Where to attach winch on Gen 3 Explorer

[ktford]

good thinking, in some parts of town there are mobile dudes that will come to you, where you have it all fabbed up & ready, to get it done in one shot, maybe your local paper might contain ads for these types of people
Scotty

 

[JCUZ]

good thinking, in some parts of town there are mobile dudes that will come to you, where you have it all fabbed up & ready, to get it done in one shot, maybe your local paper might contain ads for these types of people
Scotty

Have already looked in the paper - no good there. Will try yellow pages though.

 

[JCUZ]

Well, the deed is done. Winch mount is all finished, and fitted to the truck, with winch installed, but not yet wired up (that's a job for next week). Couple of crap photos from my phone:

closeup:

 

[Donner]

Wow!! And you spared the tow hooks through the bar... That is a 12,000lb winch??? You are my idol Have you tried it out yet??

(Not wired, just saw)

You know you can use door trim to cover the areas you cut...

 

[JCUZ]

Wow!! And you spared the tow hooks through the bar... That is a 12,000lb winch??? You are my idol Have you tried it out yet??

Wow yourself - that was quick. Just out of interest, what time is it where you are? It's just gone midnight here.

Anyway, yep, the tow hooks, nudge bar and rear bracket of the winch all bolt up to the standard tow hook mounting bolts (though they've been upgraded to 65mm long grade 8 high tensile units). Yes, it is a 12,000lb unit - physically the same size as the ideal (IMO) 9,500Lb unit, but was only $50 more, so I thought I may as well get something with more rating than i'd need. I also have a small 3500lb unit, but that was too far under the weight of the Ex - I may use it on a mate's boat trailer.

I haven't tested it yet - I still have to mount the control box somewhere, and wire it all up. Like your front bar, that job is still to come! I also have to make up a new license plate (a slim line one) and mount it somewhere - I'm thinking on the nudge bar might be OK. Also, no idea if this winch is even legal, but I guess I'll find out one way or another! LOL.

Oh, and I am no-one's idol - it was seeing you doing what you've done to yours that gave me the courage/inspiration to have a crack (go) at mine. I reckon the end result of this is that my front bar will be ripped off, but that's OK - it will be an excuase to get a full bull bar with integrated winch cradle.

 

[Donner]

It's about 7.15am right now... but yes, the thieves are lurking too. That is a great job! I'm just off to have the frame painted... but I might ask about a winch too! That's the bomb!

Yes, Saturday morning v v

 

[JCUZ]

It's about 7.15am right now... but yes, the thieves are lurking too. That is a great job! I'm just off to have the frame painted... but I might ask about a winch too! That's the bomb!

So you guys are 17 hours behind (I assume it's Saturday morning there - it's now the early hours of Sunday morning here.) Wow! No wonder it takes ages (normally) for folks to respond to some of my posts/questions etc.

Good luck with all of your stuff. Winches aren't cheap - this one cost me a bit, but nowhere near the $1700 odd for a Warn winch. It is an eBay special @ $500 delivered, but comes with 12 months warranty (same as Warn), and actually has importer support in oz (rare for an eBay buy). I'm only telling you this so you don't get the shock of your life when asking about a winch.

 

[RoadBully]

That looks GREAT!!

 

[JCUZ]

That looks GREAT!!

Thanks - more good feedback from a leading 3rd gen modder!

The proof will be in the pudding though (ie, I really need to test it)! At the moment it's purely a "rice" mod - looks good, but does nothing. LOL.

 

[ktford]

excellent work dude, looks the bomb. I hope it works when you test it, but the big test will come when you bury it in the sand/mud for the first time. Who is the ebay seller you used?? I need soon to get a winch for my next tipping trailer
Scotty

 

[FROADER]

Nice job, it looks great on there!

I also have to make up a new license plate (a slim line one) and mount it somewhere - I'm thinking on the nudge bar might be OK. Also, no idea if this winch is even legal, but I guess I'll find out one way or another! LOL.

This is what I did. Cheap and easy.

http://www.xplorx4.com/pathfinder/upgrades/platebracket/index.htm

 

[JCUZ]

Froader - thanks for the link. What a great idea!

 

[JCUZ]

excellent work dude, looks the bomb. I hope it works when you test it, but the big test will come when you bury it in the sand/mud for the first time. Who is the ebay seller you used?? I need soon to get a winch for my next tipping trailer
Scotty

Scotty - yes, the test will be pulling it out of something substantial. I haven't had the welds done professionally yet, but will do that before too long, and at the same time will get a 2" x 3" square reinforcement bar welded in between the chassis rails and bolt the back of the plate to that too. But as it is, i can stand on the winch, and jump up and down, and the truck moves up and down with it.

The eBay seller you are looking for is jdiquality. Here's a link to their store - there's a couple on there now with a few days to go for under $300 so far:
jdi quality -winches

 

[ktford]

Thanks mate, glad to hear of the bar to be welded inbetween the chassis rails, have you measured you front suspension to see if it has dropped any with the extra weight over the front axle
Scotty

 

[JCUZ]

Thanks mate, glad to hear of the bar to be welded inbetween the chassis rails, have you measured you front suspension to see if it has dropped any with the extra weight over the front axle
Scotty

Nah, haven't measured yet, but it doesn't look any different - might be a few mm at worst (it's only an extra 45kg or so)

 

[Donner]

"Winch... coming soon!" You can adjust that now ha! Buenos dias/Good morning!

 

[JCUZ]

"Winch... coming soon!" You can adjust that now ha! Buenos dias/Good morning!

Not until it actually works. I bought the extra long 2 gauge battery lead I needed, so it may just be wired up tonight! G'day/G'day!

 

[JCUZ]

Just like the Pat Benatar song, the Explorer is now "All wired Up"!

Control box/solenoids:

Winch wiring:

It all works (as in the winch goes out, the winch goes in). Big test will be to see how much effort it takes to rip the front bar off (I mean, make the truck move without doing that!).

 

[ktford]

LMAO @ your plate plaque
Scotty

 

[RoadBully]

Great job on the install...
Now go get stuck will ya
Or better yet, find someone else who's already stuck.