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Spare Tire will not lower on my Chevy Pickup

Started by Qweaver, May 17, 2014, 01:47:15 PM

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Qweaver

What Neanderthal engineer designed the spare tire storing system on my 2007 Chevy Pickup?  I have followed all of the instructions and the tire will not budge.  Why do we have to keep re-inventing the wheel with more complicated "improvements" that do not work.  This is a serious problem that could get you in real trouble when stranded in winter conditions.
Any suggestions?
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

beenthere

 It may be rusted up, if it is the design that lowers by unwinding a cable with one of the jack tools.
Happened on my Trailblazer. Had to buy a new unit, and vowed that I would not let it go so long before operating it every so often. Which reminds me, it has been a long time and think I will go out and do that yet this afternoon.
If it was like mine with the cable, then I'd suggest getting some good leverage to add to the weight of the tire and see if the cable would start slipping through the tubing that it is in.
I just kept unwinding, thinking that it just took a lot of turning. But doing that caused the cable to reverse wind on the spool and get completely destroyed in the process. Had to cut it out with a sawzall.
What mine looked like.


 
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Roxie

The dealership had to cut the cable to get Cowboy Bob's spare off his 2007 Chevy Silverado. 

Did I mention that he drives a Ford now?   :D
Say when

beenthere

Google "Chev truck 2007 spare tire removal problem" and several hits come up.
Just one was this YouTube vid of a secondary latch that can rust up, and shows a method to release it... but no way could one do this out on the road especially alone.

This one is better than the first one I posted, but what a joke from GM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYMlf9mk36U
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Qweaver

OK, I finally got it to release after numerous attempts.  I was just lucky.  I read the google suggestions also but they looked iffy.  Mine has some corrosion but not really too bad.  I'll lube it and make this a regular item to check and lube.  I can come up with many better ways to do this.  Sure glad I checked this before heading out to Alaska.  Arrrggg!  >:(
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

justallan1

I've had to take the gas ax to one on a 2006 Silverado, and that was after I tore the entire assembly off the truck. Personally I wouldn't waste the money on another just to have it fill with dirt and do the same exact thing. I feel a long ½" bolt mounted to something you reinforce to hold the weight would be much better. If you do it this way make sure to drill a hole in the bolt below where your tire, spacer and nut sits and put a clip, just for safety.
We've all been using this system for years and years, why would they go change something that's always worked?

Allan

Qweaver

Exactly Allan,  I think mine will work OK now but I was going to bolt mine in if the factory one could not be saved.
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

WmFritz

Years ago, at least on cars, GM would have two different tire rotation diagrams. One that included the spare tire, another without it. Now with the alloy wheels and/or the spare even a different size, the spare tire gets forgotten.  Wouldn't be a bad idea to drop the spare a couple inches each time the tires get rotated; or at least once a year.

Good on you for thinking of it Qweaver.
I've never been up there, but I've heard the Alcan Highway chews up rubber.  ;) ;)
~Bill

2012 Homebuilt Bandmill
1959 Detroit built Ferguson TO35

Delawhere Jack

Want to know something even more annoying? A lot of cars these days don't even come with a spare. :o

GAB

Had the same problem with my 2003 Silverado last year, just before leaving for the pig roast.  Ended up taking the spare down with an acetylene torch.  Good thing too as I had a blowout on my way back and I know I would never had been able to get that tire down.  The spare is now in the bed of the truck.
I'm guessing the design change was to try and prevent spare tire theft.  Again this is just a guess on my part.  Gerald
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

beenthere

QuoteI'm guessing the design change was to try and prevent spare tire theft.

Might be a good guess, and with the rigging they have designed, they just as well go ahead and weld the spare to the frame.
Not sure what the safety catch is supposed to do, as it rusts or corrodes over time so a torch or sawzall is the only alternative for removal. Maybe one should saw off the safety latch early on with a new vehicle.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

WmFritz

A couple three years ago, a different manufacturer had an opposite issue.
Due to a subframe corrosion issue, they were dropping their spares out on the highway. The owners of affected vehicles were sent letters telling them to immediately remove the spare, place it in the box and call the dealership to schedule repairs.
~Bill

2012 Homebuilt Bandmill
1959 Detroit built Ferguson TO35

Gary_C

The different manufacturer must have been Ford because that is exactly what happened to my spare tire on my F-350. The DanG thing fell out with a thump and then it started rolling out on the interstate. Rolled down into the median and across the oncoming lanes and then back across those lanes and back into the median where it finally stopped.

