How to Replace a Winch Cable (6 Easy-to-Follow Steps)

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Several off-road enthusiasts have been unfortunate to have a winch cable break when they needed it most. While getting the best winch and cable on the market provides reliability, there’s never a guarantee the cable won’t break. Even a cable that can easily withstand the weight of your car can still snap or break. And this isn’t because the cable is weak or of low quality, but because other factors are in play.

You see, every time you use a winch, the cable winds on the drum. If you aren’t keen enough to do it right, the cable gets twisted, which over time causes it to lose its quality. Also, exposure to elements causes the strongest cable to lose its toughness and quality over time. Synthetic ropes take the most damage from UV rays.

Even if you take measures to protect the winch cable from the elements, the heat generated from friction when winching your vehicle causes subtle damage. Eventually, the cable snaps. If your cable snaps when winching, or if it’s too damaged to sustain the weight of your vehicle, you should replace it.

The process is easy but might be a little confusing to newbies. We’ll explain the cable winch replacement process and share some safety tips when replacing the winch cable. Bear in mind that the process might differ slightly depending on your winch. As such, you should always read through the manufacturer’s manual for the finer details.

How to Replace a Winch Cable

1. Prepare for Spooling Cable on the Winch Drum

But before you remove the old cable from your winch, notice how it’s fixed to the winch drum. The main portion of the winch is designed with a threaded bore on the drum where you fix the synthetic winch line or cable with a bolt. And while some winches have different attachment types, the threaded bore is the most common.

2. Post Cable Removal

Once you remove the old cable using the roller guide from the winch, inspect the drum for any sharp objects that can damage your new winch rope after installation. This is most important when replacing steel cables since they cause the most damage to the winch drum.

Often, steel cables kink, fray, and burr with regular use. In the end, they develop tiny sharp edges on their length, which in turn scratch the surface of the drum, making it rough. If you come across these bumps, you should sand them to create a smooth drum surface. This process may be a little tasking but will help preserve the new winch cable.

3. Before You Spool the Winch Rope

Before you spool your rope, you’ll need to install a new fairlead.

A fairlead is a guide that enables the cable to spool on the drum without getting frayed or damaged during use. Fairleads are located in front of the electric winch, and without them, the new winch’s lifespan is greatly reduced.

Aluminum fairleads are perfect for synthetic winch lines since they are designed with sleek coverings and don’t damage synthetic cables. Cast steel fairleads lack the smooth protective covering and are therefore not ideal for use with synthetic cables.

You can use a steel pulley fairlead but make sure the rollers aren’t hollow and are smooth. Aside from this, you should make sure the rollers overlie on each other. Without the overlay, the roller could create a clearance in the guide corner where the cable might get stuck during use. When this happens, the cable gets damaged.

4. Pick the Right Fairlead

Aside from picking the right roller fairlead based on the type of cable you choose for the drum make sure there’s sufficient space between the ends of the winch mounting plant and the fairleads. The space should be between 0.37 inches and 0.5 inches. If you don’t keep this space, the line may get cut by the sharp edge.

As pointed out earlier, you need to know how the old cable was attached to the winch drum. At this point, you’ll attach your new cable exactly how the old cable was. Usually, at the end of the cable are small diameter loops that you can use to attach to the drum.

Some drum kits come with bolt-ons that you can use with different drums. Pick one that is perfect for your drum and fix it to the cable. In a few cases, you’ll need to have a nylon washer that fits on the kit and gives extra grip to the mount on the drum.

Before you wind the new cable on the drum, you should unwind it and stretch it out on the smooth ground. This will make the winding process easier. Ensure there are no entanglements on the cable before you start spooling.

5. Cable Attachment

Let’s take a step back to cable attachment. Learning how to attach the cable is important since it determines whether the winch line holds when winching. Here’s how you do it right.

Pass the end of the winch cable through the roller fairlead and then under the drum. From above, pass it through the attachment point. After this, attach the new cable to your drum.

Some winches have to overheat protection which closes the cable on the first reel. We recommend using the protective cover when you wind it on the drum to protect the cable from heat generated from friction and abrading.

6. Spool the Cable

Always keep your hand safe from the winch when you guide it to wrap neatly on the drum. We recommend having an assistant help you with this process since it’ll be difficult to guide the cable and work the winch controller simultaneously.

With a partner, you can lead the line, and they can control handle the winch controller. You should exercise extra caution by wearing protective gloves even as you keep your hands a safe distance from the winch drum.

As you spool the cable, ensure that you have complete layers of cables on the drum so that the cable is always attached to the drum. The friction generated from the turning helps to keep the rope on the drum. Also, a tightly spooled cable is better because it allows you to loop more cable on the drum.

Also, the line mustn’t overlap itself before the full width of the winch’s drum is covered. As you guide the cable from one end of the drum to the other, ensure it’s clean and even.

And with that, you are done and good to go.

Note: every time you winch your car, get into the habit of unspooling the entire line and respool it correctly.

Synthetic Rope vs. Steel Wire Cable – Which One Is Better?

Needless to say, steel wire cables are tough. They have a high tensile strength that makes them resistant to snapping. They also dissipate heat well and are economical. Unfortunately, they come with serious cons.

For instance, a steel cable is rigid and doesn’t fit properly on an electric winch drum. Moreover, they are heavy, and burrs appear after several uses, which can hurt your hands. And though it is resistant to snapping, if it ever snaps, it becomes a danger to you and your car. This is because steel cables retain kinetic energy while under a heavy load.

The force from the kinetic energy is strong enough to cut through flesh. And if the steel cable is thin enough, it can slice through bones. To reduce the chance of getting hurt when it snaps, you should place a weight, like a sweater, along the length of the cable to dampen the snap force.

Because of the dangers steel cable poses, consider using synthetic winch rope as an alternative.

Ropes are elastic and don’t pose the same dangers cables pose because they don’t store kinetic energy. As such, it doesn’t snap back with the same intensity. Also, when you wind a winch rope on a drum, it takes up minimal space, which is its greatest advantage. Therefore, you get to install a longer cable. Along with this, it is light compared to steel cables.

Like the cables, ropes have some cons. The major one is delamination due to the ingress of sand and dirt in the inner strands. Luckily, you can avoid this problem by washing your winch rope with soapy water once in a while and drying it well.

Aside from this, rope tends to be more expensive than cable initially and in the long run. Why?

Well, rope needs a little more maintenance than cables, and they are also easily damaged by small debris and UV rays.

FAQ

Can you replace the winch cable with a rope?

Yes, you can. As you plan to do so, consider several factors, including price and safety. Though rope is safer, it tends to be a little more expensive than steel cable rope.

How long will synthetic rope last?

Synthetic winch rope lasts for ten years. However, getting a year or two from the rope is a good deal with substantial, heavy use. The beauty of using synthetic ropes is that even if it fails, you can safely tie them together and get out of a sticky situation.

When should a winch cable be replaced?

You should replace your winch cable when you notice slight splicing and fraying. You cannot judge winch cable replacement with time as you do with an ATV oil change. This is because several factors come into play. Provided the cable is in good shape, you can continue using it. However, slight damages are enough to be dangerous and warrant a replacement.

Conclusion

And there you have it, a simple and easy-to-follow process of replacing your steel cable or synthetic rope. It’s important to get it right because it affects how efficient and safe the device is.