Quote:
Originally posted by coolerman
6' Let me remind you that the only time the truck won't be running is when it's under water. In that case the electric won't work either! THAT'S why you wheel with a buddy with a winch :smoker2:
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Guess again Holme! If you saturate your air filter and air can't flow, even though the engine isn't hydrolocked, you still can't run the motor (and you don't have to be under water for that to happen, believe me). Also if you have an engine problem in a situation that requires a winch (most common in carbureted motors, not generally a problem in injected ones), again you are in trouble.
But here are the caveats both ways.
Electric winches are prone to overheating.
Electric winches generally have a slow line feed. (Warn 8274 excepted)
Electric winches generally require two batteries and rewiring of the electrical system.
Hydraulic winches require the engine to be running.
Hydraulic winches require rehosing of the power steering system.
Hydraulic winches are only as good as the pump driving them. The X/Frontier pumps drive the MileMarker winch at well below stated specs due to its lower pressure of operation. (For those in doubt, it has been tested by MileMarker and it runs about 1,500 to 2,000 lbs under the original MileMarker rating. So a 10,000 lb MileMarker rating would make a 8,000 to 8,500 lb winch in an X/Frontier.)
I have seen both the electric and hydraulic winches in action. The MileMarker kicks butt in line speed and continuous power (it has a fast and slow line speed). It is a well-built and powerful winch. Cost is about the same as the electric winch and in most cases, the MileMarker comes with a power steering adapter kit. I have known some people to have leakage problems with them, but that isn't too common and I would probably attribute most of it to a failure on the installers part. What the user has to decide is the enviroment it may be used in as well as the vehicle. Since dual batteries is a tough proposition in the X, I would recommend using the hydraulic if you can.