Spare Tire and Hoist Winch maintenance

[FirstExplorer]

I suggest inspection on the condition of the spare tire, the winch, and the winch cable.
Once a year, I drop my spare and unfurl the winch cable to the stop. The tire is always extremely grimy and under inflated, so I wash and scrub it good at the DIY car wash, then treat it with a tire conditioner.
Get it properly inflated, grease up the winch cable and spray the winch with silicone or lithium grease before you hoist it back in place.

I have heard stories of these winch cables breaking and sending the tire into a little death dance on the highway. That is a real liability problem, but preventative inspection can help.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Funny you bring this up, I just did this on my 1994. The winch cable hadn't been used in ages and actually bunched up when I tried to lower it. Had to pull down the tire and have someone else crank it down. Thankfully it didn't break.

I like to coat the cable in general purpose grease, it'll squish and get everywhere it needs to and then stick there. I run it up and down a few times, applying grease each time.

I gotta say though, if your spare is under inflated every time you check it, get a new spare. It shouldn't really lose any pressure, certainly not a measureable amount in a year. Also, I wouldn't recommend putting any conditioner on it. Most conditioners are just tire shine to make you feel good. I talked with Cooper Tires about proper maintenance and they recommend to not use any product as it actually degrades the rubber. The best way to maintain it is to take load off when not in use, keep it out of the sun and allow for airflow around the tire to avoid rotting. The spare tire location on the Explorers is in a good spot for longevity. Both of mine had the OEM tire on it and neither showed any cracking of any kind and still hold air perfectly. I wouldn't want to rely on them but it shows that you don't really have to do anything with them to keep them happy.

 

[FirstExplorer]

I have to admit that spare is pretty old. I originally had a set of the Firestones that were recalled. I got a new set on the truck but not the spare. Then I got a card from Firestone to get a free replacement for the spare, and it is still there. I have had my 1991 since new. I use Michelin LTX now, so,the next time I re-tire I will swap out the spare.

 

[natenkiki2004]

I did that on my daily driver Explorer. I'm not about to trust a 25 year old tire on the side of the road, let alone a Firestone I try to keep my spares under 10 years old but it's not quite worth it, to me at least, to buy a brand new tire just to let it sit and rot. A new Chinese tire would be cheap but I'd rather trust an older USA-made tire at a fraction of the price.

 

[FirstExplorer]

I am going to have to do some research on your Blue Bomb mods, but I would like to ask you about your A4LD rebuild. Did it start slipping and at what mileage did you need the rebuild. Any mods to the tranny?

My '91 is at 144,000 miles and runs like it did when it was new. I have babied it for 25 years now.

 

[natenkiki2004]

I am going to have to do some research on your Blue Bomb mods, but I would like to ask you about your A4LD rebuild. Did it start slipping and at what mileage did you need the rebuild. Any mods to the tranny?

My '91 is at 144,000 miles and runs like it did when it was new. I have babied it for 25 years now.

Sorry, there's no posts on the rebuild. The previous owner had it rebuilt. I trust it was done properly because the previous owner is a good friend and he knew a good transmission guy. From the little I know, he drove into a grocery store parking lot, stopped, came back out from the store and went to put it in gear and nothing happened. I've heard of this happening with the A4LD a few times and there's a few parts that end up grenading and for whatever reason, the vehicle is drivable until you go to stop. I think he got it to move again and limped it over to the trans shop but I don't know any specifics about it. He did say that when they tore it apart, the clutches were almost brand new that you could read the part numbers on them still. It was just some weak hard parts. What those were... I don't know. One additional piece that I do know is that the guy that rebuilt it wasn't super familiar with the A4LD or didn't know about the service procedures updated by Ford that are included in the ATSG update manual. My trans works beautifully but has 2 problems that are resolved in the update manual; it can engage the forward clutch sometimes in park (usually only when hot, not cold) and if you let off the throttle while going downhill and the trans performs a 2-3 upshift, it will thunk into gear. The second issue I believe is called a harsh tip-out upshift. Neither are an issue severe enough to warrant time investment to fix, just minor annoyances that are easily avoided. Park in neutral and apply slight throttle on the 2-3 upshift.