Good thing there was little traffic at the time and no one had to dodge that tire. I pulled over, went back and retrieved the tire and threw it in the back. I still have not fixed that lift cable that was rusted thru.
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

SPIKER

Quote from: Roxie on May 17, 2014, 02:34:52 PM
The dealership had to cut the cable to get Cowboy Bob's spare off his 2007 Chevy Silverado. 

Did I mention that he drives a Ford now?   :D

ha ha ha   At least he learned his lesson!   Good for him (ya I'm a FORD guy too ;)  :D 8)

My spare simply tossed in the bad, 15 YEARS WORTH now and one 1 time needed it when hunk of sheet metal flipped up and took sidewall out of my tire.   I need to look for a NEW spare as the water sets in it and rusts the rim at the tire seal.   Need to instal one of the stand up holders but never have...  :) ::)   Have to stop at one of the junk yards and look for a new spare soon I guess.... ;D

M
I'm looking for help all the shrinks have given up on me :o

sprucebunny

And if having your spare stuck isn't enough... the hood latch release on my last GM vehicle ( '97) stopped working.
Probably just as well cause I was about to try to jump start a boat and the boat caught on fire.....

So I just took the GM vehicle to a GM dealer for an oil change. Didn't say anything about the hood ......  ;D
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

breederman

When I was driving chevy minivans for work I lost two spares when the cable rusted and broke.  Found one of them in the snow when the snow melted!  I didn't know I had lost either one when they left me.
Together we got this !

WDH

The spare fell out too on my 1996 Ford F-150  :).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Hilltop366

Quote from: WDH on May 18, 2014, 07:17:21 AM
The spare fell out too on my 1996 Ford F-150  :).

A 1995 f150 for me, found it in the driveway when I came home. So thats what that bump was when I went out.

I can't remember what truck it was that I had but the spare would not lower so I thought the winch was stripped but it turns out that the groove in the end that the rod goes in to (the odd shaped "key" like a antitheft wheel nut) was full of undercoat and dirt, after I cleaned it out with water from the garden hose it worked fine.

Chuck White

Mine's been hanging loose for a year now!

Can't seem to get the tire down!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

LeeB

If you use a bolt or rod, use stainless or galvanized. A rusted on nut under the back of a truck can be impossible to get off too. Had an 86 Ford back when they still used a threaded hanger that I had to twist off to get it loose. Used an 1 1/2" all thread to replace it with. Didn't have to worry about that one twisting off.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

21incher

I hate when you finally manage to get the spare down only to find out it has no air because the valve stem rotted from all the salt and corrosion.
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

reride82

The one on my 2004 GMC locked up on me a few years ago. My patience was pretty thin at 5:00 am, 2.5 hours from home when I needed to get to work by 8:00 am. It finally gave up after a 100 or so swings with my favorite sledge hammer....   :snowball: Now the spare rides in the back  :)
'Do it once, do it right'

'First we shape our buildings, then our buildings shape us'
Living life on the Continental Divide in Montana

chain

Dittos! I bought me a 2004 PRO-fessional grade GMC 1/2 ton truck. First issue was steering worm rattle; they regreased, said factory put wrong bushing in but for me to just grease it when needed.......hmmmmmmm.

Then pick'em-up truck hard to fill up with gas, gas backfills, flushes out the filler on to the pavement. "pro grade truck?" :-[

Further, had a flat, tried to lower spare, read directions fourteen times, had someone else read them...but no go. Called dealer, shop foreman asked me was I good at mechanics [this is the truth!] "You see" he said, the tubing is not alligned with the lowering mechanism and must be taken offf bent and straightened to where the jack-rod will line up to lower spare. I said, "How about me just taking a set of vice grips and tearing the tubing off?" "That'll do it " the shop man said.

And last, certainly not least, I have had the very same issue trying to lower spare. My trusty tire man cut the darn thing off and I went to the junkyard to get a 'good one'.  Pro-Grade!  :-[

Ernie

Sounds like it was designed by the Walt Disney school of Industrial design, Mickey Mouse division.
A very wise man once told me . Grand children are great, we should have had them first

Don_Papenburg

Spiker , you can find them universal vertical spare holderupers  along most interstate and major intrastate and some not major hiways.  They are sometimes called tarpstraps , I use two on my spare in the chevy .
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

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