Where to attach winch on Gen 3 Explorer

[JCUZ]

Has anyone fitted a winch to their Gen 3 (mine's a 2004 model) Explorer? If so, where?

At this stage it looks like i'll have to attach it to the back, as there doesn't seem to be any good (strong) mounting places on the front, but if someone has already done this, then a few pics of what you did, and brief description of how would be appreciated. TIA.

 

[17fordguy]

been thinking abotu this my self and conclusion i came to was modifing a 2in reciver and bolting it strait to the frame and have it come out directlt behind the license plate braket and modify some small spring loaded hinges t attatch to it the get a winch and a warn 2in reciver mount then u can use it on the front and back have the same plans for my 96 f150.

 

[ericautopart]

Hehe, if you wheeling w/ one of them your going to need a winch. Are there many of those in Australia?

 

[m4dc0w]

Inless you want to install a full bumper for the winch up front, as I did on my Gen2

I would recommend just putting a receiver front and get a winch carrier.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2637...004QQitemZ140247846742QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

this way you can have it on front or back, most of the time from experience, when you need the winch to pull yoursel out, going out the way you came is the easiest ways.

It doesn't leave any major mods on the truck if it happends to be your daily driver also, and you can put the winch on when you think you are going to need it that day.

 

[JCUZ]

Inless you want to install a full bumper for the winch up front, as I did on my Gen2

I would recommend just putting a receiver front and get a winch carrier.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2637...004QQitemZ140247846742QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

this way you can have it on front or back, most of the time from experience, when you need the winch to pull yoursel out, going out the way you came is the easiest ways.

It doesn't leave any major mods on the truck if it happends to be your daily driver also, and you can put the winch on when you think you are going to need it that day.

Thanks for the link - I was thinking of something like that. I assume the front mount bolts in where the tow hooks normally go? That's a great idea. In fact, I think I'll just make something like that up that will fit into the rear towbar hitch. Thanks so much for the link!

ericautopart - (this is all going to be off topic....but here goes). There are a few explorers over here, but not nearly as many as in the US. We have the Ford Falcon wagon which is a much bigger seller than the Explorer (it's a full size family wagon, but not 4WD), and now we have the Ford Territory in 2WD and AWD variants, ranging from a 190kw Inline 6, through to a 245kw turbo Inline 6. It's slightly smaller than the Explorer, but has more storage compartments than you can poke a stick at, and can carry 5 or 7 people. Ford Australia haven't imported the explorer since 2005, due to the large number of Territories being sold; the local offering is probably as good as the Ex, and a little cheaper too, but no V8 version, which is why we went searching for an Ex.

Here's a photo of the "cooking" variety Territory:

A bit more info on it can be found here:
http://www.ford.com.au/servlet/Cont...92&pagename=FOA/DFYPage/Default1024&c=DFYPage

 

[ktford]

what about the FPV terry's which will contain the 310kw turbo engine shortly, relpacing their 270kw version offered currently. The territory is suprisingly wide inside and out, but 3rd row seats are for people with no feet which is why we chose the last '05 brand new X there was on offer
Scotty

 

[JCUZ]

Has anyone fitted a winch to their Gen 3 (mine's a 2004 model) Explorer? If so, where?

At this stage it looks like i'll have to attach it to the back, as there doesn't seem to be any good (strong) mounting places on the front, but if someone has already done this, then a few pics of what you did, and brief description of how would be appreciated. TIA.

In the absence of anything else, I've created my own. I had purchased from eBay a warn winch mount that fits the 2" receiver, but the seller didn't have any in stock, and it would be a 6 to 9 week delay getting one, so I figured in that time I could make something up. I was looking at a temporary one so I could swap between front and back, but the winch itself weighs 38KG (85LBS), and is rated to pull 12,000LBS, so would be a bit impractical to swap between front and rear, not to mention the wire for the electrical connections, which are as thick as my little finger (so running that gauge to the back would/could result in severe voltage drop)!

Anyway, enough words, here are some pics of 8 hours work today:

Bar removed, section cut out, and bar reinstalled to check measurements for 1/4" steel plate and associated brackets.

Steel plate, winch etc waiting (patiently) to be fitted:

1/4" steel plate trial fitted and bolted into position:

The bar removed from the truck and welding commenced:

Work remaining:

1. Need to drill 6 holes (4 to mount the winch, 2 to mount a chassis support arm)
2. Refit bar to truck.
3. Fit winch in position on steel plate
4. Cut front bar cover to allow winch to "poke through" it.
5. Fit front bar
6. Mount the control box somewhere close-ish to the winch
7. Complete all electrical connections
8. Re-fit Nudge bar and towing hooks
9. Re-connect driving lights
Estimate - 8 hours or so

Other (optional) plans:
1. Weld in some more bracing to strengthen everything - but will need to see how it all fits together before I know exactly where they can go.
2. Add a bracket for the fairlead/rollers
3. Superglue the remote control (I dropped the fairlead on it, and it's in about 100 bits, but funnily enough still works).
Estimate - 4 hours or so

Should be complete in a few weekends time - work is going to interfere for the next few weeks, but should be able to grab 1/2 day here or there.

