It was getting harder to make the winch work, and halfway through this process, the motor seized. Fortunately, the frame was light enough to lower by hand. I got a replacement 1700# Warn winch from the local Northern Tool store for $100 and swapped it. Other than the winch motor, the remote, & the mounting bracket, it's identical to the old Champion winch. So I swapped the Champion mounting bracket onto the Warn so it would fit into the beam, and transferred the Champion snatch block onto the Warn cable. Now it's a 3400# winch. I just wish the hoist structure could handle more.

Owner caption June 2011 · Photo 3761 of 5000