So my step son gets a 2002 F250 (V10) yesterday. A pretty good deal, I suppose, but the truck has about 8 inches of lift, big wheels and it looks good. He and his wife were following us to a store and, while I was looking for a parking space to get a Starbucks fix, they called and said they had a flat tire. Luckily, they were on the other side of the store. We circled back around and there they were. I figured he had picked up a nail or something, but on closer inspection, I discovered that the tire had blown! I have pictures that I'lltry to up load later, but suffice it to say it was not a simple flat.

Well, it's raining a little and I knew we were going to have to get this thing changed, so I started looking for the jack. He had the stock jack. Well, I guess it was the stock one. It didn't look like it would extend enough to get the tire off the ground. I tired to put it under the shock mount, but the jack is too tall. Hmmm. Well, let's see what I have in my truck...

I have the stock scissor jack, so I used it to raise the truck enough to get his jack under the point I was trying to use. Success!! But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

We tried to lower the spare and the access point has one of those keys that fits into the tube and releases the tire.


We couldn't get it to make enough contact to loosen the spare and were running out of patience. We finally got enough bite from the key to get the tire down.

Well, I raised the truck just enough to quickly change the tire (it wasn't the safest way, to do it, I know, I know...) and we got him back on the road. HE's (hopefully) going to get the tire replaced today by the dealer, but now I have a couple of questions to avoid this situation in the future.

It seemed as if the access point for the spare was full of dirt and that's why we couldn't get the spare key to work. Is there a way to get rid of that thiing and have a regular old spare? What options are there?

Also, what would be a good replacement jack for this truck?

 

The "lock" easily pops out of there with a screwdriver, then you can just stick the end of the jack handle in there to raise/lower the spare.

I do have the original jack, tire iron, etc under my back seat, but I also keep a small floor jack and a 4-way lug wrench in my tool box. This should work much better than the stuff that Ford provides. A hydraulic bottle jack would also be a good alternative.

Also, if one tire just blew like that, all 4 tires are probably junk and need to be replaced. (assuming they were all put on at the same time)

 

I got a 20 ton bottle jack from Wal Mart, with the screw out top for more lift, plus I carry several pieces of 2x6 to put under the jack for more height. Then I have a 21mm socket, short extension, and a 24" breaker bar to use instead of the stock tire iron. My truck had lot rot when it was new, I had two punctures and three leaking valve stems in the first 5k miles, so I got over the stock screw jack and flimsy tire iron in a hurry. All the stock stuff is still there as a backup.

 

Here is a copy i saved on how to remove the tire from the truck and to remove the lock.

the Lost key and lock removal procedure. ( F250 Super Duty)

1) Place a 1/2" drive 14mm 12pt socket on the closed end of the jack extension used for lowering the spare.
2) Place a 1/2 drive 13mm socket on the other end of the extension so that you can use a your 1/2" drive ratchet to lower the spare instead of the clumsy factory lug nut wrench .
3) pop out the plastic bezel that's in the hole in the bumper to allow the 14mm socket to pass thru.
4) thread the 14mm socket on the extension thru the hole and feed it over the factory lock body. Press in firmly so it grips the lock body and lower the spare using the ratchet on the other end of the extension.
5) Withdraw the jack extension from the hole after the spare is lowered. (the socket will be firmly attached around the lock body and will remain there to be removed after the next step.
6) Crawl under the truck from the drivers side and using a screw driver pry the lock body away from the winch assembly with the socket still attached. the socket can be separated from the lock after it is removed.

At this point you can replace the lock with a new one or just leave it off and use the original jack extension as it was intended.

 

On my newly purchased F250 I had the spare wheel winch cable cut and spare on the bed. I wonder why someone would cut the cable on good looking winch till I found one of those locks on the picture in it.
You want extra security for spare wheel- put a chain or cable with padlock on it. From what I know thieves target catalic converters on high vehicles as this brings $80 in scrap platinum.

 

Excellent! Thanks!
Luckily, I had my 4 way tire iron in my truck (as always) and I made sure he knows how much of a time saver it is. I'll make sure he throws a couple blocks of wood in the truck just in case, too. The dealer is trying to find a replacement tire for him, but gave him a temporary one that's a different size. I told him to put the temp tire on the front of the truck to prevent gear damage on the rear diff, but he was already doing it when we talked. If I know the kid, he'll have 4 brand new tires and rims within a couple weeks.

He's already got a profile in the forums, I'll have him post a couple of pics of the truck soon.

 

It doesn't take a lifted truck to run into jack problems.

My stock 2007 F350 SRW 4x4 with OEM 18" tires and wheels was too tall for the factory jack supplied with the truck to work. It could lift the truck high enough to get the flat tire off but not tall enough to get the air-filled spare back on. Luckily I found this out in my front yard and not some remote location.

My guess is Ford has never given a bit of thought to the increasing height of their OEM tire offerings and is simply still providing the same jack they have used for decades.