Go check your spare!!

[Josh99]

I was under my truck wiring my rear facing lights, and decided I'd drop the back tire to hide the wires a little better. I put the little tool in the trumpet thing and could not get the little bolt to spin up in there. Ended up taking off my plate and pulling the trumpet off to find that the bolt was sheared off so there was nothing to bite onto. Ended up hack sawing the cable to drop the tire. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up, it'd be a lot easier to fix in the driveway than to figure out you got a problem on the side of the interstate.

[alberta 7.3]

A common issue is the "key" or the "lock" get beat up and don't fit together correctly anymore. I lowered my spare, disconnected the plastic tube and removed the 2 bolts for the winch. Pop the winch out of the frame, and using a screwdriver, remove the "lock." Reassemble everything, now you don't need a "key" to get the spare down. I'm more worried about somebody stealing tools, etc out of my truck, they can have my spare if they want it that bad.

[zpd307]

Originally Posted by alberta 7.3

A common issue is the "key" or the "lock" get beat up and don't fit together correctly anymore. I lowered my spare, disconnected the plastic tube and removed the 2 bolts for the winch. Pop the winch out of the frame, and using a screwdriver, remove the "lock." Reassemble everything, now you don't need a "key" to get the spare down. I'm more worried about somebody stealing tools, etc out of my truck, they can have my spare if they want it that bad.

good info, i think the previous owner "misplaced" the key for the spare tire winch. i can not find it anywhere.... atleast now i will not need to go visit the dealer for a new key. i guess it doesnt matter, as the spare is mia anyway.

as a side note. does anyone know if a 255/85/16 tire mounted as a spare will fit up in the spare tire well. it is around 33 " tall. i am planning on running that size when i get new tires later this fall.

[BGJ]

Originally Posted by zpd307

good info, i think the previous owner "misplaced" the key for the spare tire winch. i can not find it anywhere.... atleast now i will not need to go visit the dealer for a new key. i guess it doesnt matter, as the spare is mia anyway.

as a side note. does anyone know if a 255/85/16 tire mounted as a spare will fit up in the spare tire well. it is around 33 " tall. i am planning on running that size when i get new tires later this fall.

Yes it will. That is what I'm running.

[Jarrod B]

im lucky my spare has the angled piece. no key

[JMart]

Ive had a spare stolen. Believe me it will p!ss you off when you come walking up to your truck and see the winch hanging down.

[BGJ]

hope you don't mind Josh, but this is another spare problem with these Fords.

This little thing is supposed to hold the tire. Water gets into this tube, promoting rust, then the cable snaps. I cut my cable off.


then I wrapped it around a 3/4 inch bolt like this:



When your cable snaps, you'll think of this & go

[nccatfan]

Having trouble with my winch... seems like something inside has gone bad. About $60 for a new one! Found another one from an E350, but it mounts different. Gonna try to open 'em up and swap the internals one of these days.

[alberta 7.3]

I'm quite sure the 97-03 F150 winches work as well. From what I've noticed at the wrecking yard, they even have a stepped plate to accept either wheel bore.

[zpd307]

Originally Posted by BGJ

Yes it will. That is what I'm running.

what brand did you go with, not many to choose from.....