Anyone rebuild a Warn Zeon 10s?

Mike Pierson

Mike Pierson

Hooked
Was out wheeling in shitty snow around Mt Shasta on Saturday and we winched a ton! I use this bad boy a lot in the winter as you could imagine. On one heavy pull I was trying to pull back a stuck JK and the passenger side of the winch slipped about a half inch, coming in hard contact with the frame end plate. Enough that it dented the winch housing a bit. I have the EVO quarter pounder and it’s a bear to get the passengers side tight enough, and apparently I didn’t. Right after that the winch sounded like the teeth are sheered inside. It still “works” but it sounds pretty bad when spooling in and out.

I called WARN and set up an RMA for a warranty check and repair but it’s entirely possible that they won’t warranty it and I’ll be on the hook to have them repair it. Sounds like the cost would be around $200+ not including the cost of shipping up to Oregon.

So, has anyone been able to repair theirs successfully?

Thanks!
 
Took it apart. Motor looks good, smells fine, like it’s not burnt. The teeth on all the gears look great. The two planetary sets seem very loose in their housing though, and that may account for the grinding noise I hear. One thing I noticed was there really wasn’t that much grease in there, not as much as I’d expect to see at least.

Also, one of the stainless steel screws holding the gear-set cover on broke right at the housing. I was only using a screwdriver too. 😡 Fuuuuuuuu

Will give WARN a call again tomorrow. 🤷🏼‍♂️
 
Mike Pierson said:
Took it apart. Motor looks good, smells fine, like it’s not burnt. The teeth on all the gears look great. The two planetary sets seem very loose in their housing though, and that may account for the grinding noise I hear. One thing I noticed was there really wasn’t that much grease in there, not as much as I’d expect to see at least.

Also, one of the stainless steel screws holding the gear-set cover on broke right at the housing. I was only using a screwdriver too. 😡 Fuuuuuuuu

Will give WARN a call again tomorrow. 🤷🏼‍♂️
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There is a very specific grease that you should be using on your winch gears. Ask WARN about it when you call them up.

If I recall, it might be this
 
So had my call with WARN, very good support I might add… My concerns about, loose planetary gears and what I perceived to be too little grease, is all normal. So I guess I’m going to send it in anyway and at least it’ll get a refresh inside.

I’m very happy with this winch, going on five years old and I’ve used it a bunch every year. My guess is that had it not slipped in the bumper, and hit the frame, it would still be working like new. 👍🏻

On reinstall I’ll be either removing the sway bar for easier access or using a hole saw to drill a large hole on each underside of the bumper; haven’t decided yet.
 
Update: WARN is bad ass. I opted to take it apart and try to discern what the problem was and then buy the parts to fix it myself. It was obvious that when the passenger side of the winch slid, even a 1/2”, with the line on that side of the drum as well, it jerked the drum enough that it came out of its home enough that it got out of alignment and damaged the housing. Working with them was easy and with the pictures I sent, the rep confirmed the issue and determined what parts I need. He is sending them free of charge and shipping overnight on their dime. Pretty awesome!

IMG_8351.jpeg
 
Mike Pierson said:
Update: WARN is bad ass. I opted to take it apart and try to discern what the problem was and then buy the parts to fix it myself. It was obvious that when the passenger side of the winch slid, even a 1/2”, with the line on that side of the drum as well, it jerked the drum enough that it came out of its home enough that it got out of alignment and damaged the housing. Working with them was easy and with the pictures I sent, the rep confirmed the issue and determined what parts I need. He is sending them free of charge and shipping overnight on their dime. Pretty awesome!

View attachment 425830
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And that's why I only run WARNs!
 
Mike Pierson said:
Update: WARN is bad ass. I opted to take it apart and try to discern what the problem was and then buy the parts to fix it myself. It was obvious that when the passenger side of the winch slid, even a 1/2”, with the line on that side of the drum as well, it jerked the drum enough that it came out of its home enough that it got out of alignment and damaged the housing. Working with them was easy and with the pictures I sent, the rep confirmed the issue and determined what parts I need. He is sending them free of charge and shipping overnight on their dime. Pretty awesome!

View attachment 425830
Click to expand...
That's awesome and why buying reputable counts.
 
Mike Pierson said:
Was out wheeling in shitty snow around Mt Shasta on Saturday and we winched a ton! I use this bad boy a lot in the winter as you could imagine. On one heavy pull I was trying to pull back a stuck JK and the passenger side of the winch slipped about a half inch, coming in hard contact with the frame end plate. Enough that it dented the winch housing a bit. I have the EVO quarter pounder and it’s a bear to get the passengers side tight enough, and apparently I didn’t. Right after that the winch sounded like the teeth are sheered inside. It still “works” but it sounds pretty bad when spooling in and out.

I called WARN and set up an RMA for a warranty check and repair but it’s entirely possible that they won’t warranty it and I’ll be on the hook to have them repair it. Sounds like the cost would be around $200+ not including the cost of shipping up to Oregon.

So, has anyone been able to repair theirs successfully?

Thanks!
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Mike, I’m curious what created the problem. The rear bolt on the passenger side was loose and allowed the RH side to rock up?
 
Bizcuit said:
Mike, I’m curious what created the problem. The rear bolt on the passenger side was loose and allowed the RH side to rock up?
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It was tight, but not enough, and I don't think it rocked up but just slid forward making contact with the frame. Most of the line was out and was on the passenger side and then there was the hard jerk… that combination on a heavy pull did it no good. Probably twisted the winch housing enough to allow the drum to pivot inside and momentarily pop out of its home enough to jack up flange as shown in that pic.

The two rear bolts are a pita to access on the quarter pounder, but the passenger side is worse because the sway bar motor is right there and the spacing between the winch plate and the bumper plate is only like 2 or 3”, so regardless you can’t get a torque wrench on them. I don't have a set of the long handled swivel-head wrenches that Eddie used in his video so I should have just removed the sway bar for easier access. Now I’m considering using a hole saw to cut a hole directly below the bolt so I can get a torque wrench on there.
 
Mike Pierson said:
It was tight, but not enough, and I don't think it rocked up but just slid forward making contact with the frame. Most of the line was out and was on the passenger side and then there was the hard jerk… that combination on a heavy pull did it no good. Probably twisted the winch housing enough to allow the drum to pivot inside and momentarily pop out of its home enough to jack up flange as shown in that pic.

The two rear bolts are a pita to access on the quarter pounder, but the passenger side is worse because the sway bar motor is right there and the spacing between the winch plate and the bumper plate is only like 2 or 3”, so regardless you can’t get a torque wrench on them. I don't have a set of the long handled swivel-head wrenches that Eddie used in his video so I should have just removed the sway bar for easier access. Now I’m considering using a hole saw to cut a hole directly below the bolt so I can get a torque wrench on there.
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That’s what I kinda thought you were saying when you said slid. The plane between the motor and the gear set were broken.
If you don’t mind, I’ve never been exposed to the bumper that you’re using. You mentioned gaining access to the winch mounts by drilling. Could you take a picture of the winch tray so we could see it?
 
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