I have a question regarding running the winch every month to heat up the engine and gearbox. Is it OK to put the gearbox in neutral and just run the motor for a while? When it is disconnected do the gears still turn? I.e. where does it disconnect from?

The reason I ask is that to get enough room to run the rope out 10-15 metres I have to move another car or back the patrol almost to the street and leave it idling while I pull out the rope out.