Spare tire cable broke

spare tire cable assembly

I suspect a problem with the winch itself not realeasing the tire down.. If this is so, I believe the spare tire needs to be cut from the cable in order to replace the winch.

What's happening is that the latch is not releasing - a safety feature so the tire doesn't drop down onto the road should the cable or assembly rust/break etc. While researching I got this info from another forum: Jack up the rear of the van. Wind the spare "up". now put your jack under the spare to support its weight. Then "unwind" it. now look up through the spare to the winch assembly. You'll see a latch at the back - towards the rear of the van. Reach in with a long screwdriver and release it by moving it towards the rear of the van. If you've unwound the winch you should be able to move the plastic holder downwards. Once you've done this you can allow the tire to come down and remove it. Now remove the winch assembly - 5 or 6 bolts. Odds are you'll see apiece of wire hanging or it may have fallen out. You'll also see a spring clip - it clips onto the underside so when you unwind the winch it should pull the aforementioned latch to release the tire. You should be able to get this back in place by fiddling with it, or just attach a wire to the latch to work it manually. Or buy a new winch assembly - approx. $150. Good luck

the cable is sufficient to hold the weight of the tire. Someone probably cut yours and took your tire.Aside from putting the spare tire in the hatchback there really isnt another option. They make locks for the hole in the bumper, however that wont stop someone with bolt cutters from cutting the cable.

The older model fords had a metal plate that would drop down and you set the tire on it and then pushed it back up and you could put a padlock on it. IT may be too expensive to modify than to just replace your tire.

If when you turn the crank nothing happens to drop the tire. Look up inside and see if the cable is loose (most likely not) if not the assembly is broken, you will have to cut the plate that holds tire up and replace the spare tire cable and crank assembly.

Location of the spare tire and tools
The spare tire and tools for your vehicle are stowed in the following
locations:
Item Location
Spare tire Under the vehicle, just forward of
the rear bumper
Jack assembly Under the third row bench seat in
the tool bag
Removing the jack and tools
1. Lift the 3rd row seat cushion.
2. Remove the jack assembly from the bag under the seat.

Removing the spare tire
1. Open the liftgate, locate the U-shaped slits in the carpet, and flip up
the piece of carpet to expose the hex nut.
2. Insert the lug nut wrench on the
hex nut in cargo floor.
3. Turn the wrench
counterclockwise until tire is
lowered to the ground and the cable
is slightly slack.
4. Remove the retainer from the
spare tire. It may be necessary to
lift one end of the tire to disengage
the retainer

you should be supplied a long crank handle that un-folds then inserts through rear bumber holes that engages a small winch that will drop the spare to the ground via a steel cable

Underneath, right side, towards middle. You get it down by putting middle pass. side seat all the way back, pass. seat all the way forward. Pull up the mat, undo the bolt, the spare tire drops. There's a little piece of metal holding the spare tire: take that out and put the tire on.

If you have the tent set up its easier to remove the big black box. Theres a cut out of carpet almost in the middle right up next to the tailgate plastic, not sure what you call it, pull that up. Its "U" shaped there a nut underneath it. turn counterclockwise and tire will drop down. my dad could not find his either. Hope this helps.

This may sound funny but unwind the cable to the ground lie on your back and kick the spare tire until you free it.