MrJim

Thanks...

Hmm, I just assumed it was like a 1 yr warranty. Les Schwab here sucks at warranty stuff that was special order. They just try to stay out of it. I am sure I have paperwork for the winch in my glove box. I will pull it out this weekend and take a look. Thanks for pointing this out to me.

Its been on there too long now. I got it in like Oct of 09. Unfortunately, I didn't really put it to the test until last November when I needed it and it was an epic failure. It works some, but its not pulling 8000 lbs. Not even close.

Its possible that I just got a lemon. All I know is that this winch is really weak.

That all sounds about right. I do have nice snatch block and tree straps too. Its just a piece of crap winch. Warn shouldn't have put their name on this batch. An 8000 cap winch ought to work really well with our rigs. I would guarantee that this winch does not pull anywhere near that much weight before it bogs down and stalls. I have even respooled the winch a couple of times, thinking that maybe the cable was binding up or something. I would like to try one of those synthetic rope winch lines. That looks like a no brainer to me if they are as strong as they claim to be. No cable splinters in your hands, no awkward tangling in the spool, or at least not as much.

Yeah, I paid way too much for this one too. I got it at Les Schwab and paid a huge markup on it. It was easier at the time because they just added it to my account. Like you said, if it was just a lack battery power, it should have killed my engine too, but it didn't. Its pretty crappy. Its mostly for looks now. It might get me out of a slight jam or keep me from sliding off a ridge, but overall it really sucks.

I don't really think so. My engine didn't stall. Just the winch did. So its not like it took all of the amps to zero or anything. The winch just slowed down and stalled completely. and it did it more than once. The Warn winch that I had years ago was a 9000 or 9500 lb capacity and it never failed me once. As far as I know, this is the same alternator and even a better battery so it shouldn't have stalled out pulling a small Mercedes up a hill in 6" deep mud.

I will tell you that the M8000 Warn winch that I added to my Pathfinder last year has really disappointed me more than once. In November it completely stalled while pulling a smaller new Mercedes out of a muddy yard. There was an incline, but I had to use the Pathfinder to get the car up most of that. I even doubled the line back that should have supposedly given me 16000 pounds of pulling power, but there was no way that car weighed that much and the winch stalled. It is installed correctly and I even upgraded the battery just for the winch when I bought the winch. Just keep this in mind when you consider a M8000 for your Pathfinder. Next time, I will get something with much more guts to it.

Sounds like you guys had some fun. I will try to come on April's run if I am here. I may be in Georgia for my Mom's BD. I will let you know...

Yeah, that is what I am hoping for. I have even thought getting some Russian videos (movies) to see if i can start to pick up some words in real time would help, but wow they talk fast. My hat is off to people who are bilingual.

Well, I have had allot to be thankful for in recent years. NPORA coming together as a group and helping me get my Pathfinder back was something that I will never forget and it is things like that which caused me to start thinking about ways that I could give back in general. A nearly 4 year divorce left me with little monetary value, so I looked for other ways to give. My niece, "Krissy" has done so many humanitarian things in her short life that she inspired me to get into Mission work. She has been to Haiti more than once in the last year and has helped them rebuild after their earthquakes devastated the region. I was accepted as part of a 9 person team with my church to go to Tobolsk, Russia to help build parts of an ongoing mission there, who's primary focus is drug and alcohol rehabilitation. This part of the country has a very bad economy and yet heroine and vodka are very cheap there. There is no real legal drinking age there either, so you see alcoholics who are not even teenagers yet. This will be the first of many missions that I hope to be able to participate in and I am new to this so the fund raising part of this is new as well. In addition to the cost of each team member that will be $2500, we are raising an additional $6000 for the mission itself. I have been writing letters to friends and family, as well as going door to door seeking donations for this cause. Literally every single dollar counts and if you would like me to mail you an information packet from my church, please let me know your address. For those in the US at least, this is tax deductible because every penny goes to the church for this mission directly. I am learning Russian and I am attending training classes with the other team members to learn what will be expected of us while we are there. Any words of encouragement, or ideas for fundraising from those who have done this before would be appreciated. There is a way to donate to the church directly online too. As I said, every dollar counts so help if you can.

