1999 Caravan : Spare Tire Stuck

Hi Folks,

Please let me know if there is any trick to getting the spare tire off.
When I crank it down, only the cable comes down. The t-bar that holds
the tire on is stuck to the mechanism above it. It is loosely held in there.
It wobbles around, but won't come down.

Thanks in advance,
Roger

 

You can try to crank it up real tight, really really tight much tighter than
it was,
then let it out and when the tire stops coming down, let a bit more out then
use a pry bar on the tire, let a bit more out, pry it some more, and repeat
the process.

Ted

 

There is a safety catch that is a rube goldberg contraption. Look up through
the slots in the wheel and you'll see the catch. It will be towards the rear
of the vehicle. You'll need to reach up in there (while the wheel is cranked
up) and pull back on the catch and have a second person start to let the
spare down while you keep the catch back. Once it's off you'll see what
caused your grief. You can than either fix it or disable it. Keep in mind
it's there because many earlier vans lost there spares because the cable
would rust away and it would fall out. This keeps that from happening.
Larry

 

give it a good kick