A couple of days ago I tried to lower my spare tire down. Doing it the proper way as I have done on other vehicles before my current '05 LT Tahoe. I have never read an instruction manual in my 39 years on this planet nor do i plan on starting any time soon. Anyway has anyone else's spare tire gotten stuck or jambed ? How did you get it to release? i can turn all day long on the handle and mine wont go up or down. The handle is inserted properly as I can tell by feel. I took the liberty of smacking the spare tire a few times 10-12 with a rubber mallet to see if that would some how free up the little winch/pulley above it but it had 0 effect. From my observation while underneath the tahoe it looked as if the spare tire has never been down before because it looks brand new. All the smacking did was get dirt in my face and eyes. Any suggestions??
Spare tire troubles ?????
- Thread starter dojrs
- Start date
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Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
I think the majority of us have had issues with the spare setup--I have. I'm guessing you probably live in a rust belt state? Maybe try to put a pry bar between the spare and floor of the truck and pry down as someone is cranking it down. Probably got some crud and other debris jamming the steel drop down cable. I had a huge problem getting the latch to release once the tire was down.
Georgia, Southern portion. The amount of humidity here makes it feel like the arm pit of hell at times. this summer has been about the most humid I can remember experiencing in a long time. So yeah things do tend to rust badly here at times. thanks I didn't think about trying a pry bar to get it to down.
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
Let us know how you make out. Don't be afraid to muscle it. Watch your face too!
I won't be able to mess with it again until Saturday at the earliest but will definitely be trying it again as we should have usable spare tires in/on our rides. not to mention i have to take the charcoal canister down and clean it out. Ive replaced the small one already.
HiHoeSilver
Away!
Does the tire come down at all? If not, you're winch is the problem. If it comes down a little (enough that you can move it around) it's the secondary latch mechanism. I was able to get mine to release with a big screwdriver and some channel locks. Google or YouTube, you'll find a bunch.
Nope, none at all. turn the crank and it does nothing in either direction.
Erickk120
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Pretty common it seems, Mine is also stuck. I have to manually go down there and have someone turn that cable while I wiggle it to come down with care. I dont even carry a spare down there anymore because of this, I just throw it in the rear.
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
I couldn't get mine down either but I was able to get an extension and socket to the bolts holding the spare tire mechanism to the truck, so I was able to drop the whole thing down and work on it that way. Just another option. That's the mechanism in the pic.
I have never had a problem with mine lowering or the latch I just loosen the cable enough that the latch doesn't matter it still comes off by just angling it out
UrbanSuburban
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I wound up just cutting the cable and getting a new and updated winch, Ironically it was a safety feature that GM put in to stop tires from dropping that stops the winch from lowering down. I guess they did a great job. When I got a new one that did not have that safety feature on it, I found out that the Pickup truck winch does not fit.
HiHoeSilver
Away!
Yup. Secondary latch. Stupid.
swathdiver
Full Access Member
It's possible that the extension end is the wrong one or that the fitting on the winch has rounded off. That was the case with ours and had to replace it last winter.
corvette744
2004 Z-71
Yep i would make sure you have the right end going into the spare tire winch-their are 2 almost identical ends that you can stick all the way down.one will just spin because it doesnt grab,try the other it should move-especially prying a little.
gpd4
TYF Newbie
Mine was stuck, too. First problem was that it was keyed wrong - but the locks are ***** and I just tore it out. Then the secondary latch stuck and wasn't going to come loose. Cutting the cable doesn't help, because the cable isn't holding it up at that point. I ended up cutting the whole thing out and buying a new hoist. I figure now that it works, I'll never have another flat tire...
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
Lol, so true, or you get a flat and the spare is flat too.
chrmbly
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Mine was stuck as well. I did as described here and got it down. I lubed it back up with grease before putting it back up, but my guess is that it will still be a PITA to take back down. Those that replaced them - where did you find em / how to install?
gpd4
TYF Newbie
I think I got it from Rock Auto. Once the tire is out of the way, it's just a matter of a couple of bolts.
mizzouguy
Full Access Member
Dorman 924-517 on rock auto is $75, cut the cable and its 1 bolt to replace the whole thing. Good luck! New one does not have secondary latch. They also have a cheaper brand for $57 but not familiar with it.
