Winch fluid level

[Gerry]

Can someone tell me where in the manual is the directions for topping off the winch? Do I fill to the height of the 2 small weep holes/bolts?
Thanks

[rtkjmk]

Gerry ,each side takes 1QT of Mobilgear 600XP460 gear oil .It is very important to use the RIGHT lube in your winch . Some people will tell you it's"OK" to use 90 weight gear lube but trust me it will only lead to problems down the road . You can by the lube on line , About $60.00 a gallon . Have you resealed your winch ? if not now would be a good time ,before you waste some expensive lube . The Mobilgear lube reminds me of STP , high viscosity , made for heavy winch use . bob k

[Gerry]

Bob,
Thanks for the info

[MSeriesRebuild]

Gerry ,each side takes 1QT of Mobilgear 600XP460 gear oil .It is very important to use the RIGHT lube in your winch . Some people will tell you it's"OK" to use 90 weight gear lube but trust me it will only lead to problems down the road . You can by the lube on line , About $60.00 a gallon . Have you resealed your winch ? if not now would be a good time ,before you waste some expensive lube . The Mobilgear lube reminds me of STP , high viscosity , made for heavy winch use . bob k

This oil is more commonly known as worm gear oil or lube, ISO 460. It is available from many different brands, easier to find at industrial lubricant dealers rather than automotive suppliers.

[Gerry]

Thanks Charles. Are the 2 small plugs the fill levels?

[MSeriesRebuild]

Thanks Charles. Are the 2 small plugs the fill levels?

That is correct, each side holds approx 1 quart.

[Gerry]

thanks Charles

[Monkey Man]

Possibly a dumb question but would this lube be suitable for Steering Boxes?

MM

[WarrenD]

Somewhere, I read where someone recommended corn head grease for the steering box. I filled mine full of corn head greaes last fall and it's working out very well. I had a small leak and the grease is too thick to run out. Cold doesn't seem to be a problem and I'm not worried about heat as I think the grease holds up better and it's not like the steering box builds heat like the T-case!
John Deere seems to be the easiest to get here in the states, should be very common in the corn belt!

[MSeriesRebuild]

This topic of discussion has come up numerous times over a period of years concerning both steering boxes and winches.

I'm sure you can locate previous discussions if you search past threads concerning this. The short form of the facts are this. Some, actually some which should know better than the advice they offer have recommended the corn head lube solution for steering boxes and winches. If I recall correctly, almost everytime the real solution they were seeking to solve was oil leaks. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that grease is less likely to leak out of any gear box because it isn't a liquid. My call here is this; NEVER use grease in any application where a liquid lube is the recommendation. Liquid lubes are used for a simple reason, because of their ability to flow freely into areas where lubrication is critical. Grease does not flow to that degree and therefore does not do the job it should in applications that need liquid lube. The only time I would recommend grease in such an application is in an emergency to get you home or to a service facility so a proper repair of oil leaks can be made so the correct lube will stay in the unit.

This is especially true in the LU4 Braden winch. Most are not aware that the oil in both end housings on the winch can actually transfer from 1 end housing to the other via the drum shaft and bushings. If this doesn't happen, the drum shaft bushings do not get lubrication and will fail quickly if the winch is being used. Grease, corn head or any other type is not liquid and will not flow into this critical shaft bushing area.

The correct advice is this; repair / rebuild whatever component has a leak correctly using good quality current production seals and proper repair techniques so it will retain the proper lubricant. Bear in mind that a seal lip mating surface must be in good shape or a new seal is worthless. I hear this very often; "I replaced all the seals with new, but it kept on leaking." My first question, did you use new seals or NOS? If the answer is NOS, then that was the first mistake. My next question is did you inspect and repair as needed all the surfaces that the seals mate against? Most often that answer reveals the fact that the thought never even crossed their mind to look at that. In the minds of most, new seals are miracles in a box, and should solve all leaking issues, NOT, in fact, most cases a new seal alone will not do the job in older equipment that has been used and abused. You can bet that most military equipment has seen more than its fair share of abuse. It isn't likely that 60 year old NOS seals will fix a leaking issue even with proper surface repairs being made, so don't waste your time and $$ using them.

I expect that once again there will be some who think because of the statements that I've made above that I'm full of it. That's fine if you do as I've learned that some people just can't deal with advice that isn't what they hoped to hear, you can use what ever lube you like, and make repairs or not as you see fit. Usually what happens is a huge discussion about corn head lube because someone said it was fine to use it. I'm just not interested in going there when the bottom line is I know better.

[MSeriesRebuild]

Possibly a dumb question but would this lube be suitable for Steering Boxes?

MM

Yes the same lube is what should go in the steering gear box as it too is a worm gear unit.

[Monkey Man]

Thanks Charles, I may run into trouble fitting the power steering box and am looking at the option of freshening up the existing box with a new bushing and seal plus some liquid lube less likely to wick out of the inverted box setup.

Best Regards - MM