Tulsa Winch Rebuild

[steve1973]

I started this post on the G503 site over a year ago and decided to bring it all together and post it here as several of you are working on winches now.

I've been finding quite a few Tulsa winches on Craigslist specifically  in the Washington State area and have paid anywhere from $2-300 each max. I have bought a total of four now and have two of them for sale. PM me if interested.
The halftrack only used a model 18 G winch. Mine has a model 18 H winch which is the same thing. The letter from my research denotes left or right side drive, front or back tack off and/or gearing. In my case I'm still trying to find out the difference between the G and H is as the components of the model 18 are the same. Just the configuration is different. I even called Tulsa Winch Company and was informed that they never heard of an 18 H model winch before and said it was stamped incorrectly.  This is odd since I have three 18 H winches and know of others that have the same in their tracks.

Here is my replacement winch. It is a Tulsa model 18 H and uses the same replacement parts and a model 18 G. As to the parts, I found a place that carries these Tulsa winch parts reasonable prices I think. The company is Wichita Energy Company out of Wichita Falls, Texas. They are very nice people to deal with. I got a complete gasket and seal kit along with a knob, pin and spring for just over $150 with shipping. I think that was pretty good in all. Once my front axle is taken care of I will move onto the winch for rebuild, paint and install.













I started in on the winch by taking the old frame off. This involved using a jack to pry the ends far enough apart that the winch would fall out. Originally the winch had two "L" angle pieces that spanned the winch side to side. Today was disassembly day. There is a little more to these winches than I thought. Also, everything is HEAVY. After creating a big mess I have most of the winch apart now. The drum and main shaft I had to take in to get the drum pressed out. I tried with what limited resources I have with no luck. I also cleaned some of the bigger housings and worm gear in the solvent tank. That is another item that I'm having trouble removing. I got one bearing punched out and will have to be creative with the other or take it in to have it done. I ended up getting a Harbor Freight 20 ton press and worked like a charm.  I was hoping to have everything at the sandblasters but now realize this is a much bigger project than expected. Here are some photos of my progress.









It is time to get back to work on the halftrack. I decided to finish rebuilding my winch. Last week I took all the big parts in for sand blasting and did the smaller parts myself in my bead blast cabinet. Tomorrow I will work on getting everything ready for paint.
Here is a photo of my cleaned winch parts thus far.





 My buddy Mike at the paint shop painted up the bigger winch parts for me over the weekend. They look real nice. All that is left to paint is the small parts and fasteners then it will be time to put the thing together.



I also came across what I think is the correct hook for the halftrack.



It is time for reassembly. I started with the two angle cross pieces upside down and mounted the gear housing. Once done I flipped it over to mount the worm gear and winch brake assembly then installed the drum shaft. Next the top cover was installed followed by the drum and end cross support. Lastly the engage/disengage lever and drag brake was installed. Note- you will want to put this on before attaching the end cross support to the angle pieces or you won’t have enough room to get the fork in place. I found this out the hard way. The PTO is still out getting rebuilt and hope to have it finished by next month. So here are some more photos.















Time to clean up the bumper a bit for a fresh coat of pain and to get one last coat on the assembled winch.











The last thing on my list to get done is to get the PTO rebuilt and installed along with the winch driveline then the winch is operational. I can then take the track down and have the 220 feet of 5/8 inch wire rope installed. Below is a photo of an actual surplus winch chain for a halftrack.





Steve A.

[67tank]

Steve
I just started tearing my winch apart and noticed that I also have the 18H model- as such this was very helpful.  Looks like the original frames were tossed and you went with a new frame both front and back.  Where did you pick those two pieces up at/or did you fabricate?   

[steve1973]

They were made by steve-0. I took the ones he made me in to copy for a second set I sold with another winch. I have to fix some leaks in my winch so I will be pulling the winch out again. If you are not in a big hurry I can see about getting another set made. They are heave and shipping would be expensive though. I did make a rough drawing at one time but unsure of accuracy. Let me know what I can do to help.

Steve

I also have two winches for sale. Both need to be restored. $500 each.

[Captain Crank]

Nice work.

I need a spring loaded locking knob for mine......any sources?

[steve1973]

I got all my winch parts from Witchita Energy Co. including the spring loaded knob. They were very nice on the phone and prices were reasonable compared to what we pay for some halftrack parts. Their website is: http://wichitaenergyco.com/ and phone number is: 940-692-5410. Hope this helps.

Steve A.

[Captain Crank]

I got all my winch parts from Witchita Energy Co. including the spring loaded knob. They were very nice on the phone and prices were reasonable compared to what we pay for some halftrack parts. Their website is: http://wichitaenergyco.com/ and phone number is: 940-692-5410. Hope this helps.

Steve A.

Sure does Steve, Thanks!

I had checked with Tulsa Winch (now TGW) a few years back and they couldn't help.

Refuse to use the other option. 

[67tank]

Steve 
thanks for the info on Wichita Energy Co.  Called them today and ordering a few parts.  He included a part list and schematic -attached for future ref. 

[colkking]

Update on Wichita Energy---I tried to buy a knob and spring from them, and the were asking over $100!!
I think the days of reasonable prices from them are in the past.
FYI....

kk

[brit plumber]

So I think I’ve identified that the Tulsa 18H was fitted to some International Harvester trucks.

I’ve attached a couple of photos but I’ve seen more showing the diagonal holes in the front angle iron and the reversed L brackets on the rear angle iron.