Winch install on 89 Ranger
I bought one of the Badland 12,000 lb winch a few months ago when it was on sale.
Over the Christmas break I had the time to get it on the truck.
This is where I started.. I don't believe the bumper is the factory one but it fit pretty good and was thick enough to be reused.
View from the top.
After removing the bumper you can see there are non factory mounts welded to the frame.
I knocked these off the frame and was able to use them to attach to the winch mount to re attach the bumper.
I bought a plasma cutter because the prices have dropped and it is a lot cleaner/easier than using the torch.
The main part of the mount was made with 1/4" thick by 6" wide plate I bought.
This was my first cut with the plasma cutter. I used a thin piece of wood for a guide. The piece has been turned over so the slag is on the top. The slag knocks quite easily with a slag hammer.
I also decided to weld this together using stick instead of my wire feed since it burns in better on thicker metal. I haven't welded with my stick welder for over 20 years, but it came out looking not too bad.
The basic design is a U bolted to the frame.
I used 1 1/2" and 2 7/16" grade 8 bolts on each side. Since the top bolt hole in the frame was slotted toward the back, where torque from the winch might cause the mount to rotate to the back, I welded the washer to the frame.
While I had the bumper off I decided to put on the tow hooks I had previously removed from an Expedition. I just drilled a couple holes and installed using the factory hardware.
After slotting the bumper, installing the rollers, and mounting the winch to the plate, the bumper was put back on.
It was time to mount the solenoid pack. These come with brackets to mount to the top of the winch. Since I had no room for it on top I mounted it behind the grill. I just used the bolts that were used to attach the original mounting brackets and drilled holes through the front sheet metal.
After putting the grill back on I drilled a hole in the top plastic for the control handle connector.
I put the breaker pack and cables on the battery and it was ready to go.
Semi-hidden winch, time to go get stuck!
