Safety Issue Chevy Pickups
This is just something I found out. It is not a recall, or official safety warning.
I had a flat tire on my 2004 Chevy pickup this fall. I always check the air in the spare so I know it was full. When I went to crank the spare tire down from it's storage location it came down a little then stuck. The cable would drop all the way to the ground but, the tire was loose but, not loose enough to drop down. It would also not tighten back up it just swung around under there. I got a ride to one of the local mechanics and he said that this is quite common. If I could get the truck to him he could put it on the lift and reach above the spare to drill out some pin that was stuck and causing the problem. He didn't have a tire for me so I went to another mechanic to purchase a tire. While he was mounting it he looked at me smiled and said "That's quite the paten Chevy has for the spare ain't it." This was before I ever told him I had tried to remove the spare. He said that this was common and that I would probably end up using a acetylene torch to cut the spare off. I asked if I had taken the tire down every year if there was a way to lube the mechanism so that I would not have had this problem. He winced and said maybe that would have helped but, even then it seems the spare is always stuck when you need it. As he pointed out it would be very difficult to get the spare down along side of a highway. (Thankfully , my flat had taken place in my yard.) He also said Chevy trucks a lot newer then mine have had this problem and it's not just because this is a old truck. After I got the truck home I did end up cutting the spare off of the truck and now I have to haul it around in the back. But, if I ever need it at least I can use it now.
So, I my suggestion to all the board members to go crank your spare tire down once or twice a year on your pickup. Just to make sure the mechanism works. Do it on a week day so that if you have to you can drive to a mechanic to get it removed.
Although , this is a good idea to do on any model of pickup if you have a Chevy it's more important. Seems the spares on them are often stuck.
I had a flat tire on my 2004 Chevy pickup this fall. I always check the air in the spare so I know it was full. When I went to crank the spare tire down from it's storage location it came down a little then stuck. The cable would drop all the way to the ground but, the tire was loose but, not loose enough to drop down. It would also not tighten back up it just swung around under there. I got a ride to one of the local mechanics and he said that this is quite common. If I could get the truck to him he could put it on the lift and reach above the spare to drill out some pin that was stuck and causing the problem. He didn't have a tire for me so I went to another mechanic to purchase a tire. While he was mounting it he looked at me smiled and said "That's quite the paten Chevy has for the spare ain't it." This was before I ever told him I had tried to remove the spare. He said that this was common and that I would probably end up using a acetylene torch to cut the spare off. I asked if I had taken the tire down every year if there was a way to lube the mechanism so that I would not have had this problem. He winced and said maybe that would have helped but, even then it seems the spare is always stuck when you need it. As he pointed out it would be very difficult to get the spare down along side of a highway. (Thankfully , my flat had taken place in my yard.) He also said Chevy trucks a lot newer then mine have had this problem and it's not just because this is a old truck. After I got the truck home I did end up cutting the spare off of the truck and now I have to haul it around in the back. But, if I ever need it at least I can use it now.
So, I my suggestion to all the board members to go crank your spare tire down once or twice a year on your pickup. Just to make sure the mechanism works. Do it on a week day so that if you have to you can drive to a mechanic to get it removed.
Although , this is a good idea to do on any model of pickup if you have a Chevy it's more important. Seems the spares on them are often stuck.
