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Stuck Spare Tire


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My 2003 GMC Sierra Z71 Spare tire is stuck!! I bought the truck in October and had been meaning to check the spare. Well as luck would have it I punctured the driver front tire and it whent flat on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I lowered the cable down with the jack rod but the tire stayed up.The cable came down very easy and coiled up on the ground but the tire only dropped about 3 inches. What is holding it up? If anyone has an answer I would love to hear it. It's bad enough getting stranded but I had no choice but to call my brother to get me. He loved having to rescue a GM when he has a Dodge Hemi!!

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My 2003 GMC Sierra Z71 Spare tire is stuck!! I bought the truck in October and had been meaning to check the spare. Well as luck would have it I punctured the driver front tire and it whent flat on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I lowered the cable down with the jack rod but the tire stayed up.The cable came down very easy and coiled up on the ground but the tire only dropped about 3 inches. What is holding it up? If anyone has an answer I would love to hear it. It's bad enough getting stranded but I had no choice but to call my brother to get me. He loved having to rescue a GM when he has a Dodge Hemi!!

 

 

The cable rusting/freezing is the most common problem. Since you got the cable, the tire should come. The only thing my spare touched was the hitch. IIRC I did have to angle the spare when I put it back up.

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My 2003 GMC Sierra Z71 Spare tire is stuck!! I bought the truck in October and had been meaning to check the spare. Well as luck would have it I punctured the driver front tire and it whent flat on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I lowered the cable down with the jack rod but the tire stayed up.The cable came down very easy and coiled up on the ground but the tire only dropped about 3 inches. What is holding it up? If anyone has an answer I would love to hear it. It's bad enough getting stranded but I had no choice but to call my brother to get me. He loved having to rescue a GM when he has a Dodge Hemi!!

 

 

The cable rusting/freezing is the most common problem. Since you got the cable, the tire should come. The only thing my spare touched was the hitch. IIRC I did have to angle the spare when I put it back up.

 

 

The part that goes through the wheel centre that the cable goes through seems to be staying up somehow. My next move is a torch if I can't ge ti down!!

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I had a similar experience on an older Chevy... get down on your back and kick the sh*t out it...

 

Lesson learned: do not have other foot beneath spare while kicking... tire WILL at some point fall!

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Had the same thing happen to me on my 07 Sierra. Punctured the tire while going through a deep puddle. Cranked the tire down, but only the cable came, had no choice but to beat the crap out of with my foot and a rubber mallet before it decided to come loose.

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I had a similar experience on an older Chevy... get down on your back and kick the sh*t out it...

 

Lesson learned: do not have other foot beneath spare while kicking... tire WILL at some point fall!

 

 

ouch...

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To release the spare tire from the secondary latch do

the following:

1. Check under the vehicle to see if the cable end is

visible.

2. If the cable is not visible proceed to Step 6.

If it is visible, first try to tighten the cable by turning

the wheel wrench clockwise until you hear two

clicks or feel it skip twice. You cannot overtighten

the cable.

3. Loosen the cable by turning the wrench

counterclockwise three or four turns.

4. Repeat this procedure at least two times. If the

spare tire lowers to the ground, continue with

Step 5 of “Removing the Spare Tire and Tools”

earlier in this section.

5. Turn the wrench counterclockwise until

approximately six inches (15 cm) of cable is

exposed.

6. Stand the wheel blocks

on their shortest ends,

with the backs

facing each other.

7. Place the bottom edge of the jack on the wheel

blocks, separating them so that the jack is

balanced securely.

8. Attach the jack handle, extension, and wheel

wrench to the jack and place it (with the wheel

blocks) under the vehicle towards the front of the

rear bumper. Position the center lift point of the jack

under the center of the spare tire.

9. Turn the wrench clockwise to raise the jack until it

lifts the end fitting.

10. Continue raising the jack until the spare tire stops

moving upward and is held firmly in place. The

secondary latch has released and the spare tire is

balancing on the jack.

 

That is from my '04 manual. Basically, there is a secondary latch in the event the cable breaks or (or something like that). After the cable is down a ways you have to push up on the tire to get the latch to release.

 

http://www.chevrolet.com/assets/pdf/owners...rado_owners.pdf

 

go to page 5-93 of the link above (the owners manual) and it will show pictures, etc. (its an 09 manual, basically the same procedure though)

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There you go, I didn't want to go get my manual. But that sounds like a better solution that "beating the **** out of it", on certain occasions that solution does work, but when there's a less destructive solution, it's usually recommended.

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To release the spare tire from the secondary latch do

the following:

1. Check under the vehicle to see if the cable end is

visible.

2. If the cable is not visible proceed to Step 6.

If it is visible, first try to tighten the cable by turning

the wheel wrench clockwise until you hear two

clicks or feel it skip twice. You cannot overtighten

the cable.

3. Loosen the cable by turning the wrench

counterclockwise three or four turns.

4. Repeat this procedure at least two times. If the

spare tire lowers to the ground, continue with

Step 5 of "Removing the Spare Tire and Tools"

earlier in this section.

5. Turn the wrench counterclockwise until

approximately six inches (15 cm) of cable is

exposed.

6. Stand the wheel blocks

on their shortest ends,

with the backs

facing each other.

7. Place the bottom edge of the jack on the wheel

blocks, separating them so that the jack is

balanced securely.

8. Attach the jack handle, extension, and wheel

wrench to the jack and place it (with the wheel

blocks) under the vehicle towards the front of the

rear bumper. Position the center lift point of the jack

under the center of the spare tire.

9. Turn the wrench clockwise to raise the jack until it

lifts the end fitting.

10. Continue raising the jack until the spare tire stops

moving upward and is held firmly in place. The

secondary latch has released and the spare tire is

balancing on the jack.

 

That is from my '04 manual. Basically, there is a secondary latch in the event the cable breaks or (or something like that). After the cable is down a ways you have to push up on the tire to get the latch to release.

 

http://www.chevrolet.com/assets/pdf/owners...rado_owners.pdf

 

go to page 5-93 of the link above (the owners manual) and it will show pictures, etc. (its an 09 manual, basically the same procedure though)

 

 

:thumbs: Another RTFM moment..... I guess I will read thru that in detail sometime.....

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  • 1 month later...
  • 10 months later...

:thumbs: Another RTFM moment..... I guess I will read thru that in detail sometime.....

 

 

My boarder (Freddie as in Freeloader...long story for another time) was lent his company's work truck for the wknd (he's from out of province and hadn't changed his insurance or license over - his plates have expired, and now he can't get insurance as he can't prove his address -or so he sez (insert eye roll here!). Hence the company truck. He drove to see a friend 4 hours away. On the way home, he had a flat and as he couldn't get the spare tire off, he had a nearby farmer take it off with a cutting torch. I had to laugh at the rtfm comment, as he's a bonifide 'know it all', and rarely reads directions in my experience!!! He called in sick today (Monday), so I'm not sure if he was truly not feeling well, or if he was just worried about returning the truck with (maybe it's not, but I'd suspect fairly significant damage to the parts that hold up the spare tire?!!!) Love to be a fly on the wall when he does tell them what happened...

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