This is on my new purchase 2000 F250. When I bought it the spare wheel was on the bed and the winch had cut off cable. I repaired the winch and had the wheel lifted, but don't see any bolts or other brackets to secure it.
Is the winch the only thing holding the wheel up or do I have missing parts? I am not quite confident without solid bolt holding the wheel.

 

Mine doesn't have anything but the cable holding it up. I'm pretty sure that's how they all are.

 

Thanks. Driving on CA freeways I am getting my tailgate getting open on potholes, so I would like to have extra safety. Looks like I will have to create something.

 

Look at page 156 of this owners manual. There is a bar that goes under the spare and is held in by a threaded pin. Mine is missing as well but I remebered seeing it before in pictures.

http://www.motorcraftservice.com/pub.../00f23og3e.pdf

 

No... All that holds the tire up is the winch. It should go anywhere, but if you wanted I suppose you could fashion something up.

 

You may want to take a chain and pass it over the the frame members.
Let the ends hang down in such a manner that you can pass them through the wheel openings when you raise the spare.
You can then secure the ends together with a large solid Padlock or a clevis.
A bicycle inner-tube can be cut to make a sleeve for the chain and keep it from rubbing.

 

MANUAL. why didn't I think about that

Thanks. I had that link before and remember that it did not require the registration, now it does.
It says the bar is optional, but I know I want it.
A chain would be easier, but I don't want to rub my mag wheels.

 

Not sure why that happened. When I googled it I was able to go right in without registering. Then when I clicked the link later it asked me to register.

I know that several months ago on a Ford website I found a place to download the Owners Manual in a PDF format for free. Funny that on ebay people try to "sell" you the same download.

 

https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenan...ls/default.asp

Try this link for the owners manuals

 

Mine was cut or broke so here is what I did to fix it. I found an old spare tire bracket that picked up out of the drive way of where I live and welded some extra steel to it. I cut down an old worn die spring and installed it with a few hard washers and a few cable clamps.

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