28/01/2009 by Pip.

Champion 6.5 Horsepower motor conversion for Warn 8274 winch.
Having tried out my Warn 8274 winch with a standard motor I found that it wasn’t that powerful. I checked out a few forums to see what could be done to improve it, I found that the cheapest option would be to fit a Champion 6.5 Horsepower motor. I bought the Champion motor over the internet for £165 (£140 + VAT + Carriage) then set about swapping the motors.
I didn’t have to remove the whole winch, just the top housing which holds the motor. Removing the old motor was easy and the new motor fitted straight in. It proved to be a tight fit, so I had to dismantle the outer casing off the comm in order to tap the bearing into place properly. I then slid the outer casing back over the comm. There is a problem regarding the bolts which secure the motor in place. The new motor uses 6mm bolts but they are about 40mm longer than the original motor’s 1/4 UNC bolts. The simple remedy was to buy a 1/4 Whitworth threaded rod which cost £1 and 4 nuts at 8p each. (1/4 Whit and 1/4 UNC are very close to the same thread) I sawed the threaded rod to the required length and secured the new motor in place with a double nut on the end of each rod. The motor was now in place. Here’s where it got a bit harder. Champion do not sell a gear which fits the spline on the motor and the idler gear inside the Warn winch, but Devon 4×4 do. I bought said gear for £20 and it fits the spline and the idler gear, however when it is slid over the spline on the motor, it does not go on far enough to engage the idler gear. Also, when the free wheel plunger is pulled back to let the winch free spool, the new gear fouls against body of the plunger housing. This was easily fixed by filing some of the aluminium casing away. Getting the gear to go further onto the shaft of the motor was a bit harder. Fortunately, I had the use of a lathe, so I put the gear into the lathe, spun it up and used a small grinding stone in an electric grinder to grind away about 6mm off the splines inside the gear. This took quite a while, as I wanted to take the minimum amount of material off the splines and I had to keep taking it out of the lathe to try it on the motor. I got there in the end, reassembled it and bolted the top housing back onto the body of the winch. I wired it back up and away it went - no probs. Not too difficult a job but it would have been much simpler if the gear had fitted without having to machine it. Can’t wait to try it out to see how it pulls. Will test it at the next Challenge event at Yarwell on February 15th.

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28/01/2009 by Pip.

There was an appeal in February’s edition of Total Off Road magazine that reads as follows: The Green Lane Association (GLASS) Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF) and Llanerchindda Farm are compiling user evidence to back up claims that Sarn Helen should remain open for vehicles to use. If you drove Sarn Helen between November 2001 and Novemeber 2006 they want to hear from you. Please contact info@cambrianway.com asking for a copy of the form that you will need to fill in.
The Viking Club had driven this lane during the period in question and have stayed at Llanerchindda Farm on two occasions, therefore I would ask that members download the form and respond in order to try to keep the lane open. Doing nothing means fewer lanes to explore.
Cheers.
Pip.

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