Solved Spare Tire Cable Inspection

ExplorerDMB · May 1, 2006

It has come to my knowledge that a lot of vehicles have been into other shops that have issues with under vehicle mounting of spare tires. The problem is that the cable that is holding tension on the wheel will rust or will fray and cause issues. I know this has happend to IZwack once. Do not let this happen to you. Inspect the vehicles you work on or your own carefully, especially if you are in the "rust belt" of the nation. Imagine that cable breaking going down the highway at 65mph+!!!

-Drew

bmxking5 · May 2, 2006

Yeah, I heard about that happening to a few people on here...that's why when I pulled off my stock spare tire winch, I knew I'd be able to sell it to someone up north. That would be pretty damn scary to be behind one on the highway when it broke!

BTW, I've never even noticed "The Technician Corner"

Greaser Tony · May 30, 2006

Well mine is all rusted to hell. I doubt I could even get it off if I had a flat lol. Maybe I should try to get the rust off and see if I can even get it down.

old mechanic · May 30, 2006

I replaced my spare with a better one and when I put it up and tightened it well it broke at where the cable and ball join. The cable looked to be very good except the very bottom which was somewhat rusted so I just cut the rusted end off, put the cable thru the small hole, folded the cable, put a wire clamp on and brought it up. I have checked it often and seems to be holding just fine.

SkanlaxJMO · May 30, 2006

...i had better go check it...9 syr ny winters and 1 michigan winter cant be good for it....

rcmann · June 23, 2006

I peaked at mine once, seeing as i need to get the spare off anyway (2 inch body lift, it sticks way down) and was kind of puzzled as to how it comes off? I know, i know, but someone has to ask the dumb questions around here.

Stic-o · June 23, 2006

I have one off mine if any one needs one. It' s a California truck so no rust :thumbsup:

kbabiak · June 23, 2006

spare cable

hi i have lots of very clean ones send a email kbabiak@comcast.net thanks,karl

Gryz · June 23, 2006

I had to use a hammer to get mine off....I would like to take the spare tire off completely, but just my luck I will need it.

IZwack · June 23, 2006

ExplorerDMB said:
I know this has happend to IZwack once.

Yeah - this was maybe 4 or 5 years ago -- after about 3 years in Rochester, NY. Whoever put the spare tire back on left it somewhat lose so over time, after swinging back and forth for a while, the cable finally snapped. I didn't even notice my spare tire missing until I was driving back on the same small road (leading up to an apartment complex) and saw a spare tire on the side of the road. I was like, hmm, that looks like a nice spare tire! And sure enough, it was MY spare tire

ExplorerDMB said:
Do not let this happen to you.

It might just turn you into a male model

rcmann said:
puzzled as to how it comes off? I know, i know, but someone has to ask the dumb questions around here.

I'm not sure if its the same for the 1st generation Explorers but on the 2nd generations, the rod that attaches to the bottle jack must be inserted into a small hole on top of the bumper - which gives the rod access to the cable assembly. Usually, I think these instructions are on the panel that covers the bottle-jack and tire iron.

And thumbs up to kbabiak -- he's a great shipper when it comes to parts - well packed

sparkyputerguy · October 6, 2006

Happened to me the other week!

Hi gang-

Luckily, I was just pulling out of a parking lot (5 mph) when I heard/felt a thunk. I wondered what it was, and when I looked in the rear view mirror, there was my spare sitting in the middle of the road. D'oh!

Earlier that afternoon, I was tooling down the highway at 65/70... I count my blessings that it waited until later to snap!

I never inspected the darn thing but I'm going to tell everyone I know to do so!

wolfnutts · October 23, 2006

well i looked at my cable a few weeks ago when i put on some new shocks . tire was flat winter coming ohhh need to make a scary movie on spare tire cables boooo. i had more spare time then money this week so i rebuilt mine . cost 2 feet of steel cable from home depot dollar 50 4 qwarter inch bolts 3 # 10 machine bolts an a zerk fitting to fill with grease cost less then 5 bucks for repair u do need a welder for a few qwick zaps drill punch an grinder to knock the heads of a few rivits off . id of taken some pics but it can be a messy job an i wasnt sure it was possable till it was done an working ill answer qwestions if u want to try it urself

old mechanic · October 23, 2006

I have had previous problems with truck spare tire holders. What I did to most of them was to put a 3" x 4'? x 1/4" thick flat piece of steel under the spare, drilled a hole on each side and added a threaded rod on each side to the body or whatever I could attach the rods to and tightened it up. I used wingnuts with lock washers so it would be easy to take off if needed. Never ever had a problem after that.

lets blaze · November 6, 2006

I live on a lovely dirt road in michigan, I was comming home from work last week when I too noticed a nice tire on the corner of my road. I picked it up and called my brother in law to see if it was his, if not I was going to run it on my derby car, well 3 days later I heard a weird thud from the back, I checked it out and one of my shocks came free from the bottom of the car, and upon closer inspection I was also missing my spare, man I love the cheap cable it came with, good thing I found my unused spare :salute:

rocco123 · December 10, 2006

On every vehicle I have owned that has a spare held up with a cable I remove the wheel, and grab a handfull of grease to coat the length of the cable. Never had a problem dropping the wheel down & never lost one yet.

It's worth thinking ahead on this, so you won't have a problem removing the wheel when you need it.

Ranger Al · December 18, 2006

I used to have 97 F150, now belong to the neighbor across the street. The other day he called me up and asked if I had a spare wheel and tire for his truck. I guessed the cable broke and he didn't even notice he doesn't have a spare. Looks like it fraded and broke off, gosh I hope nobody got hurt! He is driving around without spare. I am thinking he could replace the entire cable with the kind with plastic coated type you could find at you local hardware store. The guy is too cheap to take my advice. Anyway, looks like replacing the cable would be a good idea and I imagined it is not as expensive as my cheap neighbor though!

FESCSteve · December 19, 2006

While this hasn't been an issue on an explorer, I've had the cable break on my 01 F150. Lucky for me it happened as I bounced into a Braum's parking lot. Even at 5mph it was pretty violent and unnerving. I can't imagine it hapening at highway speeds. Somebody could easily get killed.

I believe my problem was that I didn't have the spare fully retractted against it's stops. The tire had dropped down a bit and I knew it because I could hear it clunking around on rough roads and checked it. I just didn't do anything about it though. I believe the bouncing eventually stressed the cable enough that the end broke.

I would suggest that in addition to checking it's condition, that you make sure it's tucked up in there fairly snug too.

Willard · March 16, 2007

I have a '94 explorer and the spare tire fell off a long time ago. here we were tooling across a bridge at about 45 mph, and we felt a clunk and the truck bounced. Thinking it was a big hole, we kept on. Few days later, noticed the spare was gone. Went back to that spot and couldn't find it. Still don't have a spare to this day, and that was years ago. Long story short-inspect your cable, and if you feel a clunk, look behind you.

Solved Spare Tire Cable Inspection

ExplorerDMB

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bmxking5

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Greaser Tony

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old mechanic

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rcmann

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Stic-o

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kbabiak

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IZwack

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old mechanic

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lets blaze

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Willard

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