Un-usable spare rim from Ford?

[walterd140]

Hi All,
'94 XLT stock front passenger tire took on an unexpected item & now I have a slow leak. Going to get it plugged, but I tried to use my spare until payday. Well after getting the spare down for the first time in 6 years I find the rim will not fit over the auto 4x4 hub.
Is this common? Are the spares meant for the back only? I have aluminum rims (stock) & the spare rim is steel / normal white. Was going to rip one off the back & put the spare there, but that is alot of work when it warms up to 30 degrees F .

Any clue?
Walter

 

[Evil Republican]

I'm not sure...

My spare looks like crap and nothing like the rims on my 1994 Explorer, mine probably hasn't been moved in about 10 years from the way it looks...

Does yours look like this...

 

[DeRocha]

The factory spare tire is designed for both front and rear (see pic below)
Did you buy your X used? If so the previous owner or dealership may have swapped the OEM rim out and replaced it with whatever 5 on 4.5" rim they had sitting around.

 

[Evil Republican]

Yours is nice and shiny...

Mine only looks half decent because I washed the tire off...

Did you fix it up or did it stay that way...

I'm planning to put a coat of that Hammer Coat paint on my spare rim to hide the rust...

 

[justin146]

that looks like a 98+ Ranger spare

 

[DeRocha]

Yours is nice and shiny...

Mine only looks half decent because I washed the tire off...

Did you fix it up or did it stay that way...

I'm planning to put a coat of that Hammer Coat paint on my spare rim to hide the rust...

My spare looked like your's before I started my restoration project. Before...During....After

 

[walterd140]

Yep Evil, that's my rim. Even have the same coloring. What year did Ford stop using Rusted Steel Grey for the spare rim?
Mine was so badly stuck on the cable end I had to spray it with penatrating oil & tap it with a hammer.
Walter

 

[Jason94sport]

You can see my spare in this pic....
http://community.webshots.com/photo/166437338/2968489220045208346NNkBbY
I found a new take off spare rim on Ebay that fit fine. My spare 31" BFG is mouted to it now. The new one was black.

 

[Evil Republican]

I've been looking for some rims like that myself...

My rims were all chipped up where that clear coat stuff was turning white...

So instead of buying new rims I just grabbed some sandpaper and a good can of paint...

They don't look too bad and look even better when sunlight hits them...

 

[alexefron]

evil, you think that spares bad? you should see mine after 13 years of upstate ny salt. when i first got the truck (aug 04) the rim was so rusted there was almost no clean metal visible

 

[walterd140]

So it seems I have an original rim, but wrong hole size. What size should it be? I thought it might have been rust, but a good sandpapering proved that wrong.

Walter

 

[DeRocha]

So it seems I have an original rim, but wrong hole size. What size should it be? I thought it might have been rust, but a good sandpapering proved that wrong.

Walter

What kind of hubs are in the front auto or manual and do they work? Does the rim fit part way over the hub or not at all ?

 

[walterd140]

Auto hubs that work. Measured the spare hole & it's 2 3/4" diameter. Fits about 1/2 way down the hub then gets stuck. I can barely see the start of the stud threads (not enough to start. I thought of forcing it on, only to have common sense tell me if it don't fit, don't force it)

 

[Jason94sport]

Stupid question....Your sure the rim is mounting the correct way & it's not backwards? If it fit the hub hole & just doesn't slide on all the way sounds like it's backwards, or just not the correct offset(ie-wrong rim)

 

[DeRocha]

Auto hubs that work. Measured the spare hole & it's 2 3/4" diameter. Fits about 1/2 way down the hub then gets stuck. I can barely see the start of the stud threads (not enough to start. I thought of forcing it on, only to have common sense tell me if it don't fit, don't force it)

I'm wondering if the autohub is deformed (out of round).. I would assume both hubs aren't deformed so try mounting the spare on the other side.

 

[walterd140]

Wondered that myself DeRocha. Can the autohub housing deform?? What would cause that to happen? And if so, why does my 'normal' rim fit? Also Jason, yes, it's mounted the right way according to the pics here. I tried to spin it the other way for giggles & it does the same thing.
I re-measured in better light & the spare is about 2 7/8" diameter.... is this right? Could someone who knows their spare fits measure their diameter & let me know? Thanks
Walter

 

[stormadvisor]

I had the same problem on I-70 at the Indianapolis air port. Good thing AAA was paid up! Ended up getting the tire fixed locally. When I returned home I went to the junkyard and got a matching rim. The spare works now!

My auto hubs were fine. No deformaties.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I'd get a flap wheel, and just open up the hole with a drill or a die grinder. My spare was so rusted I didn't think the lugs were going to tighten enough, I thought they were going to press right through the rim. Luckily I was in the drivway, and just needed the spare to hold up a Lincoln Towncar so I could get the snow tires swapped off.