Does a full size spare fit under the ext van....96. I guessing yes cause the owners manual says no to the standard model.

Thanks

Dick

 

i know on some years there is a "tiedown" in the back of the van about a foot infront of the rear hatch. it may be a extended van only thing, since i don't think i've seen that in a shorty van.

 

I've got a regular sized 1993 aero and it has a thing that says "tiedown" in the back also. It's inside the van on the floor. I think it might be a way of securing the occasional flat tire. Or maybe you can carry both a doughnut and a full size spare. Perhaps it's to accommodate those who lost there regular spare to a wacky trailer hitch.

 

Full size spare fits just fine under the extended version. I think that it has to work as the AWD models must always have matched tires (even the spare) or it will confuse the awd computer. Anyway, my 96 AWD has full size spare underneath that matches the 4 tires on the ground. If I was on top of the game, I would rotate the spare along with the other tires. . . but I don't.

 

Thanks thats what I thought.


Dick

 

That's good to know. I'll have to find a matching wheel/tire to use as a spare, probably from the local scrap yard.

On the matter with 4wd, I think it would be a good idea to rotate the tires regularly so the spare doesn't end up being significantly bigger than the other tires. And if you ever have to use a spare to replace a failed tire in the rear, it might be a good idea to install it on one of the front tires, probably the left, and take that one to replace the failed tire. I think most 4wd Aeros use limited slip rear ends, whereas the front diffs are open.

 

Both of mine are open diff's

 

My '92 short van has the bolt and tiedown for a tire under the third seat, but it also has the little wind-up thing that you use an elephant key to let tie spare down. I put the tire underneath for more room inside.

 

Dick!

If you have short version, you may leave spare wheel under the rear seat, but if you dont want spare to move forward when you slow down, put a long lug in hole of the wheel.

 

I had the full size spare under my '93 extended. It's very heavy and will kill the cable holding it. I lost mine when going slowly off a car-ferry's ramp.

 

Thats if they rust I would think. We lost our little one due to rust...on the 94 ,,but on that one we're about to loose the engine due to rust.


Dick

 

Just Imagine your spare jumping at 80 mph on road! It may kill! So inspect cabele periodically!

 

I have a 96 extended van. I have a full size spare under mine----uhhhhhhg......OK, I've had a few tire problems of late so it's actually on the van right now. But as recently as last Thursday it was nicely tucked under my van! Comments about the cable are good to know. One thing that I watch is not to crank it up so tight that it puts uneeded strain on it. But then tight enough not to move.

 

I have some fairly recent experience with the spare tire on my shorty Aerostar. Back on April 1 I had a leaky tire while I was visiting my Dad, so I decided to put on the donut for the drive home (65 miles). About 6 miles into the drive a nasty wobble started in the front end. I thought I had another flat so I pulled over to check. Everything seemed fine. I started back up and pulled over again about 1/2 mile later. Still all *seemed* fine. I decided to limp along the shoulder to the next exit to figure out what to do (this was 10pm on a Saturday). I was only doing 25 mph when suddenly **whump** the front of the van dropped and the donut went spinning across 3 lanes of traffic into the darkness.

The rim of the donut was REALLY scaly with rust when I put it on. I tightened the lugs, but it never occurred to me that the trapped rust would pulverize once I started driving. The nuts loosened and backed off. Voila - lost wheel & one heckuva scary experience.

The points of my story are...
1) The donuts hang there merrily rusting away until we need them. If you have to put it on and drive on it, stop after a couple of miles and re-tighten the lug nuts.
2) If you haven't checked the spare for a while, wind it down and check the condition of the rim. If it is really bad, do something about it now.

I found out that a stock size tire (215-75R14) does not fit under the rear seat if it is fully inflated. If it is flat, it will fit, but it is really tough to wedge in an inflated tire. I guess the designers at Ford never thought the owner of a short Aero might like to carry a *usable* full size spare tire.

I bought another dount at the wrecker's, but it was as bad (rusty & scaly) as the one I lost. According to the guy at the yard, they all come in that way because of the age of the vans. It only cost me 5 bucks, but I wasn't happy with it. I ended up cleaning it up with a needle scaler & repainting the rim. Sandblasting the rim would be a good option, too. If it wasn't so scaly I might have just sprayed it thoroughly with rustproofer. I might still do that once the paint has cured a while.

I hope it doesn't happen to you...

Cheers,
Eric

 

I would not trust the cable holding the added weight of a full size spare under my Aerostar. Plus, the extra dead weight is not needed, and a waste, really, for fuel mileage at $3 gallon.

What I do, is if I'm going on an extended day trip, ect. with my van, I'll take my full size spare (with P215 75 R14) tire, and anchor it down behind the drivers' seat. This way, if I have a flat on the freeway, I have my jack and spare easily available. When carrying the full size spare, I'll remove the space saver tire. (both rows of back seats have been removed anyway from my Aerostar, to lighten up the van)

So around town, my commute, I'll continue to use the space saver. I simply trust it will stay secure under the Aerostar, with it's much lighter weight, etc.

Just my opinion. I'm not saying my way is better or worse, but simply the procedure I follow. Ed