Should I buy this Farmi winch?

[Jstpssng]

I went to look a an old Farmi winch. It was bought by the original owner back in 1980 from what he says and he bought it new. He used it for a few seasons just skidding firewood logs with his old MF tractor. He said the tractor was about 40hp if that matters. I don't know the model number but it is somewhere between the 351 and 501.

It has been sitting for about 15-20 years and hasn't been used since. It's sitting behind a barn now which is where he took it off way back when, it has a lot of surface rust obviously but actually seems pretty solid. I assume every moving part in it would need replacing since it's been sitting so long.

My question is do you think it would be worth buying and having someone rebuild it with new parts? How complicated are these winches? Are there tons of moving parts? I've never used one but I see them go for at least a couple thousand dollars in good shape.
I can buy this one for 800, does anyone know if it is worth it or not? Thanks for any help.

I wouldn't pay more than $1200 for a decent winch of that vintage. See if he would come down, as it likely needs a lot of work as you say. They aren't that difficult to work on if you have patience. I have a digital manual for a JL306 which I downloaded from Farmi, when I had one of those briefly.

I once had a Fransgard which was in similar shape. There were 8 bearings in it... I replaced them all. New cable, I had the drum turned to resurface the flywheel face... by the time I was done I could take it apart and put it back together in no time.

Something which I did many times.

 

[scaredychicken]

i learned something new

 

[dstig1]

where can i get parts for one of these? i just picked one up looks a lot like yours

Well I don't know where you are located but I found a dealer out of SW Wisc who got parts for me. Or you could go back to the source like Gordon posted at NE implement. A quick web search for Farmi winch parts should help you find someone closer to you, if you are out west or something. There are not a lot of dealers/sources in the US for these, but UPS goes anywhere...

 

[gene21]

Well I don't know where you are located but I found a dealer out of SW Wisc who got parts for me. Or you could go back to the source like Gordon posted at NE implement. A quick web search for Farmi winch parts should help you find someone closer to you, if you are out west or something. There are not a lot of dealers/sources in the US for these, but UPS goes anywhere...

Thanks

 

[gene21]

I would start with NorthEast Implements. They have been Farmi dealers forever. They are easy to talk with and will answer questions. They probably have manuals for that old winch.

Home

northeastimplement.com

gg

I'll call them they are not to far away from me thanks