That has allways worked for me also I poor ATF over the spool and let it drain thur then clean up the mess
XRC 8 also

 

Just my 2 pesos here. I had that hapen to my Warn M6000 on my YJ, I found out if you take the switch off with a philips head screw driver (or what ever is holding it there) and pop it off and use a bigger flathead screwdriver where the switch is and shift it.(all your switch is i do believe is a came lever) Then it would be a good idea like the others said to spray some of your favorite lubricant in there and then put it all back together. There is nothing in a winch thats too complicated.

 

Just yesterday , I was in front of my jeep and thought about this thread. The lever was stuck again. I pull the cable an inch or two, and it released. I sprayed wd40 on the lever and checked today its still free to slide.

 

Maybe I lost my mojo when I sold you my cover... I've tried moving it every which way to no avail. I'm going to try taking off the lever and spraying it.

 

If its that bad send it back to smittybilt., why hold on to it. Tell them you are on this forum and several people have the same issue. Fight for the $50 it costs to ship it to them.

 

You want the cover back? LOL...........

PS I put my kc's long range slimline lights on the fair lead, without bracket extensions. Thanks for the idea. Now I want a smallerlight for the kc's window bracket.

 

post some pics! I had to put mine on the extensions because those 700ff's are big and don't fit on the fairlead.

 

Here's a few shoots.

 

No brackets, the smithy bilt fair lead unit has four holes to mount auxiliary lighting. Two on the top and two on the bottom. My kc slimlines do not need offset bracket to make space for the lights. If larger lights are Installed like the kc's Apollo the back will hit the bumper. Quadra tac sells the same fair lead.

 

My XRC8 is doing the same thing today, but it is stuck in freespool. Pulled all the line out and took the synthetic line off to change the hook to a safety thimble. Reattached the line and went to engage the clutch and...........Nothing. I tried everything you guys mentioned in this thread, but couldn't get it to budge. I'm going to let the PB Blaster soak in good overnight and check it in the morning. This thing has only been on the Jeep for 2 months. I haven't even gotten the chance to use it yet. Good thing I got the extreme lifetime warranty from 4wd.com. I guess Bustabizz will be getting a call tomorrow.