Gearmatic Winch

[Paul Buhler]

Hi: Yesterday I adjusted my clutch bands with the intent of having them release cleanly so that the winch wouldn't spool in when the crawler was moving and the brake lever was in the hold position. I eventually settled on .020 and wired the adjusting bolts to hold this clearance. Spools out nicely and winches in strongly, but...

Long story short, the spider has a lot of play around the splines which seems to allow the clutches to bind under load and not release as designed even with the greater clearance.

Anyway, has anyone dealt with this problem? I haven't removed the spider to really see how worn it is. Can the spider be rebuilt, or ...? Ideas always welcome. Thanks. Paul