Thanks, I will keep a daily diary to post when I return home. I know its going to be a life changing experience.

Okay, that put a smile on my face literally. It would be very cool if I could have taken my Pathfinder... Not seeing that happen though.

Thanks. I appreciate that. I will post the information about how to donate to the church so that it gets tagged for my mission. I am sure I will have that info up sometime in the next week. I know this is meant to be, so everything will fall into place.

The trip is not until May. I don't think I mentioned that. I have to go through some training before then and the team will be learning basic Russian too. We will also be doing allot of fund raising in the next 4 month. It will cost each of us $2500 for airfare, lodging, food, and supplies. If any of ghyou have ever done fund raising for things like this and have ideas to help, please do let me know. I have signed an agreement to personally cover what is not raised with Fund raising efforts. So, basically I will be getting the word out every possible way that i can to stir up funds for the trip. I have resolved to make this happen one way or another. I have no trouble jumping in with both feet to gets thing rolling........

I hope to have the same response that you had when I look back on it later. I expect nothing less. I know, right? I feel very fortunate for having been selected to go.

No, that is just a building in the city there. We will be taking a bus deep into the mountains to a very rural village where the mission is located.

They will be teaching us some basic Russian before we go.

So, my niece "Krissy" has been a huge inspiration to me in the many selfless things she does all the time and she goes on mission work with her church to other countries from time to time. She went to Haiti twice last year to help them rebuild. She inspired me to get a passport and start checking into this at my own church in Washington. (she lives in Georgia). I found out today that I have been officially accepted to be part of a team that is going to Tobolsk, Russia (Siberia) to help build a rehab center in the mission there. It will be for 2 weeks and is supposed to be pretty cold there. They were telling me how they often have to set fires to burn for awhile before they can dig into the ground because its so frozen. Yikes... I just checked and it's -27 C today there. I feel privileged to have been chosen to be a part of this and I am sure that I will gain more from this experience than I can could ever give. As with all mission trips, each of us has to raise the funds for our individual costs to go. There will be a fund setup at my church (Smokey Point Community Church) to be able to contribute to help us complete this goodwill mission. I will share that info as soon as I know it and since any money does go directly to the church, it will be tax deductible. I am really excited about this opportunity to help others who can't help themselves.

I thanked DJ Dank on PM for my Secret Santa gifts, but now that I am back in Washington with regular Internet again, I will say thanks publicly too. It was a digital tire gauge and a car ionizer. Actually, it was kind of funny, because I had been traveling for weeks and there were several packages at the post office when I returned to Washington. I opened this package and was thinking, "When did I order this?" and then I assumed it was from one of my Ambien nights where I do things and then do not remember them later. Then I saw the note inside that it was from my NPORA Secret Santa.

Hey, I am glad that you liked it! Its something that is always good to have on hand when doing any offroading. Merry Christmas! MrJim

Thanks. I will try that. I am going through ALLOT of fuel lately and it is "sometimes" misfiring. I have new plugs and wires in it, plus new PCV valve. I am not sure about my emissions, because I think we took out the Cat when I added the dual exhaust. I have to check. Its been a few years. Tell me more about using water to do a decarbon service?

They sell o-ring replacement kits for a reason. They must go bad from time to time. Its a first for me, but I have not seen it all. Yet.

I think that it has to be an issue with damaged or shrunken injector o-rings. Your right about having pressure tests done. I need to do that. I see that Walmart offers a fuel injector cleaning for $18. If I have bad o-rings, that won't do anything for me, but I wonder what they do exactly (because its just Walmart and only $18)? I have seen reputable shops with large machines that they hook to the fuel rails and it washes them out methodically, but Walmart may just put something in your fuel tank? I am curious to find out.

Whenever anyone asks, "Do I owe you anything?", I always say, "Just never drive past me if you see ME on the side of the road". I have said that enough times, that I really should never be stranded for long if I break down. Well, that is the plan anyway. We will see how it goes.