I been working on a new bumper for what seems like forever(no time to spare). I have though a long time about how to mount my winch in a convenient way but make it difficult to steal. After what seems like forever I am about done with my bumper and have found the solution to my winch mounting problem. If some one has already come up with this idea I have not seen it so here goes.

Here is my bumper upside down...




Now a close up of the bottom side of the winch plate...



The most difficult part of getting this idea to work was finding a Keyed/locking wheel lug small enough to work. As luck would have it Ford uses a 10x1.25mm stud size on their smallest economy cars. I was able to order a set of keyed lugs from Les Schwab's but sourcing a 10x1.25mm square nut for the bottom side of the winch was a no go, I tried all the fastener warehouses and nothing for a fine pitch metric square nut. I'm not sure about the other Warn models but it looks like any of the models that use 3/8's coarse thread will hold a 10x1.25 hex nut in the channel with out any problems (It actually fits better than the square nut). I had to ream out the holes in the casting on the winch a little with a rotary file so I could get the studs to screw in cleanly but there was very little material that needed to be removed.




My winch with studs and locks installed for the pic...


and the set of keyed lugs...


I have bolted everything up and it works very well. Welding the tubular sections on over each mount hole will assure that no one can reach in with a vise-grip and loosen the mounting nuts. I had to grind the base of each lug down to eliminate some of the taper but taking it down just shy of thread contact seems to be perfect. After spending a few hrs driving around trying to source a 10x1.25mm stud I actually found a pile of them in my garage, I guess Toyota used them for exhaust studs on the 3.0 manifolds. For ease of assembly I slotted the un-threaded end of the Toyota studs so I could tighten them up in the winch base with a small screwdriver. I will try and get time to snap a pic of the winch bolted up tomorrow but I may just bag it and start painting the bumper while the weather is nice and before I decide to change something again.

Nice job! You could have also made some square nuts.

Have also heard of folks using several different types of fasteners, like allen, torx, hex head, etc. Makes it so one tool will not remove the winch. Mine will end up being a bit like that, the winch bolts will be covered by the fairlead bolts and they will be a different size/style most likely.

Nice job!!! Not to burst your bubble McGuard already makes a locking set-up for winchs. It comes with all the hardware that you need.

I will be facing the same issue this winter when i plan on building my front bumper. I was initially thinking of using the welder to Really make sure nobody can unbolt the winch from the bumper....but your idea is pretty safe too
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Sheesh now you tell me...

i just unhook mine from the hitch and store it in the garage... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Which is fine if ya have a garage. Slick idea tho'; I like it!