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Spare Tire Hoist Secondary Locking

ARoy

By ARoy
in Ask A GM Technician

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ARoy Enthusiast

ARoy

Posted
Posted

I cant seem to drop the spare. According to the manual there is a secondary lock to prevent the spare from falling off the truck accidentally. The cable will drop down but the spare only comes down about 6 inches. The manual says to turn the crank clockwise until the hoist clicks once or twice and then counterclock wise and the lock should disengage and release the spare all the way but no dice. If that doesn't work it then says to put a bottle jack under the spring point and lift up until the lock disengages but again no luck. Can someone help me with this problem. Its an 04 Silverado.

jro909 Senior Enthusiast

jro909

Posted
Posted

had a similiar issue, essentially the whole works rusted up...i ended up just cutting it out

ARoy Enthusiast

ARoy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
had a similiar issue, essentially the whole works rusted up...i ended up just cutting it out

 

Jee I hope I don't have to do that but thanks anyway. I am glad I wasn't out on the road somewhere.

 

Roy :thumbs:

ChevyTech77 Senior Enthusiast

ChevyTech77

Posted
Posted

Yup, if it won't come out as the owner's manual states, it needs a hoist. Smack up (towards the bed) on the hoist lift clamp a few times and see if frees anything up.

Nick The Great Senior Enthusiast

Nick The Great

Posted
Posted

Yeah you're lucky you're at home and not on the road. There's gobs of threads on here about guys with this problem. I also cut mine off. :thumbs:

 

You're supposed to crank it up (tighen) half a click or so and it will 'magically' release the secondary latch. BUT oddly enough, dirt and salt and such much this not work so well . . .

ARoy Enthusiast

ARoy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Yeah you're lucky you're at home and not on the road. There's gobs of threads on here about guys with this problem. I also cut mine off. :lol:

 

You're supposed to crank it up (tighen) half a click or so and it will 'magically' release the secondary latch. BUT oddly enough, dirt and salt and such much this not work so well . . .

 

Thankyou all for your feedback. Can anyone describe how to cut the spare loose and will it destroy the hoist or just the locking part.

  • 2 weeks later...
sidi Enthusiast

sidi

Posted
Posted

Hey, I hope you haven't cut your cable yet!

The hoist is one continual crimped unit and is $200 in Canada.

I had to jack up on the rim of the spare tire ONLY (maybe let some air out too). Then crank down the cable. Mine dropped a very short distance but enough to free the 'T' at the end of the cable through the rim. Then lower the jack holding the rim. Then you can unbolt the assembly and vent your anger. SF

ARoy Enthusiast

ARoy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

[a

ttachment=25514:hoist_compressed.JPG]

Hey, I hope you haven't cut your cable yet!

The hoist is one continual crimped unit and is $200 in Canada.

I had to jack up on the rim of the spare tire ONLY (maybe let some air out too). Then crank down the cable. Mine dropped a very short distance but enough to free the 'T' at the end of the cable through the rim. Then lower the jack holding the rim. Then you can unbolt the assembly and vent your anger. SF

 

HI Simon

I hadn't seen your response till now but I basically did as you suggested. Here is what I did:

 

 

I gained access to the locking device through the license plate hole in the bumper and soaked the locking mechanism with WD 40 and other nut buster aerosol fluids. Just lower the tire as far as it will go until the locking device arm catches on the rim of the hoist body. The locking device is visible and can be rotated allowing for insertion of fluids all around the locking arm and run down into the lock arm pivot point. This is were it rusted and not in the hoist itself. After letting it soak

for a couple of days and repeated applications took a pair of pipe pliers or any pliers or grips with long handles and forced the locking pin into the lock body and it released and allowed the lock and spare to drop out. Once I

had it out I removed the whole lock and hoist from the truck and cleaned it in parts washer. I have attached a photo of the assembly. The button when forced upwards with the hoist as described in the manual is supposed to force the locking arm back into the body and release the catch from the rim of the hoist body. This is were the rust gets in and fouls up the locking arm. The arm is spring loaded. Once I got it working freely I painted the whole assemble and packed it with white grease and rust inhibitor and reinstalled it. An alternative approach that should work also would be to drop the cable and locking mechanism, while holding the tire in place, enough to get a grip on the button and bottom body of the lock and force the button up wards which should release the lock. I also ground the lock hook off a bit to facilitate future release. I hope this can be passed on to unwary truck owners and save them from the grief of not having access to their spare if the need arises.

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