Spare Tire

Took my spare off today to inspect and clean as well as inspect the lift cable, etc. No rust whatsoever anywhere...not on rim or lift/drop mechanism. I did spray the cable pressure screw at the bottom so it wouldn't rust or else the tire WILL fall off. The whole thing is depends on one little pinched cable stop. Still would like to find a way to kill the engineer who designed it though. I may spray the thingee that the wrench fits into dayglo orange since the f**kin engineer hid it and designed it to frustrate the f**kin sh*t outa every owner. May his entire family rot with maggots.

 

So tell us how you really feel!

 

I feel like if I got a flat tire the nearest Toyota Dealership gets torched.

 

I installed a spare tire lock just to make sure that it'd be an even bigger pain in the ass for me to get off when it's raining.

 

lol

 

Does this lock make it easier to get the crank into the hole? I keep a cable lock around my spare, so not much worried about theft. I just want to get the damn thing off without a 2MM candlelight flashlight requiring three hands. Oh, I just found the guy who designed it......he surrendered in 1974 but they let him design it to frustrate us American (winners). BANZAI!!! BANZAI!!! BANZAI!!!

 

whos the dude Zatoichi? Yojimbo? Sanjuro!?!

 

Pster,

haha...I could not agree more...i did this a couple months ago
to flip the tire so i could at least check the damn air pressure...
and it was a nice day, still took me a while to get it done.

and i'm still scratching my head about the whole mechanism??
can't imagine having to do that at night in the rain or whatever.

I like the idea of painting with some day glow or some such...
but i was also thinking it might be possible to weld/attach that last
extension piece to the screw/bracket thing...so that it would stay
in there when/if you needed it. You would just have to feed the other
extensions in there and you'd be in business.

Maybe put some rubber hose or whatever around it to keep
it from vibrating a lot when it's in there as well?

I saw somewhere on here about a guy who was looking into
putting an aftermarket lamp under there so at least you don't have
to have the flashlight in your teeth to see.

Not sure if that ever happened though?...but i'd be interested.

PC

 

i have yet to look at how the spare comes down since the truck is only 3 months old, but what is dangling chain for?

 

Somone wrote this up:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/4838-cheap-free-mods-51.html#post3571643

zip ties and pvc pipe to guide you in.

 

Oh these are good ideas.....hmmm......maybe I can drill through it and use a stainless cotter pin instead of welding, that way I can take it off if needed. GOOD IDEA COLLINS!!!

 

Now this is just way cool as well. But...it has the lock on the receiving (female) end....would it work with the pipe with the standard slot receiver? I am doubting it because the hook is wider than the receiver.....

 

Dangling chain???? Not on mine (2006). Could be a safety catch if something rusts and the tire falls off.?

 

Unfortunately, no. I bought a full-size spare wheel/tire combo to match the rest so I had to do something to slow the scrotes down when they're trying to jack my $500 spare.

 

Scum sucking low lifes that can't function by producing, so they steal and take from others. Wish I could booby trap mine.....

 

figured it out, found another thread that says 2012 have a chain to lift/lower the spare instead of a cable.

 

Sounds like the engineer that designed the spare tire "wench" went further sicko and cheapened it. A chain?! Good grief.......I prefer my stainless cable.

 

Great! So now that I've owned 4 Toyota trucks and have mastered getting the spare down using the mount they've employed for years, I have to learn a new (probably idiotic) mechanism! Hooray!


To the OP: I know what you mean about rust -- happened to my '86 4Runner (back when they were basically just Hilux with a top)... I was driving in a parking lot went over a speed bump and all of a sudden, *thunk!*. I stopped the truck after I saw my spare tire just sitting there in the middle of the lane. The metal piece that holds the tire to the cable had rusted though and just gave out; the speed bump must have provide enough of a jolt to shake it loose. Thank God I wasn't driving on the highway with motorists behind me! Since then, I've owned a few Toyota trucks, and I'm always sure to inspect the spare tire and mounting parts several times a year to make sure they're working correctly. For what it's worth, though, no truck I've owned since them (some with 150K+ miles) has had that problem.

 

I cranked my lift handle until it sounded like it had reached it's limit and then there was a "clicking" sound which I assume meant I had tightened it to the point it was slipping to prevent me from stretching or breaking the cable. Tire seems to be very tight and snug. I run a stainless braided air line to mine so I can easily check and fill the pressure.

 

Buy a magnifying glass for God's sake you old Coot.