 

[RoadBully]

Looking good, can't wait to see it finished.

 

[helmsa]

My only concern for you will be the rigidity of the stock bar that you are modifying. Several things can happen to it: modifying has upset the integrity in case of a collision, you are going to get it under load and it will twist.

My dad and I had a winch mounted on our car hauler trailer, and where we mounted it was some heavy angle iron which ended up twisting/bending.

Looking good though and good luck.

 

[JCUZ]

My only concern for you will be the rigidity of the stock bar that you are modifying. Several things can happen to it: modifying has upset the integrity in case of a collision, you are going to get it under load and it will twist.

My dad and I had a winch mounted on our car hauler trailer, and where we mounted it was some heavy angle iron which ended up twisting/bending.

Looking good though and good luck.

That is my concern too, which is why I've "over-engineered" it (I hope). The winch manual says to use 6mm (1/4") plate if you are making your own winch mount. The base plate I have is 6mm; it's welded to the top part of the bar, front and back along the seams.

It then has 2 bolts bolting that plate to the bar as well in case the elds ever fail, with crush tubes filling the void between the bottom of the steel plate and metal bar. Then there are 2 pieces of 6mm plate bracing the steel bar to the factory bar at the back.

Lastly, every join between the steel plate and the factory bar is welded solid, and there are then going to be (not yet seen) 2 x 5mm (1/5") metal braces going from the back part of the steel plate directly to the front hole on the chassis where the tow hooks mount to (one on each side). These will be bolted using High tensile steel bolts (grade 8 - the manual says to use minimumm grade 5) to the steel plate so that if I ever to need to remove the front bar and or winch for anything, I will not have to get the grinder out to cut bits off.

So far, without the winch mounted, the "factory" bar is a lot stiffer than when we took it off in the first place.

Every thinh that is joined to the factory bits has been bolted and welded - bolted to keep it in place and stop the factory bar from twisting before we welded it, and also if the welds fail, at least the thing won't fall off - it may be loose, but it should satay attached to the truck (all bolts are grade 8 HT).

 

[JCUZ]

Looking good, can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks - me too!

 

[ktford]

good work, I'd be happier if you welded braces to the chassis rails after you've bolted it on, 1" of weld = 30t. Can't remember if you mentioned you were new to the world of welding, if so get somene who isn't for these welds PLEASE
Scotty

 

[JCUZ]

good work, I'd be happier if you welded braces to the chassis rails after you've bolted it on, 1" of weld = 30t. Can't remember if you mentioned you were new to the world of welding, if so get somene who isn't for these welds PLEASE
Scotty

Yep, I'm new to welding, hence the HT bolts as backup. I'm bolting brackets to the chassis rails, would that do, instead of welding? The stock bumper is bolted to it, as are the tow hooks, and I' using the same point as the tow hooks, so I figure that should be OK.

I've checked the welds by welding the metal, then grinding back and making sure the weld has penetrated both bits - it ends up looking like solid metal, instead of two bits of metal and a weld (I then re-welded to fill the grind hole/slot). So far it looks good.

 

[JCUZ]

I left work early today, and drilled the 6 holes I need to mount the winch. Here it is trial fitted.

From the front:

From the back - showing bracing/brackets that attach to the tow hook bolts:

 

[kert0307]

If there is room, I would do something like this as well...

 

[JCUZ]

If there is room, I would do something like this as well...

There may be some room to do that; I could use 2" square tubing that I have. It would sit just in front of the bottom of the radiator, so wouldn't be quite as deep as what youb have drawn, and should fit nicely between the chassis rails. I'd probably weld the cross beam to the rails, and bolt the 2 shorter supports you've drawn to it somehow. I'll measure it up once this part is trial fitted. Thanks - more welding for me!

 

[IZwack]

I cant say whether or not your setup is going to hold cauz I dunno what the specs are but in my previous setup, the winch slightly bent the 1/4" thick plate steel to which the winch sat on and was bolted to. The bend occured at one of the rear bolt holes used by the winch.

 

[JCUZ]

I cant say whether or not your setup is going to hold cauz I dunno what the specs are but in my previous setup, the winch slightly bent the 1/4" thick plate steel to which the winch sat on and was bolted to. The bend occured at one of the rear bolt holes used by the winch.

Thanks - I will definitely put some more bracing in then

 

[ktford]

more the merrier Jcuz, bolts are good but welding is better, stronger and with a broader surface contact area, as has been shown the area around the bolt head is your weak point.
Also try not to weld across the load point, ie; if it were a trailer drawbar, never weld on the top or the bottom especially cross ways, always on the sides
Scotty

 

[JCUZ]

more the merrier Jcuz, bolts are good but welding is better, stronger and with a broader surface contact area, as has been shown the area around the bolt head is your weak point.
Also try not to weld across the load point, ie; if it were a trailer drawbar, never weld on the top or the bottom especially cross ways, always on the sides
Scotty

Thanks for the advice. I'm taking this in to a Pro next week to get it all welded up properly, including the cross brace to the chassis, then it will all bolt in - then I'll take it back and get the brace welded to the chassis as well.