The first step is to unpack the winch and make sure you have all the necessary parts. You will also need your arb parts bag for the fairlead roller bolts and a few small nuts and bolts.
The next step is to begin removing the allen head bolts that attach the clutch to the main housing
After all the allen head bolts are removed, lift the clutch assembly just enough to sperate it from the base and rotate it two bolts holes clockwise. The clutch needs to be moved to allow the clutch release/engage lever to fully turn inside the bumper. Reinstall the allen head bolts and be sure not to damage the paper gasket inside the clutch.
Next you’ll need to remove the front two bolts attaching the arb to the frame rail on both sides. Rotate the bumper down only to the point where the rear bumper tabs don’t scratch the fenders and then support it with a jack or jack stands. Make sure its supported well enough to handle the weight of the bumper and the 80-90lb winch. The WARN M8000 winch is small enough that you don’t need to lower the bumper, it will slide into place with a little finesse.
Next remove the side rollers on the fairlead with a pair of snap ring plyers.
Once the rollers are off hold the fairlead up the front of the arb and use a punch to mark where the new holes need to be drilled. Drill the new holes in the fairlead so they mount clean with the arb. Make sure to remove any burrs in the holes.
Next you need to get the four square nuts that fit inside the winch housing. Using some wadded up paper towels to hold the square nuts in place works great and makes life much easier.
Then just maneuver the winch into the arb. Start only the top two bolts and leave them loose so you can get the winch properly aligned.
Next is to mount up the fairlead roller to the bumper. You will need to use the longer bolts in the manilla envelope to reach through the fairlead and the arb. Now is when you’ll want to get everything lined up and begin to torque the bolts down. You can also rotate the bumper back into place and replace the four frame bolts. With the jack out of the way you’ll have more room to work with under the truck.
Use the brass bracket and the nuts and bolts supplied in the arb bag to mount the bracket and then the solenoid (black box) to the bumper. Make sure to use the rubber grommet to protect the cables that are fed down inside the arb.
Attach the motor ground (small black wire) to the underside of the bracket. Make sure its making good contact on both side otherwise the winch won’t operate correctly. You can ground the wire to another metal surface if you prefer.
Attach the cables from the winch solenoid to the winch itself. The connection bolts are colored coded, and don’t forget to slide the connector boots on the wires before you attach them. The positive and negative cable can be fed between the radiator and the overflow bottle.
Next bolt on the side rollers of the fairlead using the long bolts supplied in the arb bag, a little all purpose grease on the plastic bushings is a good idea too. Make sure not to over torque the nuts, you want to have a slight amount of tension on the rollers but they need to roll smoothly. Cut the rubber band off the cable and feed it through the fairlead opening and attach the hook.
The last step is to stretch the cable and respool it. Pull the cable out until only 5 rows remain on the drum (about 95feet out if you have a 100ft cable). Using a tree saver or another truck begin winching with your truck running and in neutral with half the e-brake on. If you are using the stock battery keep the motor revs up around 1500rpm and winch in short cycles. Slowly respool the cable making sure the rows are straight and not overlapping.
Its highly recommended switching to a sealed optima or similar battery. Winching draws alot of power and will slowly kill a stock battery. A winch accessory bag with tree straps, shackles, and protective work gloves are also very helpful. Winches are extremely dangerous if used improperly, READ THE MANUAL and keep people clear of the cable at all times when the winch is under load. And keep your hands away from the rollers when spooling the winch cable in.
This is only a basic guide. Read all the installation instructions prior to starting the install. This guide is for 2000-2004 Xterra’s and 1998-2004 Frontier’s using an ARB Bullbar bumper, and a Warn M8000-HS9500 (8000lb to 9500lb) or similar non-integrated style electric winches.