

Tip 3(a)- De-greasing your winch gearbox:
Once you’ve removed your winch from your 4wd, set it up on a bench and start pulling apart the gearbox housing. This will be the opposite end to where the terminals are on the 4×4 winch. It’s a good idea to lay out the bolts you’ve removed in the same orientation they came out.

Once the gearbox is separated from the main 12v winch body, put a set of rubber gloves on and start pulling the planetary gear sets out of the housing and place them into a large storage box with about an inch or two of methylated spirits. Give the gear sets a good spray with some heavy duty degreaser and spin them through the methylated spirits to get rid of ALL of the old grease. You don’t want any of the old grease left on the gear sets because old grease and new grease don’t go together- it’d be like changing your engine oil without draining all the old oil first. Leave the gear sets to soak in the methylated spirits and move on to the next step.

Tip 4- Winch Motor Maintenance:
Now it’s time to check the 12V Winch motor itself. Pull it apart and lay out all of the components on your work bench. Check over each component and make sure there is no corrosion. If there is, grab some fine grit- wet and dry sandpaper and give the area a quick sanding with some contact cleaner. Make sure you check inside the housing for corrosion as well and repeat the above process on the inside of the winch housing as well. Once all the components are corrosion free, put the motor back together inside the housing and tighten up all the bolts.

Tip 3(b)- Re-greasing your winch gearbox:
Now that all the old grease has been removed from your planetary gears, grab a clean rag a give them a good wipe down to dry off the methylated spirits and remove anything left over. Start re- greasing them with new grease. When you’re regreasing your gears, make sure you use the grease sparingly so as not to prevent the gears from spinning because they are clogged up.
There’s a multitude of types of grease you could use to regrease your winch gearbox with, but I prefer to use wheel bearing grease.

There you go! Follow these steps twice a year and your 4×4 winch will last you for many years to come. And remember- after every 4wd trip, spool your winch rope out and put it back on the drum correctly!