i had a similar issue. i dropped my spare for the first time last week, put it on, raised the flat tire up and took the works to the dealer to get the flat fixed. i was able to lower the flat from the carrier but now the lift is "frozen". the cable is all messed up and i cannot get it to turn. ( i am so happy they spec'd such a quality lift ) i thought taking the key out would give me some more torque ( which it did ) but I still can't get the lift to work. it just spins with no cable movement. i have spent the last 45 minutes searching auto parts sites for a replacement lift to no avail. any ideas who might carry one? am i best off going to the local junk yard to see if they have one floating around?

thanks

 

Some dealers keep the spare tire winches in stock. I'm not sure what they cost.
Any autowrecker with a supply of late model Ford trucks should some good ones.

 

I took the tire winch off , clamped the lock in a vise, wiggled/pried and removed the lock. Here's what they look like "un-installed" in case you wanted to know.
If I was going to worry about locking something it would be my tailgate, not my worn out spare!

 

Thanks for the info As I had a Awfull time this last weekend. I just bought my truck used this spring. So this last weekend I am Hunting up a couple of hours from the nearest town and My kid Decides to smash his finger between two rocks and take the end right off. He is bleeding and crying as I quickly drive down the mountian and Yes I get a flat on a dirt road in the middle of nothin. Of course no key (did not know you need one) Lucky for me another group of hunters drove by and got us to the hospital. Now I love My Ford truck but the person who decided to put locks on the spare tire should be fired. what a bad Idea Thanks for the tips on getting it down as The local dealers line was sorry have to cut the tire off and replace the whole thing. This is a problem more people need to be aware of before it is a huge problem. If someone had been hurt worse this could have been life or death.

 

Good job KellerAg. I got the same problem and the dealer's answer was "you're in trouble, there's no solution". Tomorrow I'll try your method. Thanks.

 

Most of those dealers have been feeding y'all a pile of you know what.
I bought mine used and of course they had cleaned out the glove box and I had no lock thingy for mine either. I went back in and whined enough so that the manager came out with a box of master locks, I think it was a set with 13 different patterns. That's how many there are for our trucks in my vintage.
He found the right one in a few seconds, took the number down and had me a new one in no time.

 

I work for a used car dealer and find this all the time...I use a long flat screwdriver...

by working the black plastic tube back and forth, up and down and prying around the edge with the screwdriver , i can remove the tube, then with the tip of the screwdriver, i work the lock back and forth til it pops out...took me about 10 minutes the other day...a good flashlight is a real help

make sure you put the tube back once you've lowered the tire...it helps line up the handle to the hoist...not fun in the dark without it!

 

Thought I would post this here too.



In my Gallery is the pic w/ all contact info too.

 

Thanks everybody.

I already solved the problem. I removed the bumper and then I remove the ****ing lock.

Thank you

 

Great Thread, I ran over a big piece of metel that sliced my tire. So I put on the spare. I bought my truck new and the spare tire key was in the glovebox in a bag with a number for reordering the key on it. No problems there.

Had to go to the tire dealer for a new tire (the tires only had about 500 miles on them) Revo's 17" about $180 a tire. I had to pay full price since I did'nt get the road hazard insurance. That sucked so the dealer sold me road hazard insurance for all 4 tires even though I only bought one new one to replace the sliced up one. I guess they felt sorry for me and knew I just bought the tires from them.

Well I decided to make sure they put my spare back in the spare tire holder. They did but it was loose and swinging around. So I went to get the key to tighten it up and couldnt find the key. I was pretty mad and went to the manager to get my key back. They couldnt find it, or the bag with the number on it.

They promised to replace the lock with a kit if they couldnt find the key. The manager made the tech go look in the road where he test drove the truck. He found the key in the gutter on the side of the road a short distance from the shop. So I got my key back but I don't have the replacement number any more. So I'm still a little sore but I can live with it, They also gave me a couple of free oil changes and always do me some favors to make me feel special. They are a good shop who take care of their customers especially if they make a mistake.

So the moral of the story is to keep your eye on that key. Even if someone you trust has used it. If I did not make them find it guess who would be paying for the replacement kit.

 

Good story, now that I have a key again with a bag and a # I think I will write the number on the inside of the glove box wall so I never have to go through the hassle again.

 

Thats a great Idea, I wish I would have done that when I still had the number

 

Having this spare tire lock sounds sooooo comforting, not having to worry about some thug stealing your valuable spare. I'd just be interested in knowing how many of you have had a spare stolen ...... or even KNOW someone who has.......

 

I feel lucky now, I just bought my 03 supercab in the end of August and it came with a spare tire key, although it had no jack, no lug nut wrench, manual and a few other things.

 

As far as security goes I do like having the key. I haven't heard anyone losing a spare tire in a while but it used to be a pretty common occurance in my circles.

Maybe the the newer trucks have slowed that down with better security. Another pretty common theft item was tail gates. Thats what the lock is for on the tail gate I guess. Thats what I use it for when I'm in an area that makes me think about it.