Re: Chebby guys, I need help....Please?
I was about to crawl under my van at the shop when the boss pulled up. Told me to get my arse out of there.
He didn't want me to get hurt as I'm headed for an important re-certification class. He had me take it to a metal shop that we do business with. Since the tire was suspended by the carrier and not the lift cable with about 4" clearance, the guy was able to get the tire lifted up to wiggle the carrier out of the rim.
Of course curiosity was eating at me to find out why the carrier would not release. Yup, pretty much corrosion caused things to seize up. There was only one bolt holding the whole assembly in place. Took it out and put it in the bench vise and got everything freed up and working like it should.
FWIW, if I knew before hand how the thing worked, I could have gotten the second latch undone. There is the cable that lifts/lowers the tire, and then there is a catch that engages a hook to prevent the lift from lowering on its own.
Where the cable goes through the carrier (the part that holds the rim) is a bushing. It was rusted and would not move. Once I had it lubed, I pushed the bushing up into the carrier which disengages the hook that locks the carrier up. Plus, I had bird nested the cable in the winch which locked it up.
At least I got it done. I need to remember to lube it up in the fall and spring.
No doubt we have a bad rust season. I had my bucket truck out last week removing some tent worms in the trees by my house. I took off and the rear end felt like it was coming out of the truck. It almost did as it broke a "U" bolt on each side of the rear end to the springs. Just glad it didn't happen when out on a job
Thanks for the help, maybe this info will help someone else get their spare out without cutting it out............SS
