NEED HELP WITH SPARE TIRE LOCK

[hdtwncam88]

Hello all. Purchased a pre-owned 2008 F250. If you look in the tube where you insert the rod to crank down and lower the spare there is a lock of some sort in there and the key is nowhere to be found. Spoke w prev owner and has no clue either. Called local Ford dealer and said only thing ya can do is cut the cable and replace the spare tire holding mechanism.

Suggestions ??

Thanks

[Tennesseepowerstroke]

Calling a locksmith would probably be cheaper.

[NoRalPh]

It's not that kind of "lock"...

I would think you could "jam" something into those recesses, that the "key" went into, to get it down. Then, you'd have access to that section and make something to get it to work in the future. You could just weld an old socket to it or something. Also, maybe you could then disassemble it, take the part to Ford, then get the right key...

[B. Adams]

I took out the keyed insert on my 08, which also didn't come with the key. I assume yours is the same as mine was, it has kind of a wavy circle groove that the "key" fits into. If you take that out, there's a sort of rectangular slot underneath, that a 3/8" socket fits into. The fit of the 3/8" socket is a little sloppy, but it works. You just need an 18" or longer socket extension, then you can take your tire up or down with a ratchet, or a drill or impact driver.

I found that the easiest way to get to the top of the spare tire carrier to get at that key was to take off the tailgate, unbolt the bed, and lift the back of the bed up a foot or so. That should give you plenty of clearance to get in there. I did it myself, using some lumber for leverage to lift the bed and rest it on when it was lifted. In my opinion, that was a much better alternative than cutting the cable, or any of the other ways to get at that thing. On my 8' box I had to remove 8 large torx bolts (somewhere between T40 and T50, I don't remember) and the bed was completely free. A short box may have fewer bolts.

[Tennesseepowerstroke]

You could stop anywhere you see the same model Superduty for sale and to borrow their key to see if it would work.

[Redz284u]

Sears sells a socket that has the inside loaded with a butt load of pins. Basically for u to use with any size bolt or nut. Maybe those pins will follow the curvy lock pattern? They have two different size. I would go with the smaller one if I were u.