1. Registration trouble? Please use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom right corner of the page and your issue will be resolved.
    Dismiss Notice

How does the PTO winch work?

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by jjones415, Oct 27, 2007.

  1. jjones415

    jjones415 Jeff Jones

    My 1970 CJ5 has a Ramsey PTO winch, but I have no idea how to work it (if it actually does work). Can anyone give me some direction? Thanks.
     
    jjones415, Oct 27, 2007
    #1
  2. John Worman

    John Worman from New Mexico

    Assuming all the parts are there and hooked up (a PTO case on the rear of the transfer case and a shaft connecting the PTO case and the winch) it's a simple matter to operate the winch.

    Your PTO should have a lever coming through the floorboards behind the transmission shift lever. On mine there are two levers. One engages the PTO and the other selects whether the power goes to the rear of the Jeep or the front. I've only had my Jeep and winch for 41 years and I have no idea which lever does which job. I just pull them both back and it sends the power to the front. I don't have anything hooked up to the rear PTO output.

    After engaging the PTO lever, you put the transmission in gear and start the engine. I'd start in reverse so you don't suck the cable in until you are ready.

    Now, if everything is working correctly, your PTO shaft should be spinning. Going to the winch check if the drum is turning. If not, there is a lever on the passenger side of the winch that needs to be rotated about 20 degrees. This is a disconnect inside the winch.

    With the drum turning (I hope in reverse) you can control the speed and direction of the winch with the engine and transmission. The winch turns fastest in 3rd gear, slowest in 1st gear. When the transmission is in reverse it plays out the cable. If you move the lever on the winch to disconnect the coupling, you can pull the winch line out by hand (free spooling).

    That's it in a nutshell. Be careful! There is a lot of power there.

    John
     
    John Worman, Oct 27, 2007
    #2
  3. lamar

    lamar Member

    put your transfer case in neutral, engage the pto ,with the shift lever in the floor board, the pto is operated by putting the trans in gear and letting the clutch out. the forward gears in the transmission wind the cable in while reverse will spool the cable out. there is also a handle on the winch itself that will disengage the winch so you can pull the cable out to hook to whatever you are attaching it to.
     
    lamar, Oct 27, 2007
    #3
  4. Howard Eisenhauer

    Howard Eisenhauer Administrator Staff Member

    There should be two levers that need to be operated, the PTO lever that should be between the seats & the clutch lever on the winch.

    To operate the winch place the transfer case & tranny in neutral.

    Diss-engage the winch's clutch & run the cable out to whatever.

    Engage the winch clutch.

    Engage the PTO.

    Shift the tranny into 1st & you should be winching.

    When finished make sure both the winch clutch & PTO are diss-engaged, this is a safety issue as you don't want the winch to start up while driving, with both diss-engaged the odds of that happening are greatly reduced.

    H.
     
    Howard Eisenhauer, Oct 27, 2007
    #4
  5. jjones415

    jjones415 Jeff Jones

    Thanks guys. I'll try it first thing in the morning!!
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2007
    jjones415, Oct 27, 2007
    #5
  6. 66cj5

    66cj5 Jeep with no name

    an good safety tip is to wear gloves when handling the cable. another is to make a latch that would have to be moved to allow the pto handle to be engaged.
     
    66cj5, Oct 28, 2007
    #6