so at a volleyball tournament ALL day yesterday, go to leave at 5:30 and pull out to the wob wob sound of a flat rear tire. pull to the back corner away from all to assess and fix-
misty rainy day so lot is puddled and currently misting, break all lugs loose and jack truck up,

first issue- key won't go in bumper slot to release cylinder cover for handle. finally get that out after a bit
second issue- spare was jammed and wouldn't lower- in all fairness truck is a 17 and it's never been down before, i just bang it on maintenance day to verify it has air. finally, was able to kick it long enough for it to finally free up and drop,
third issue- after removing the lugs the flat tire wouldn't budge, stuck on the hub. this has happened before when rotating tires but i was able to kick the inner side of the tire to "break" it free- that didn't work with a flat sidewall. i had to cut a 2x4 i had to lean on the inside of the tire-wheel and use a steal 8' long angle (lintel) to bang it free.
fourth issue- after packing all back away and trying to dry off the dash lit up like a Christmas tree in the first minute- ABS light came on- low tire light was already on- hill decent not working and traction control light on (i think the spare tire was blocking the connectors and now they were open to wet spray and triggered issues?)

so the tires are 37's and used a factory size spare on the rear (not ideal)
i found a large nail in the center of the tread that i will try to plug patch tomorrow and replace on truck and try to read codes. the ABS is concerning confusing to me tho.....

a long day and a wet frustrated ride home (2 hours)

 

man that sucks. I drop my spare every once in a while to spray fluid film on the winch cable.

I also carry a cordless impact on board for those moments you need to use it.

It did the same here in Frederick yesterday with the rain.

 

That does sound like a LONG day. Glad you were at least able to pull away from the idiots that like to zoom past you at 70mph and 2 feet away.

 

first off those cable systems holding the spare need to be checked ,and moved periodically or they rust up and not move ,i've seen them needing to be cut off with a zip cutter , i'd personally get the assembly replaced, just to be safe if anything and yes i've been there to many times !! as to the tire not coming off after the lugs came off. welcome to the world of steel/alloy corrosion. it can be a big bit-- needing a 12 pound ford tool aka a sledge get your self in a nice warm dry place, take every wheel off and clean both the hubs and wheels till you see shinny, apply a good coating of never seize to where the wheel and hub meet, repeat every tire rotation ,
the dash lights?? i would double check every thing i did, inspect the abs sensor wires to be sure i didn't break then with that 2x4 hitting the wheel . again yes been there done that, under the same conditions.

 

Sounds like you learned some lessons about self inflicted problems that have simple solutions.

 

yes- long day. volleyball tournament long then the tire, and yes i was thankful we made it to the tournament on time and the tire issue was after and in the lot and not on the road.

hard lessons were learned yesterday, but they were learned.
-put a plug kit and portable compressor in toolbox-
-put the cordless impact in the toolbox- (i have one but rarely use it)
-exercise the spare tire mechanism
-take rear connections apart and coat them to protect from water intrusion
-pack a block of wood and sledgehammer in tool bow- i don't know how to prevent aluminum wheel from sticking to hub?

 

" i don't know how to prevent aluminum wheel from sticking to hub?'
take the wheels off wire wheel or sand paper the hub where the wheel centers till you see shinny steel do like wise on the wheel where it centers ,apply never seize to both reinstall the wheel reapply never seize every rotation

 

Exercise and lube the spare tire mechanism. I've used Fluid Film or Amsoil HDMP on mine.
Also, Neverseize on the wheel where it contacts the hub will prevent the alloy wheel from corroding to the steel hub. Just a thin coat is all you need. I apply some every time I have a wheel off, keep up with it and you'll never have that issue in the future.

 

thanks-
the hill decent and traction control warnings have happened once or twice before and believed to be water intrusion thru the harness connector at the rear so since it happened right after no protection from spare tire i will take that apart and Dialectric grease them and put back together to try to protect them also-

 

The way I fixed those spare tire R&R issues is to add roadside assistance on my auto insurance.
Covers the trailers I pull too.

 

If you loosen the lugs one turn then drive forward and back a few feet it will usually loosen the wheel.
Saves beating on it.

 

FYI: Double-check any roadside assistance policies. Mine only covers when I'm "roadside", and does not include parking lots away from a road.

Agree with all of the recommendations made here, especially the thin application of anti-seize between the hub and wheel surfaces (and *not* on wheel studs!).

(Reminder to self: Next oil change, reel the spare tire up and down, and shoot the mechanism with PB Blaster...)

 

First time I tried to replace the locking plug, I could not. Got others to try but first one also unable to. 2nd one was a pro mechanic and he was able to.
It should not be so hard...

 

If the rim was riding on the flat tire, even a short distance of 50-100 feet, you might want that tire taken off the rim and inspected on the inside. It takes a surprisingly short drive on a completely flat tire to grind a double handful of rubber off the inside of the tire.

 

Prior to this SD, I had never, not once, had to fight to get an aluminum wheel off of any vehicle and never used anti seize on the hub. But after the first battle I had doing a tire rotation on this truck, I implemented that use of anti seize on the hubs.