Time to check your secondary latches

['03EXT]

It's been a horrible winter in the northeast , I am sure else ware as well,
So I thought it a good time to lower my spare and check the secondary latch and check the pressure in the spare, wouldn't you know latch froze up again and the valve in the spare failed, so glad I checked before I needed that spare on a dark night, so put it on your to do list when you get a few minutes and reply to the thread if your latch froze up as well.

 

[gmcman]

Great tip, I wish I kept mine lubed from right after I bough it.

However, until I replace mine, I flipped my tire over and with it raised all the way up the secondary latch doesn't catch. Is this safe....probably not but the tire has been lowered and raised a few times and has always been tight against the rest. Now that I think about it, I will hook up safety chain just in case. I've had to wrestle with it twice and wasn't fun.

 

[Mooseman]

Yeah, it's safe since the cable is made of stainless steel so it won't rust and fall. Dorman's replacement even eliminated the secondary latch but their cable is NOT stainless steel, making them prone to corrosion.
http://gmtnation.com/f28/dorman-now-has-spare-tire-hoists-9522/index2.html

I've had my spare upside down for three years, no problems and makes it easy to check the pressure.

 

[smt 59]

I'm one of those guys that oils the mechanism and adjust air pressure every time I change the oil.

 

[Hypnotoad]

Lowered mine for the first time since we bought it almost 5 years ago, and it lowered and raised just fine. Sounds like I lucked out.

 

[DJones]

I took a grinding wheel to my secondary latch. Never had a problem with it.

 

[polarisn1]

so, how does someone get the spare down if the previous owner did not take care of it and now it is stuck??

 

[RayGumm]

so, how does someone get the spare down if the previous owner did not take care of it and now it is stuck??

What worked for me is this:

Get some wd-40 or pb blaster and hose the whole assembly down from up through the center of the spare.

Go have a beer or 3.

Come back, and crank the tire as far up as you can. You will not break it, it will snap and turn about an eighth of a turn as a precautionary measure, very similar to a gas cap. Make it 'snap' several times, then get up under the truck with a hammer and kind of wang on the secondary latch assembly/cable end at the center of the spare. Try to lower it. If it doesnt work, repeat the turning of the crank and the wanging with the hammer. Every third or so time, redouse it with the pb blaster or wd-40.

I used wd-40 and it took me about an hour of cranking, wailing on it, and a good amount of cursing and whatnot before it finally dropped. I felt like I had won the super bowl when it finally came all the way down.

Once its down, take the spare off and clean the crap out of the secondary latch mechanism and use some grease or lubricant to it in a vain attampt at hopefully avoiding such headaches in the future. And like someone else suggested, do this every time you change the oil to avoid it being stuck when you need it on the side of the road.

Good luck man!

 

[Sparky]

If that doesn't work (like it didn't on mine when I got my truck) then you get to have fun cutting stuff off without cutting the spare itself

 

[RayGumm]

If that doesn't work (like it didn't on mine when I got my truck) then you get to have fun cutting stuff off without cutting the spare itself

Thank god I didn't have to do that. Especially after all those beers haha!

 

[polarisn1]

well this sounds like a ton of fun... or not.
UGH.
I guess I will give this a shot. I really dont want to buy a new one. THey are stupid expensive.
And, going to 18s, the spare 16 is slightly smaller so only has minimal use as a spare if something happens..

 

[polarisn1]

How do I know if I'm soaking the right area with Rust penetrant?
The tire goes down a little bit and then catches. It doesn't come down far enough to see in there.
I seem to be blindly spraying crap in there. Any help on directing that spray?
Thanks

 

[RayGumm]

How do I know if I'm soaking the right area with Rust penetrant?
The tire goes down a little bit and then catches. It doesn't come down far enough to see in there.
I seem to be blindly spraying crap in there. Any help on directing that spray?
Thanks

Okay, this is the fun part. let it down as much as it will go. get up under there and with your legs or one arm, push the tire up. (btw, you may want safety goggles) This will allow the latch thingamabobber to kind of dangle. You should be able to take the red plastic tube/tip thing on the can of penetrant and slide it up into the latch and just hose. It should take a second for it to start dripping down, if done right, it will follow the cable and drip right from the end of it. You may want a good light to help illuminate down there. Basically, it's right in the middle of the cable - once it dangles, you should be able to make better heads and tails of how it is situated. Hope this helps..

 

[Mooseman]

This video is quite useful, explains the system and also how you could try to get it to let go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhZ2LP7nfLU

Then, once you do get it down, either grind the secondary latch off or turn the tire upside down. Totally useless. Has anyone ever reported a tire dropping and the secondary latch saving the day? I didn't think so!

 

[polarisn1]

thanks for the video! Makes sense now. Guess Ill have to crawl back under there tonight and see what I can do.
What a stupid design..

 

[Mark20]

I fought mine a month or so ago. And all of a sudden it released. Soaked it with lubricant but it took a while for the latch to move freely.

Interestingly my 2011 Silverado does not have that secondary latch. I thought I was in for round two when I checked on that one but the tire dropped smoothly.

 

[Sir ffeJ]

Lowered mine for the first time since we bought it almost 5 years ago, and it lowered and raised just fine. Sounds like I lucked out.

Same here. Just did it the other week and no problems. Lubed it up anyway.
I think it's the less corrosive liquid snow and ice melter we use here on our streets in Vancouver/Lower Mainland.

 

[polarisn1]

after fighting with mine for 10 minutes, I got it to come down. I used a ratchet strap to keep the tire tight to the frame, and dropped the hoist as far as it would go. Used a pliers to push the latch in and done! It dropped down.

I then used a cutoff wheel and hacked the stupid secondary latch hooks off. Ill never have the problem again.