[awerking]

Hi all,

My new Smittybilt X20 winch won't free spool. The clutch lever won't rotate forward into the "disengaged" position.

I used it the other day for recovery and it initially worked just fine - the clutch lever rotated to the disengaged position, we were able to successfully free spool out the line, the lever smoothly rotated back into the engaged position, and the line retracted under power as expected. Subsequent attempts to get the clutch lever to rotate into the disengaged position have failed.

I have tried feeding the line out and in under power while periodically trying to actuate the clutch lever, but I can't get it to move any further than about the mid way point. I have searched online and can't find anything very helpful. Before I call Smittybilt, have any of you experienced this issue and if so how did you resolve it?

Thanks!

[Xtremluck]

Originally Posted by awerking

Hi all,

My new Smittybilt X20 winch won't free spool. The clutch lever won't rotate forward into the "disengaged" position.

I used it the other day for recovery and it initially worked just fine - the clutch lever rotated to the disengaged position, we were able to successfully free spool out the line, the lever smoothly rotated back into the engaged position, and the line retracted under power as expected. Subsequent attempts to get the clutch lever to rotate into the disengaged position have failed.

I have tried feeding the line out and in under power while periodically trying to actuate the clutch lever, but I can't get it to move any further than about the mid way point. I have searched online and can't find anything very helpful. Before I call Smittybilt, have any of you experienced this issue and if so how did you resolve it?

Thanks!

From my experience this usually happens when winch gear sets aren't lubed enough for the locking collar to engage/disengage. When was the last time you took apart your winch and greased all the planetary gears?

This condition is also exasperated if you have water intrusion from dunking your winch in a water crossing. It's always good to unspool and respool it at camp that day and do it once again a few days later so all that water is worked out of the grease.

[awerking]

Thanks Xtremluck. I have never disassembled the winch and lubed the planetary gears as it is brand new. It was just installed and this was the first time I have used it in a recovery application. Prior to that it was just used to test operation and spool the line.

I *could* pull the hybrid bumper, disassemble the winch and lube the planetary gears, but that seems like something that shouldn't be necessary for a brand new winch. Sounds like my next step is to call Smittybilt...

[Xtremluck]

Originally Posted by awerking

Thanks Xtremluck. I have never disassembled the winch and lubed the planetary gears as it is brand new. It was just installed and this was the first time I have used it in a recovery application. Prior to that it was just used to test operation and spool the line.

I *could* pull the hybrid bumper, disassemble the winch and lube the planetary gears, but that seems like something that shouldn't be necessary for a brand new winch. Sounds like my next step is to call Smittybilt...

Ouch, I missed the "new" part of your message. That should definitely not be happening so early in its life. I would give Smittybilt a call.