Ok who here has A hydraulic winch. They look bad ass and super tough but I've never heard of any one actualy buying one. Opinions any one?

I looked into them before I bought my winch, but after talking to many people, and researching, I went with a Warn 9.5 XPi electric winch. It would take a full day to install a hydrallic winch. The Warn only took a few hours.

I am very happy with the decision and have used my winch a lot with no problems.

I have heard people say that the Xterra's steering pump is not strong enough to power a hydraulic winch. Hydraulic winch would have to be connected to the steering pump.

Hydros. Useless if your engine dies and slow otherwise. Can be used with exhisting power steering pump.

Electrics. Faster and can be used even if your engine dies. Battery upgrade a good idea. Alternator upgrade also a good idea.

Pikachu (old timer) had a hydraulic and he had to use it one time. It took him 30 minutes to get up a hill that would have taken an electric about a minute to do.

So the Xterra pump did work.. just very s l o w l y

Yeah - the X's steering pump has a low flow rate ...hence a slower than rated pull speed, and, low psi, hence lower than rated pull strength....

So - its slower and weaker than the winch's rating, and, slower than the electrics....overall, not a great selling point.



I looked long and hard at MileMarker...and got a Warn 9.5 xp instead. Its fast, and it pulls hard....works great!

A friend of mine has the Milemarker hydraulic in his XJ. When he first bought it, we laughed at him 'cause it was so slow. He didn't think it was, and that it didn't bother him any...

Then I got my winch... And he saw the comparable speed, when we both had to winch out of the same spot.

Needless to say, he's planning on putting the Hydraulic winch on ebay very soon, and buying a Warn, afterall.

I've seen a Milemarker in action. Not impressed. It pulled OK but was EXTREMELY slow.

For what it’s worth, I will be purchasing a hydraulic winch from Mile Marker.
I have worked on hydraulic rescue hoist in the military for 20 years. They are dependable and have a continuous duty cycle. I try to envision a situation where my engine quits and there are probably a few I have not thought of, but I always envision a second or third vehicle to help out. I like to think with a hydraulic winch I could work it all day if need be and never drain a battery or overheat the winch. There are plenty of threads addressing this debate. I like the idea of slow and steady. From the literature Mile Marker sends they also mention that their cable diameter is thicker than Warn or others. That said I am new to 4WD and may not have thought of all the possibilities more experienced people may consider.

Before you buy that hydraulic winch I suggest you look around and see what most people use and why.

There is good reason that most everyone goes electric.

Oh this is a curiosity thing here. If I was to buy one I'd definately get a elecrtic, especialy after hearing the posts on this forum.

OH to play devils advicate here a bit I did notice the Mile markers had 2 speeds on them? Im wondering if the winches that you guys saw in use were in low gear?

Yeah...if you do not need much power for a pull, you can use the high gear and it will pull about twice as fast, but at even less strength....its proportional.

MM's high speed is for line re-spooling, and for times when you only need a partial assist. It's rated lower, in terms of weight it can pull when on the high setting.

Either way, my Warn pulls faster on, and off load, than the Milemarker, regardless of the setting. In other words, at load, my warn pulls faster than the MM on the "slow" setting. And off load, my warn respools faster than the MM on the "high" setting. Never tested the MM on a hard pull on the "high" setting, as their directions specifically say to use the "low" setting when winching.

I've heard this too. Does this also apply to the new 05's? If so, is this a part that can be upgraded?

I'll stand corrected and as Carlton pointed out, the Xterra's steering pump IS strong enough and WILL work with a hydro winch, just slowly.

If you wanna find out about the '05s then find the power steering pump flow ratio of the new one and compare it to the old one and see if there's any gain and if it's worth it.

I'd still go electric.

No one said its not strong enough to power the winch, or too low in psi....just lower than the ratings required to winch at full power, or full speed.

The psi is low, so the rated pulling power is not reached, and the flow rate is slow, so the rated pulling speed is not reached.

IE: Its weaker and slower on an X than the MileMarker's advertised ratings.

Not to mention, that when the winch is being used, you will very little power steering assist, if any, as most of the power steering fluid pressure is powering the winch. This isn't always a problem, but it can be, if you're in a spot where the tire is either turned, and you need it to go straight, or if it's straight, and you need to hold it straight!!

Electric is just much easier as was mentioned earlier. I installed my Magnum 9K and it killed the stock battery instantly. Went and bought an Optima deep cycle and that thing will power my truck and who knows what else!!! Very happy with electric.

Tim

If you want lots of power fluid power is the way to do it, but you need a PTO pump to make it run reliably, and to be powerful. Do that and you will drag your self out of anything, or rip yourself in half.
If you go big time get a variable displacement pump and you can have power or speed. of course A set up like that is going to run you a few thousand, and the need for a resivoir for the oil.
For the use you will get out of it, get an electric with a good alternator and battery.

Update on fluid flow requirements.
The entire series of MM winches require 3.5 GPM @1500 PSI to function within specs. The current 2005 X does not provide a working operating GPM or PSI but does specify that the relief valve must relieve at 1170 -1260 psi. Additionally the Armada relieves at 1305 approx according to quote from Nissan. So as not to be worthy of consideration. AGR Performance recommends using a used GM steering pump rated at 4.0 gpm at 1500 for testing but has no mount parts. A PTO is theoretical but must have a mount point above the frame line (rocks) and dedicated reservoir vented above the water line(rivers),pressurized if you like to go inverted. Currently MM has no recommendations. AGR will not entertain solutions unless they could move 1000 units(I called). This does not even tackle if the steering box could support the increased fluid dynamics. That said I still have a burning desire to do it if I feel I can meet all the requirements neccessary for in spec performance,clearance and safety.

ready for the tomato throwers

If you want a hydraulic winch regardless of disadvantages, just get a 12,000 lb MM, even crippled by weak flow and pressure, it will free you from any stucks, really slowly.

The hook up takes a few hours, there's already an adapter for the X already fabbed, and you'll have your MM.

One clarification...as to the 100% duty cycle...

Just so you understand, that does not mean you can pull a load continuously all day...the pressure in the steering pump will build to the cut off point, and the pump will stall.

So, while an electric can over heat on too long and too hard a pull, and stall when the solinoid kicks off to prevent damage, etc...

...the hydraulic winch can over pressure the steering pump on too long and hard a pull, and stall when the truck's steering pump gives up.

So - neither is 100% duty cycle in a practical sense.



You could also custom fab in an AGR or other strong enough steering pump...if I were going to go through all of that work, I would NOT hook it to my steering system...I would just install a free standing pump/reservoir dedicated to the winch.

That way, I would not have to re-fab up a whole new steering system just to use the bigger pump for the winch.

I did alot of research before I went electric and decided that Electric was better for the X due to the flow rates on the pump. Unless you want to add another pump mechanism.

I have used my Elec warn 9.5 very hard, this spring BikesDestroy and I were trying to make it to the top of Tin Cup Pass. We made it to within about 3 miles of the top and then hit the big snow drifts. We then spent the next 4 hours digging, winching, & pulling, digging, winching, & pulling,
digging, winching, & pulling,
digging, winching, & pulling!
Well to say the least the winch pulled and worked very well. From little drifts to pulling the X through 4' drifts, anywhere from 5' long up to about 40-50 feet long. Every technique was used along with snatch blocks and straps. It never overheated or had any problems.

Yeah, its not like my Warn 9.5xp ever hiccuped either...

It may be that a good electric unit is a lot more reliable than you think it is compared to a hydraulic unit.