Rear bumper spare tire lock

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So my 2011 have the commonly seen key lock cylinder in the rear bumper which obscures access to the spare tire winch. Maybe not super secure, but better than nothing and more importantly in fills the ugly hole which it fits in. Well, mine seems to rust and get stuck. Not sure much the key cylinder itself but the little amrs which lock it into the bumper rust and swell and become too tight to turn with my ignition key as designed.

Now, this has always been easily remedied with a shot of penetrate into the key slot; but of course the day I need to use the spare I will undoubtedly NOT have access to penetrating oil. In the past, I've tried everything from fluid film, boeshield T9 and various other penetrating oils. Fluid film worked the best but you end up with the grimy fluid film and dirt build up... Which I guess is better than a frozen lock. Nothing else really holds up that well.

Any other suggestions? Seems to be in a a fairly washed out and dirty area up in the rear bump there. Here's a pic of my type of setup.

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Tape a plastic bag around the backside, and a piece of tape over the key hole. You will still need the grease but it might keep the dirt out. Does the winch mechanism rust up?
 
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You could in a pinch with a frozen lock just pull the dipstick and slather motor oil on the key and see if it turns and unlocks.
 
So I know its a litle confusing topic, but bear with me. Its not the lock cylinder itself but rather the little tabs and washers it turns which are rusted and like to freeze up. A rubber plug might end up going in there, but it would have to be wide enough to cover the slots on the sides of the hole. I like the plastic bag idea! That plus the fluid film should keep stuff lubed and clean enough to not cause problems.

ANd so far the winch is going strong. I do drop the tire each year when I re-apply my chassis fluid film and the cable itseld is in great shape and the winch is still easy and smooth.
 
You use a key to remove the lock cylinder in order to expose the hole through which you insert the spare wheel crank rod?

My brother's Ford van ('98 Windstar) had a plain hole into which the rod was shoved. We never thought about wheel thieves going around with a long crank rod but it sure makes sense.
 
Originally Posted By: buck91
So I know its a litle confusing topic, but bear with me. Its not the lock cylinder itself but rather the little tabs and washers it turns which are rusted and like to freeze up. A rubber plug might end up going in there, but it would have to be wide enough to cover the slots on the sides of the hole. I like the plastic bag idea! That plus the fluid film should keep stuff lubed and clean enough to not cause problems.

ANd so far the winch is going strong. I do drop the tire each year when I re-apply my chassis fluid film and the cable itseld is in great shape and the winch is still easy and smooth.


Exercising it will probably help, its not the winch itself, its the part that goes through the wheel on the spare. Its a retaining hook, kind of a secondary hold if the winch cable breaks, so the tire does not fall out into the road at speed. If it gets stuck , it will not drop off the retaining ring. I modified mine to have a notch where i can spin the spare and get it to drop. If it gets to where it won't drop, you have to remove the license plate and get a really long screwdriver and depress the notch on the center of the cable center. Its a pain in the rear.

I cut 2 slots in mine with a jigsaw and knocked out a slot. A bit of a hack job, but it works and i will always be able to drop the spare by spinning it until it drops.
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Spasm3, thats something I did not know. Always wondered how its OK to just have that tire hanging by a steel cable. Good to know! So that tab is located where the crank rod slides in? Or you have to fish up above the tire where the cable goes in if it gets stuck?
 
Originally Posted By: buck91
Spasm3, thats something I did not know. Always wondered how its OK to just have that tire hanging by a steel cable. Good to know! So that tab is located where the crank rod slides in? Or you have to fish up above the tire where the cable goes in if it gets stuck?


Its such a problem that gm makes a tool for this. I just accessed the same way and used a long prybar and hit it with a hammer to drop it.

It would not be hard to weld up and make your own tool though.

IMHO the notch cut is an easier fix than replacing the hoist. Just index the tire when hoisting back up so its not aligned with the notch. When you remove the spare, spin until the hook drops through the notch.



Here is a video of removal.
 
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