How to release spare tire from Mercury Monteray

Hi.

Unfortunately Ford/Mercury did not issue any recall about the spare tire cable. Here all recalls concerning your van model: 1996 Mercury Villager Recalls.

A good solution would be replacing the spare tire nut and cable. A solution is getting an aftermarket replacement like the one below. That should be safe enough to allow you putting the spare cable back in place under the van without safety concerns. Click on the picture below to open the page.



Or click here.

Note: If the problem is not the spare tire nut and cable but the rod attached to the chassis you will need to carry a welding job to fix a new rod to the chassis. In that case the repair must be done at the garage. If the problem is nut and cable I suggest buying the part shown above or an equivalent.

Regards.

Ginko

There is a compartment inside the rear hatch (sometimes on the driver's side and sometimes on the Passenger side) that you can open and your tire changing equipment and instructions will be in there. (unless someone removed it) The jack handle must be used to "crank" the winch to let down the cable that holds the spare tire in place.

Rotate the hoist shaft counterclockwise in order to lower the spare tire to the ground. Continue to rotate the shaft until the spare tire can be pulled out from under the vehicle and removed. If the spare tire does not lower to the ground, the secondary latch is engaged causing the tire not to lower.

If the secondary latch is engaged and the cable end is visible, perform the following procedure: 3.1. Tighten the cable by rotating the hoist shaft clockwise until you hear 2 clicks or feel it skip twice. You cannot overtighten the cable. 3.2. Loosen the cable by rotating the hoist shaft counterclockwise 3 or 4 turns. 3.3. If the spare tire can be lowered, repeat steps 1 and 2 to see if the spare tire can be removed. 3.4. If the spare tire cannot be lowered, rotate the hoist shaft counterclockwise until approximately 15 cm (6 in) of cable is exposed. 3.5. Raise and support the vehicle. 3.6. Place a transmission jack, or equivalent, under the spare tire. 3.7. Position the center of the transmission jack under the secondary latch release button at the center of the spare tire. Arrange the arms of the transmission jack so they will support the tire after it has been released. 3.8. Raise the jack until the spare tire stops moving upward and is firmly held in place, releasing the secondary latch. 3.9. Lower the tire. If the spare tire is hanging by the cable, rotate the hoist shaft counterclockwise until the tire is low enough to remove.

Check your Owners Manual for the location of the Spare Tire Release. Either underneath the carpet, or behind a cover: there should be a Nut shaped Spare Tire Release that you have to turn (should be counterclockwise) which turns the cable mechanism, which will lower the spare tire. Once the cable has been fully extended, pull the spare tire out from underneath the vehicle. Move the tire slightly back "up" onto the cable and turn the "cap" so you can fit the cap back through the hole in the middle of the tire.
Let me know if this helped, or if you have additional information or questions. Feel free to contact me at FixYa.com!

These cars were sold with a mini spare tire which was 3/4 the size of your full size spare that you have. Any Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealer pasts department can sell you the correct parts needed to bolt down your full size spare tire

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

The metal sleeve on the end of the cable,you turn it sideways and push it thru the hole in the wheel. If it is stuck to the wheel just pick up on the wheel then tap the sleeve with a hammer.

you half to pick up the tire on one side reach under and turn the hanger in a straight up and down position and shove it up through rim hole

if you look when you open the trunk right in the middle of the trunk there is a hole which your crank goes in to release the tire that is mounted under it, turn it either left or right to loosen