Re: [MV] Winch Cable

Mark C. Johnson (mcj115@psu.edu)
Tue, 23 Feb 1999 17:11:04 +0000

I have learned that in the towing industry the upkeep of the winch cable is
very important. We lubricate our cables with bar and chain lube from chain
saws or ATF fluid. Lubrication cuts down on the internal friction within
the wire rope. Here some people use old motor oil but like already said
that it is not good to do that. The old oil is not good enough for your
engine so why for a wire rope, when you use old motor oil there are already
particles of dirt in it so adding them to your cable would just add more
friction and a chance for failure. Also the wire rope there are generally
two types American made wire core rope and foreign made rope core cables.
There is quite a difference in price and also in performance in winching in
that the wire core wears better than a fiber core. The best way to
lubricate the cables is to unwind then and set a snatch block and add the
oil to the area of the cable that is going on the outside of the pulley
this gives the best penetration of the oil to the core of the rope where
most of the friction takes place. I have found 7/16 cable the easiest and
best to work with on the car carrier that I operate and on out small
wreckers. My father has a 46 Chevy tow truck and I have a CJ wrecker setup
with 1/2 and it is rather cumbersome use. I would personally go to a
smaller size wire rope and use snatch blocks to make up for weight than
operate a larger cable all of the time.
Go to
http://www.wreckmaster.com/learningcenter/learn.html
for some good information about winching and related pull loads.

Hopefully this info can help someone.

Mark C. Johnson
1952 M38A1 (2)
1966 CJ-5
Harrisburg, Pa
MVPA
ICQ# 21924993

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