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Spare Tire Winch Socket Missing?

4K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  bkfawcett 
#1 ·
I "inherited" a 2002 Xterra from my son to fix up and sell for him. It has been well maintained and is generally in pretty good shape. One problem is not being able to pump the gas tank full without endless attempts so I want to get to the Evaporative Canister. Trying to remove the spare tire, I see where the spare tire winch socket should be but it looks like just a 2" flat surface (washer?) with no notches to engage the studs on the winch rod.

The car has been through multiple sets of tires and the spare looks new and matches the other tires so I assume that the spare has been lowered before.

I've read several posts about the winch assembly being frozen. Has anyone experienced this socket breaking off and if so, what was the best approach to resolving the situation?

Thanks much for your advice!

Richard
 
#3 ·
Couldn't tell from your post exactly if you had the right parts or not...

but...




Using the rod to the scissor jack, you engage the slot and lower it down, like shown above.

If your rod to the scissor jack is broken and the winch seized (or winch sheared off), then you are looking at replacing the winch assembly or replacing the jack rod (may have to order the jack kit) or both. It would be easiest if you had a pull-a-part junkyard near you to grab one from instead of an entire kit. Probably really cheap.
 
#5 ·
I had the exact same security lock without a matching key from my daughter's 2004 as well. The tire shop could not drop the spare, but I was able to:
1. let the air out of the spare
2. cut the plastic guide funnel off (through the rim)
3. engage a 30mm socket, pry bar (or flex extension), and vice grip over the lock (grabs the roll pin)
4. and finally drop the spare! A good smack on the lock separated it from the standard t-handle hoist system...although I think I got lucky while trying to drift the roll pin out.
 
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