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scored an electric winch for my 21st from my parents. they got it for aldi i've used it about 3 times without problems until last time was winching a bloke out of a creek and there was quite alot of weight on the cable and the brake wasn't working.
so i was winching in then released the button and the tension would just drop off the cable as the winch spooled out.
so i pulled it apart today as you can see. not really sure what i'm looking at but i'm guessing there shouldn't be any grease/oil on the inside of the cable drum where the brake 'pads' operate on.
so the question's are;
is it just the bushings in picture 3 that seal mud/water/grease out of the inside of the cable drum? is there any other way i should seal it out?
is there anything i should be checking on the brack mechanism? i was just gonna brake clean the pads and leave it at that.
hopefully it'll be a half decent winch with a few modifications.
Calvin,
I had a chinese winch supplied by Milemarker in USA, but the brake was a different config. My brake was lubricated to ensure it didn't corrode and sieze on the inside of the drum, and it worked really well, but your one looks like it works on a cone friction similiar to a warn low mount? If so, I would not expect to see grease on the holding faces. Maybe something very light like CRC spray would suffice to keep the corrosion down, but would still allow the faces to grip - just guessing.
The brake area is only really protected from major ingress of material, so yes, you do end up with mud and water down the brake area. I can't see how you keep the brake dry in any regard as the working clearances are too great for this. Either way you are going to get the friction surface wet and muddy.
Looking at the 'cam style' mechanism' it doesn't look like there is anything to adjust to increase the face pressure, so what you have is what you got. If the faces have been spinning around with a mixture of mud, water and oil, probably acted like a lapping compound and everything might be nice and smooth - just depends how long it was spinning before you found out.
I would dry it out, wipe a rag over the brake with a very small film off CRC or equiv and put it back together. It obviously has limitations regarding working when the friction faces are wet, so you just need to bear this in mind I think.
i've used it about 3 times without problems until last time was winching a bloke out of a creek and there was quite alot of weight on the cable and the brake wasn't working. 
