Spare tire changing

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CourierDriver

CourierDriver

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Wish we had filmed this experience.

Right rear tire goes flat in driveway. Ok, easy to change? well sort of.

Hook up compressor to blow up tire so we could go down the street and have the hole plugged hopefully. Tire does not air up,,what?

Discover tire has pushed a little off rim, jack up F150, remove tire, now tire has pressed somewhat to rim and airing up tire is a done deal and reinstalled.

We have a 2010 Ford F150 ,v8. standard pickup 2 wheel drive.

So I decide I will try to get the spare off the bottom of the truck bed and read the instructions for this simple feat.

Ok, you snap the 3 foot metal rod together, try to place it thru the bumper hole and into another hole where the 3ft pole is suppose to engage something and by rotating the 3 foot pole and thus lowering the spare tire.....after about 30 minutes , I gave up because the 3 ft pole never engaged the lowering unit.

Yes I have done this on my Dodge #350 van and it is simple, but not yesterday on the F150.

Moral of the story, call AAA if this happens on your rides and you will be better off. Will go to Ford dealership and let them show me how to do this,,,lol

PS- If any of you have never tried to change a time on your car or truck, you should practice this,,Murphys Law may get you....
 
Yeah I found the original spare hidden up under there on my 95 F150. Fooled with its gizmo and gave up, and cut it all off with my grinder, at home, before I needed it.

It still had the nubs on it and had never touched pavement. I put it in regular rotation and moved a bald one to spare duty.
 
I was a Cub and Boy Scout Leader. I once used my car to let the scouts learn how to change a tire. My Chevy Corsica must have had the spare tire mount severly over torqued on at the factory. I needed a breaker bar and a hammer to loosen it!

I felt fortunate that I discovered this in my garage and not on the road!
 
There is a "key" you need to lower the spare, similar to the key for a locking lug nut. It attaches to the end of the jack handle. It should have been in the glove box when the truck was new, if it's not there then someone probably took it out.

If you take a 9/16" socket on a long extension and hammer it on to the "lock", you should then be able to lower the spare tire. With the tire lowered, you should be able to remove the plastic tube that runs from the bumper to the spare tire winch. Then you can pop the lock out of there with a screwdriver or pry bar. Put the plastic tube back in, and then you should be able to raise/lower the spare tire with the end of the jack handle without needing the "key".

I had to do that on my F-350, as it was missing the key when I bought it.
 
I once had a lock on my spare, one of those locks with a "weatherproof" plastic case. Yeah, water got in the lock, it was corroded solid. Had to cut it off with a grinder. Fortunately I discovered it before I needed the spare, and where I had access to a grinder.

Moral: drop your spare twice a year, spring and fall, check the air and make sure everything works.
 
My father used a snow tire in the summer / all terrain in the winter for a spare on his truck. Went to swap them out one fall for a tire change and the winch was completely frozen. Had to unbolt the whole thing from the frame with the tire attached
 
I simply take the spares out from under the vehicles each fall, check the spare tire, lubricate the lift mechanism, and then put it back up.

Not only do I make certain I know how to work it when/if I ever really need it, it keeps everything in good working order.
 
Hello, I suppose it's another thing which got cheapened.

My brother's 1998 Ford Windstar had a crank down spare which I went to cycle and lubricate.

It was solid, appeared to be well greased and was as smooth as could be.

I'd bet over the years a car company will have installed winches from half a dozen suppliers and when the time comes to cheapen they go for the least expensive one they ever sourced. "...and make it even cheaper", they add. Kira
 
My friend bought a used car with aftermarket rims on it. He had a flat not long after (a blowout, the tread lookeed great) The aftermarket rims had such a shape that you couldn't get the socket/wrench onto the lug. I went to help him out, and out of all the sockets I brought, we found one that fit enough to get it changed.

I've had enough overtorqued lugs, that I always go back over them if anyone else works on them. I do try to check anything that holds a spare tire on now and then. The undervan storage on our 06 Caravan still frightens me.
 
You've not experienced a spare on a Town and Country, that is located underneath the body... centered in between the front two seats... due to the Stow 'N Go seating.

You're complaining about nothing with a spare on a pickup. Big deal.
 
At least you have a spare tire which is a lot more than a lot of new car owner's can say.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
You've not experienced a spare on a Town and Country, that is located underneath the body... centered in between the front two seats... due to the Stow 'N Go seating.

You're complaining about nothing with a spare on a pickup. Big deal.


It's not that bad. I've used it a few times.
 
It appears many of us have had to much fun in spare tire removal. There were days when you found them n the trunk,lol. You would think when one pays 20k or 40k for a ride, the spare would be one of the easy things to get to, since it is a safety feature or survival feature.....try it in the sand sometime,,now thats another can of worms.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Yeah I found the original spare hidden up under there on my 95 F150. Fooled with its gizmo and gave up, and cut it all off with my grinder, at home, before I needed it.

It still had the nubs on it and had never touched pavement. I put it in regular rotation and moved a bald one to spare duty.


Grinder
smile.gif
the tool of impatience lol! Makes sense though, if I drove a pickup I'd want the spare in the bed, easy to access and not likely to get trapped by a rusted mechanism..
 
I guess it all depends on where you live. Back in 2013 we planned a short trip in the Expedition. I don't think I've ever checked in the air in the spare at that point, so I grabbed the rod from under the hood and to my amazement it came down without a problem. Maybe it's my Northern roots, but I was fully expecting it to be rusted together. Was out of air completely btw, lol.

Another thing that shocked me is my little car has a full size spare and yet the Equinox has an odd doughnut type. Odd...
 
This fall I lowered the one on my truck, sprayed it all down with FF, and put it back. If I was smart I checked the pressure too.
 
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