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Synthetic winch rope


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Hello,

The Warn XD 9000i winch in my Defender has synthetic winch rope installed and since it was already there when I purchased the vehicle I do not know how old it is.

The rope has lost its colour (looks like it was some knind of reen or blue when new) and comes out flat and quite distorted when I pull it out. Although it has few very small "scratches" it looks lie it does not ave any serious failures. I have not used synthetic winch ropes before (I used wire instead) and therefore would like to know if it is normal that the ropes gets deformed and flattenede as mine does and if there are any other particular indications to diagnose if it is already time to change the rope or not. How long do they last if taken care properly?

I've measured the rope and it is about 1.2 mm in diametre whch sounds like a 7/16 rope, mor ethan enough for this winch if I am not wrong (5/16 wire comes standard with this winch).

Thanks for our help!

Regards,

Santiago

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Hello,

The Warn XD 9000i winch in my Defender has synthetic winch rope installed and since it was already there when I purchased the vehicle I do not know how old it is.

The rope has lost its colour (looks like it was some knind of reen or blue when new) and comes out flat and quite distorted when I pull it out. Although it has few very small "scratches" it looks lie it does not ave any serious failures. I have not used synthetic winch ropes before (I used wire instead) and therefore would like to know if it is normal that the ropes gets deformed and flattenede as mine does and if there are any other particular indications to diagnose if it is already time to change the rope or not. How long do they last if taken care properly?

I've measured the rope and it is about 1.2 mm in diametre whch sounds like a 7/16 rope, mor ethan enough for this winch if I am not wrong (5/16 wire comes standard with this winch).

Thanks for our help!

Regards,

Santiago

1.2 mm in diametre - I expect you mean Ø12mm / Ø1.2cm ?

Should last for a few years if treated nicely. Yes will tend to lose some colour. yes will flatten. Suggest you pull out all of the cable, wash with just warm water and dish washing fluid or car shampoo something non-aggressive then inspect for damage.

If it looks in good condition reel back onto drum and test.

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The bottom layers of my Dyneema are pretty squished from where it has been really tight on the drum but I have not had any problems and certainly don't intend to replace it until it is properly f***ed. If it looks like it used to be light blue in colour it is probably Dyneema as that is its natural colour.

Fluffiness on the surface is not supposed to be a problem on these ropes though both my bits still look fine anyway, but broken strands may be a sign of problems. I have put some fair loads through mine with no problems, in fact I like it so much that I have just bought a bit of 6mm Dyneema from Bowyer for my boat trailer winch!

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Just bear in mind breaking ropes regularly kill people in the shipping industry. Particularly synthetic ropes which break without warning. If you have any doubts whatsoever it MUST be replaced with a new one specifically designed for purpose/load etc. The fact that you have chosen to post on the subject indicates that you do have doubts.

MINESAPINT

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As you can see the rope is a bit stained with rust from the drum

Rust coloured is usual.

Dyneema or similar is much safer than wire rope. Inspect for cuts and abrasion and replace if necessary. Make sure you do not use a roller fairlead. You must use a stainless steel or aluminium hawse fairlead like the ones shown here:

http://www.dborc.co.uk/goodwinch/

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to follow from above, i would take it off and give it a wash (i use water only) then inspect the whole rope, pushing the rope together to separate the strands. if it doesn't come apart it could of plastisied (sp?) especially the layers close to the drum as your winch has an internal cone brake and generates heat which will affect the rope if its been used for lowering out.

From the picture it looks ok to me. doesnt look like its been used much.

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I can obviously only go by the photo above, which suggests that the line is in very good condition- the lower layers of a plasma always get squashed by the layers above and when unspolled can be anything from square to flat... Take the whole lot off and give it a wash in a bucket of warm water- if there is any damage then you might want to consider cutting the damaged section out and resplicing it- if not them spool it back on the winch and get out there and enjoy it.

My 11mm dyneema is pretty much new and looks terrible when compared to your photo!

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Hi guys,

Thanks for your opinions.

I´ve checked it a bit today and it looks mostly ok.

When I push it together along its axis the rope opens and separates in several "threads" (?) (I do not know the name for this).

It is a bit dirty and flat in places but +/-ok.

I will add a couple more pics to illustrate better.

p4260011bcu5.jpg

p4260001bao6.jpg

Cheers,

Santiago

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