How to Assemble a Mile Marker Winch
Anyone who takes their off-roading seriously inevitably will become stuck in the mud, high-centered or overturned at one point or another. When this happens, a winch may be the only thing standing between them and a long, long walk home. Mile Marker manufactures electric winches suitable for use on any vehicle from a small ATV to a 12,000-pound truck, though, assembling the winch and mount system is generally standardized regardless of the model size. While Mile Marker provides mounting kits for its winches, other manufacturers also make mountings compatible with a Mile Marker.
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Things You'll Need
- Socket wrench or pneumatic wrench
- Carpenter’s square
- Level
- Rubber mallet
- 14 mm open-end wrench
- Utility knife
Instructions
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1
Remove your vehicle’s front bumper and tow hooks using a socket or air wrench. Consult your vehicle’s service manual to determine the best method to remove these items. Leave bolts that attach the valence apron attached to the vehicle.
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2
Attach the winch bumper to the vehicle using the mounts where its tow hooks were previously mounted. Hand tighten the bolts and fasteners that hold the winch-mount bumper in place, but leave them loose enough to fine tune the bumper placement.
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3
Using a carpenter’s square and level, make sure you mounted the tow bumper in alignment with the vehicle. Small adjustments to the bumper’s position can be made using a rubber mallet as long as the bolts were not completely tightened in Step 2. Once the tow bumper is positioned perfectly, tighten the bolts on the tow hook mounts to firmly lock it in place.
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4
Attach tow hooks in the space provided on the tow bumper using a wrench. Re-attach the stock bumper to the vehicle’s front end using the hardware removed in Step 1, lining up tow hooks through the bumper as if they were mounted in the stock position. Secure the stock bumper to the vehicle using a wrench, providing enough torque to secure it permanently.
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5
Position the winch on the winch mount bumper to check for clearance and alignment with winch’s body, motor and fairlead. If any part of the winch mechanism doesn’t align properly, return to Step 3 and re-align the tow bumper.
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6
Attach the fairlead to the tow bumper mount using a wrench and hardware provided. Extend the cable through the fairlead, clamping or hooking it to a fixed surface to prevent it from winding back inside the winch during mounting.
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7
Place the winch drum and motor onto the tow bumper, aligning the holes on the winch with those on the tow bumper. Place bolts through each hole to maintain the alignment one at a time, as exact positioning the winch can be difficult. Depending upon your vehicle’s stock bumper, you may need to spool out the cable from the drum to have enough clearance to reach attachment hardware. Place the nuts provided on the ends of the mounting bolts and tighten to full torque using a wrench.
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8
Mount the motor control box to the winch motor using the temporary plastic ties provided with the control box so that its mounting holes line up with hardware on the motor studs. Remove bolts from the motor stud using a 14 mm open-end wrench. Slip bolts back through the motor studs, affixing them to the motor control box. Using the 14 mm wrench, tighten the bolts. Remove the plastic tie downs from the control box using a utility knife.
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9
Connect electrical boots to the cables that extend from the motor mounting, matching the yellow cable boot to the terminal at the back end of the winch and the blue cable to the terminal at the front end of the winch. Use a 14 mm wrench to tighten nuts over the cable boots to secure them.
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10
Attach the positive, or red, power cable and negative, or black, power cable to the terminals on the control box. Feed the power cables through the vehicle’s grill and into the vehicle’s engine compartment, avoiding moving parts and other hazards. Attach the power cables to the corresponding battery terminals, affixing the black power cable first and finishing the job with the red one.
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Tips & Warnings
Lifting and aligning the winch to the tow bumper can be difficult because of its weight. You may need to seek the help of two others to lift and align the mounting surfaces properly.
