I have had no complaints with my truck until now. 2000 F150 Supercab 4x4 5.4L Triton. I got my first flat a few weeks ago and went to get the spare out. I cranked it down and the cable system siezed, won't budge an inch. Luckily i got the cable down low enough to get the spare off, but the unit is now useless and i have removed it from my truck. From what i can tell the spare tire mount/crank is a closed unit and can't be repaired. Right now i have to keep the spare tire in the bed of my truck. I have heard complaints from many other ford truck owners with the same problems, not to mention the corrosion of the cable. Is there an aftermarket solution that's better or am i stuck replacing it with the same thing. If so, where can i find a replacement spare system. Thanks for any help, Calvin

 

Check the junkyards or wrecked autos, thats where i found mine!

 

I have yet to have to use my spare tire but I dread the cranking (which may or may not work when I need it). I owned an 89 Toyota pickup and the spare tire set up was similar to the F150. I always called it Micky Mouse. Was hoping the F150 set up would be a bit better but I guess "hope springs eternal."

Chip

 

At least the tire was still there. I know several people with that style spare tire holder where they get a flat and they come to find out that the tire is GONE!!!!!!!!!!. I also know of people going down the road and they hear somehting and look in the rear view mirrow and they see their spare tire almost hitting the car behind them. Every other oil change i crank the tire down and spray some oil on the cable and inside the unit. Hopefully i will not have any problems in the future.
You could also go and b*tch at FORD and they might do somehting for you, its worth a shot, what can it hurt
Pat

 

keeping it lubed up is a good bet. Mine has never been down, I will have to spray some lube on it, maybe even some grease from a grease gun.

Same deal with ebrakes, if you never use it it won't work when you need it.

 

That happened to my '98. I took it off and drilled the rivets out to get it apart. found the cable had cut the wrong way into the grooves in the plastic pulley inside. I used a small round file to get the grooves back into place and now it works fine. I just bolted it back together with some nuts and bolts I had laying around.