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How easy should it be to engage and disengage the selector on a braden winch. This is the one on the winch it's self that you can do freewheel spooling or lock it in for power.

Mine seams to be hard to go from lock or freespooling.

Is there a correct way to move this lever??

Steve

slk wrote:How easy should it be to engage and disengage the selector on a braden winch. This is the one on the winch it's self that you can do freewheel spooling or lock it in for power.

Mine seams to be hard to go from lock or freespooling.

Is there a correct way to move this lever??

Steve

A little clearer explanation of what is going on will help in offering an accurate answer.

It is not uncommon for the selector shaft to corrode,(the steel shaft the handle is attached to) making it difficult (if not impossible) to move the handle. The repair involves disassembly of the winch, and repair of the corroded portions of the shaft. A search of this site should turn up some valuable information on performing this task.

Good luck

The selector handle is not coroded. It does move. It is just hard to get it to go from the engage detent to the disengage one. It is like the forks inside are having a hard time moving the coupler away to make it free spooling. It will work with the truck running and if you play with it long enough. I was just wondering if this was normal or not

The handle won't corrode - its made of aluminum. The steel shaft that the handle is attached to inside the case however is steel, and prone to corrosion. If it is difficult to turn the shaft due to corrosion, then the handle will be difficult to move. If your difficulty stems from the gears and such not aligning properly when the winch isn't moving to make the selection from engagement to free spool and vice-versa, then I would consider that to be fairly normal. Rocking the winch drum by hand, or with the PTO should line everything up and allow for "shifting", provided there is no load (tension) on the winch cable. If you need to beat the handle over from detent to detent with a hammer, then something is clearly wrong inside.

slk wrote:The selector handle is not coroded. It does move. It is just hard to get it to go from the engage detent to the disengage one. It is like the forks inside are having a hard time moving the coupler away to make it free spooling. It will work with the truck running and if you play with it long enough. I was just wondering if this was normal or not

I think you just gave me the additional info I was looking for, this is why my first post was worded that way. If I'm reading you correctly, the shift lever moves freely, but the fork doesn't readily engage/disengage the dogs on the drum. The most common cause for this is that the set screw that holds the fork tight on the shaft has come loose. This lets the fork flop wildly on the shaft instead of being held rigid so it readily engages the clutch. This issue will only worsen as the screw gets loser until it won't engege at all. The only way to fix this is remove the winch from the frame rails and disassemble the clutch end housing. Remove the fork from the shaft for a visual inspection as the set screw hole in both the fork and the shaft may be deformed. Replace/repair as needed. When you reassemble, be sure the set screw gets lock-tite applied liberally and is torqued to the correct spec. Be sure the end case is in proper alignment in respect to the worm housing, oil will leak if alignment isn't perfectly true.

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