2005 chevy pickup. When trying to lower tire, cable just drops through spindle holding tire. Apparently there is a safety secondary lock that is meant to prevent tire from dropping unannounced. Manual says in this case you have to use a jack to push spindle up into hoist to release it. Not working. If I had a flat on a dark rainy night on a busy highway, I'd be screwed. Heck, I'm screwed, and I'm in my driveway. Any ideas how to get tire down. Manual also state that once you've used this release method, hoist is ruined and must be replaced. What is chevy's solution to this ****?
Sugerinimo's idea is good but I good not get it too work.. Well, this can be easier or a bit harder. Mine was harder. You are stuck on the secondary tire lock. There is a process in your manual that involves lowering the tire as far as it goes with the secondary lock, then placing your tire jack under the center of the tire holder and jack it back up until its tight to the frame - this should release the secondary lock. In my case this did not work. Plan B, is grab a 15 mm socket, small extension and ratchet. Lower the tire as far as it goes. Locate the 15mm bolt that attaches the tire hanger to the frame, undo the bolt, the hanger is then swinging from the back, lift up the tire and bracket and it will fall off. be careful the tire is heavy.
Next on the top of the tire you will see a rubber cover the secondary lock slides into. Pull down the boot. You will see two holes along the bottom on the opposite side to the crank. Turn the bottom part of the lock. If you look in the holes you can see where the catch is. Take a slot screw driver and hammer, line up the catch and tap it back in.
The secondary lock is now free.
Remember when reinstalling the bolt on the frame to use some locktite.
Winch the tire all the way up. Use two jacks to hold the tire all the way up against the floor. Unscrew the jack release and let the cable down.
You'll see a black, square shaped tube protruding up through the main unit. Two sides are painted black, and the other two sides are galvinized steel. Pry the galvinized piece towards the cable. You might have the wrong side first time around, so spin it and try it again. It will move toward the cable and the bracket will come loose from the housing. You can then let the tire the rest of the way down. My mechanic buddy suggested Kroil or Screw Loose or another rust buster, and advised to work the galvinized piece back and forth until it is free, then pack it with grease and wheel it back up. Take it down about two times per year and grease it again.
I could not free the galvinized piece up, so I cut the secondary latch off with a grinder.
Stranded on a remote dirt road, I cranked down the cable but the tire remained tight against the upper frame and would not drop down. A crew of six people stopped to assist me, six men could not get it to release. Finally a welder and his truck arrived and with his cutting torch he cut the steel center holding clamp in half while two others held the tire and lowered it to the ground after the welder was out of it's way. Now I know why so many trucks have their spare tires mounted inside the bed of the truck. GM should have replaced this piece of junk technology six months after it hit the market, not waiting until the 2010 models rolled out. I'll spend the next ten years warning any Chevy or GMC owners I meet about this GM screw up!
Have you ever dropped the spare to check the pressure?? This should be done every 6 months, if you had done that you would have known about the tire cable hoist problem. If you live where they use salt a check is really important to make it isn't corroded. All is well that ends well. All the truck makers and many vans use the same hoist and all have the problems no matter the brand of vehical. As far as going on a ten year crusade, well don't know about that idea.
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Go to this link/solution, I posted some pictures there. This solution worked for me. If the link doesn't work then copy and paste the link into your browser:
http://www.fixya.com/cars/t4375415-not_lower_spare_tire
Text:
http://www.fixya.com/cars/t4375415-not_lower_spare_tire
There is none, and all the manufacturer's use the same hoist and they all are junk, had a lady have here spare fall off in front of my house a while back, cable end broke off.
Given: 2003 Chevy Express Van spare tire latch won't release due to rust.
Solution: 1) Lower tire as far as possible (until latch catches)
2) Pull down rubber weather protection boot.
3) Raise tire as much as possible with 2 floor jacks or bottle jacks.
4) Spray rust penetrant on latch (mucho)
5) Use long chisel and hammer taps to dislodge pack rust. Re-spray rust penetrant. Repeat #5 until latch shows movement.
6) Use channel lock pliers to squeeze latch and SIDE of latch body until it releases.
7) Continue to lower tire after removing jacks.
Henry [email protected]
This happened on my 2010 Silverado at night, but I was at home and the bad tire was a slow leak, so I got to finish the next morning. Removing the license tag allowed me to see the secondary latch above the dangling spare tire. I inserted a long, large flat blade screwdriver up through a hole in the spare wheel and lodged it against the aluminum arm with the little hook on it. Then I cranked the hoist back up with the screwdriver in place. A solid "thunk" announced the release of the secondary latch hook from the winch rim and the tire lowered when in cranked it back down. I think I'll just stow the tire in the truck bed from now on. This process would be nearly impossible on the roadside. Besides, I don't usually carry a monster flat blade screwdriver around with me.
The guys at the tire shop said it was a manufacturers defect, and if you overtighten the cable, it will lock up there and you will not be able to lower it & have to buy a new winch. i havent tried messing w/ secondary lock. i wish GM/chevy would have just used that spare holder with one huge bolt holding it in. dumb design.
Modified Superonimo's solution. Rather than fight with two jacks while I crawl under truck, I used two ratchet straps. Fairly easy to get these around tire and frame on both sides of vehicle and then pull tire up tight. This allowed me to get screwdriver in through center hole and pry the J-hook of the secondary latch to release position. Also made it pretty easy to lower tire at controlled rate. Bonus to this--I don't carry two jacks but I always have a bag of ratchet straps with me, so this will work when I get a flat on a remote road.
I had this problem on my chevy 07 2500hd silverado while towing a travel trailer and thanks to Good Sam towing. I had to be towed 10miles to shop to burn hoist off. I just bought a new hoist when I removed the old I found that I could turn it by hand
and cable came out like it was brand new. when I installed new one and cranked it up I could not tighten it. I found that the jack handle that Gm said to use to lower spare the socket was to big and was slipping, one wack with a hammer and that stopped it from slipping. Problem solved.
SOURCE: spare tire won't release.
This is the worst GM engineering i have ever seen !!!! The secondary locking mech. rust itself in the locked position on will NOT allow the tire to lower. After lowering the tire down approx. 2-4" the saftey lock is still engaged. I was able to reach above the tire and remove the bolt holding the hoist in place. {15 mm wrench}. Keep a floor jack under the tire to support it and as not to fall on your head. After removing the bolt the hoist is hooked on the frame member and must be lifted off to remove. Once you get it on the garage floor it is possible to disengage the locking mech. with a few tools and a big hammer. Good luck This should be a Recall
SOURCE: 2005 CHEV SILVERADO SPARE TIRE HOIST JAMMED.
put weight on it or have someone pull down while turning release need tension so cable can come down
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Modified Sugeronimo's solution. Rather than fight with two jacks as I crawl under truck, used two rachet straps. Fairly easy to get straps around frame on left and right sidees of vehicle and pull tire up tight. Then able to get screwdriver up to pry the J-hook on the scondary latch tp released position.
The hoist mechanism rotted out on my '92 GMC Sierra (cable broke). There was no point in repairing or replacing it, so I unbolted the hoist system and threw it on the scrap heap. I then mounted a U bolt to the crossmember where the hoist unit used to be, and mounted the spare wheel onto the U bolt with the 2 nuts. Done.
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