PTO Winch question

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Jul 9, 2013 | 01:06 PM

iggybob44

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Joined: Apr 2008

Posts: 5,338

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From: Grants Pass, Oregon

PTO Winch question

I just bought my first Dentside yesterday, its a 76 F250 4x4. Previous owner said its a 390( im aware of the fact that many folks claim a 360 is a 390) but i havent done any indepth looking at numbers. its an auto, and part time 4wd. its got a Koenig PTO winch on the front. Im pretty familiar with PTO winches, but with manual transmissions. some handwritten instructions for winch ops were in the glove box, and they mention operation with T-case in Neutral. in the case of my previous PTO winch equipped vehicles, two Internationals and a Jeep CJ, you could operate the winch while the T-case was in Neutral, or 4Low. None of these were 205 equipped, if it matters....2 had Spicer 18's, one had an NP202. I realize that winch and wheels arent going to be turning at the same speeds, so slack cable, birdnests, and sudden shock loads are possible problems, but is an Auto Tranny/205 combo useable with winch while t-case is in a drive range, or is PTO only engageable in neutral?

Jul 10, 2013 | 08:10 AM

Joseph69

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Joined: May 2010

Posts: 246

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Someone correct me if I am wrong. If you engage the PTO while the transfer-case is in gear the PTO will not move if you are not rolling. When you go move the PTO will only move with the vehicle. So if you are spinning the wheels the PTO moves accordingly. If you are just sitting still, the transfercase is not spinning to the PTO will not either. The PTO has its own gear engagement that is dependent on the main input gear into the transfer-case to spin. Putting the transfer-case in neutral lets you control the speed of the PTO, you should even get three speeds to the PTO as the automatic shifts, but you may not notice because without a drag the Transmission might go right into high gear.