I think there's 2 types of failure seen commonly. The first is the condition above, where the gears actually fail. The other is clutch material severely worn down. The first failure can be avoided by not romping from a standstill, hauling in OD and using low range when offroading. If the first failure does happen and you upgrade the hard parts then it will likely outlast the rest of the vehicle. Ford just used really weak parts. The second failure I believe can be avoided by clean and fresh fluid. I've said it many times, the internal transmission filter is slightly finer than window screen. It will let all kinds of particles right through. The fluid can become like liquid sandpaper. This is hard on the valves and valve body but it's pretty abrasive to the clutch assemblies too. One of the BEST investments you can put into your Explorer (I'd extend it to ANY vehicle with an automatic transmission) is to put an in-line filter on it. A Magnefine is a great and cheap option. At the very least, it prevents you from taking an ATF bath in order to change the internal filter. With an in-line filter, your internal filter shouldn't ever fill up with crud because the in-line filter catches everything before it goes into the pan. I went with a custom setup for the transmission filter, info on that is in my signature.

 

[FirstExplorer]

Thanks for the tips, I just ordered a Raybestos Magnafine filter and some clamps.
I will drop the pan and change that fluid and filter too.
Thanks Nate

 

[natenkiki2004]

Thanks for the tips, I just ordered a Raybestos Magnafine filter and some clamps.
I will drop the pan and change that fluid and filter too.
Thanks Nate

Your trans will thank you

Back to the topic at hand, has anyone had their spare tire cable snap off? To me, it almost looks like stainless steel.

 

[larrydd999]

Thanks for the reminder on the spare tire and its cable system. I haven't inspected it on either of our Gen1's for quite some time. We also run Michelin LTX and never have problems, but there's always that first time...

 

[chefduane]

Thanks for the tips, I just ordered a Raybestos Magnafine filter and some clamps.
I will drop the pan and change that fluid and filter too.
Thanks Nate

Wish I'd known this. I have Magnafine filter with hoses and clamps that I have never installed. Would like to give someone here a deal on it if they could use it.

 

[Roadrunner777]

Along this line.... Like many people, I keep my trailer wiring harness in the driver's side wayback compartment, where you refill the rear washer fluid. I went to drive home one night, and saw my wiring harness coming out the bottom of the fender under my gas filler. Strange... there should be metal there to keep that wire from hanging out the bottom of the truck. I opened the back, opened the panel door and looked in... at pavement. And, my bottle jack hanging by a thread. One more good bump and I would have left the jack on the street for someone.

One day, I am going to have to retire my explorer, and it won't be because of a breakdown, it will be from body rust. I'm basically painting the rust every spring as it is. Just a few more years...

 

[92exp4x4]

Along this line.... Like many people, I keep my trailer wiring harness in the driver's side wayback compartment, where you refill the rear washer fluid. I went to drive home one night, and saw my wiring harness coming out the bottom of the fender under my gas filler. Strange... there should be metal there to keep that wire from hanging out the bottom of the truck. I opened the back, opened the panel door and looked in... at pavement. And, my bottle jack hanging by a thread. One more good bump and I would have left the jack on the street for someone.

One day, I am going to have to retire my explorer, and it won't be because of a breakdown, it will be from body rust. I'm basically painting the rust every spring as it is. Just a few more years...

Ah the ravages of time and oxidation... My first explorer was like that, actually the one in my avatar. I was messing about in the yard one day and the spare tire cable broke while my truck was parked. That's a strange sound to hear when one is doing yard work. I was glad it didn't do that on the road! There is little left of that blue explorer these days. Most has gone back to dust at this point!