Spare Tyre Cross-member Needed? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 30, 2022
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Location
Brisbane, Australia
I took my spare tyre out from underneath my 97 80 series today. The winch mechanism was unable to wind down, so I had to take out the cross-member to get the tyre out.

Problem is, I can't for the life of me get the damn thing back in. It was a very tight fit to get out, but it almost seems like its expanded by a few mm since it came out.

Question is, do I actually need this cross-member. I assumed being a cross-member, it would have some structural purpose in addition to just holding the spare tyre. I saw a comment on another thread mentioning that it wasn't necessary to keep, but that's not exactly strong evidence of it being non-structural.

If I do need to put it back in, does anyone have any tips on getting it back in?

Thanks.
 
I took my spare tyre out from underneath my 97 80 series today. The winch mechanism was unable to wind down, so I had to take out the cross-member to get the tyre out.

Problem is, I can't for the life of me get the damn thing back in. It was a very tight fit to get out, but it almost seems like its expanded by a few mm since it came out.

Question is, do I actually need this cross-member. I assumed being a cross-member, it would have some structural purpose in addition to just holding the spare tyre. I saw a comment on another thread mentioning that it wasn't necessary to keep, but that's not exactly strong evidence of it being non-structural.

If I do need to put it back in, does anyone have any tips on getting it back in?

Thanks.
I removed mine when I cleaned and repainted the rear of the frame and the winch mech. I used a rubber mallet to get it back in, as it was also a very tight fit.

As to the structural nature of the part, any stiffener placed inside the frame rails will lend additional support to the frame's rigidity. I think your question would better be asked "is the beam necessary as a structural element". In my professional opinion, having designed structural frames in the past, I'd guess that without the benefit of FEA software when this frame was developed, the engineers would have taken the opportunity to stiffen the rear end of the frame with the beam that had to be placed there to support the tire anyway; that's why it's so much more substantial than the simple angle or channel section it would need to be, to support and retain the spare tire.

Could you operate the truck without it? Probably. Would the frame be stiffer with it in place? Yes. By how much, what would the real benefit be? That would depend on how severe the use was. If you're mainly using the truck as a daily driver and occasional camper, you probably won't miss it. If it's a dedicated overlander or rock crawler, chances are the frame's already been stiffened for that use, and the tire's been moved from its storage spot under the body, so no, you won't miss it.

HTH
 
I have an aux tank back there and carry my large spare tire on the bumper tire swing out so I don't have that tire supporting cross member either. The spare tire support cross member lives between two substantial cross members so I'm not too worried about it not being present. With that said, doesn't the OP (original poster) need his spare tyre back under the vehicle? That was the first time I spelled tYre and not tire :rofl:

As an aside, I'm not sure if other 80 owners are aware of something really cool that Toyota did in this area. That factory tyre cross member is designed to sit BELOW the factory sub tank. How cool is that? In another words, you CAN have a sub tank and a spare tyre both in their home positions. The Aussies get all the cool toys for the 80 series and we don't :bang:
 
I removed mine when I cleaned and repainted the rear of the frame and the winch mech. I used a rubber mallet to get it back in, as it was also a very tight fit.

As to the structural nature of the part, any stiffener placed inside the frame rails will lend additional support to the frame's rigidity. I think your question would better be asked "is the beam necessary as a structural element". In my professional opinion, having designed structural frames in the past, I'd guess that without the benefit of FEA software when this frame was developed, the engineers would have taken the opportunity to stiffen the rear end of the frame with the beam that had to be placed there to support the tire anyway; that's why it's so much more substantial than the simple angle or channel section it would need to be, to support and retain the spare tire.

Could you operate the truck without it? Probably. Would the frame be stiffer with it in place? Yes. By how much, what would the real benefit be? That would depend on how severe the use was. If you're mainly using the truck as a daily driver and occasional camper, you probably won't miss it. If it's a dedicated overlander or rock crawler, chances are the frame's already been stiffened for that use, and the tire's been moved from its storage spot under the body, so no, you won't miss it.

HTH
Thanks, that's pretty much what I was thinking. At the moment it's a daily and camper with some minor offroading, so it should be right for a while.

If I want to get into some more serious stuff, I might try and put it back in.
 
I have an aux tank back there and carry my large spare tire on the bumper tire swing out so I don't have that tire supporting cross member either. The spare tire support cross member lives between two substantial cross members so I'm not too worried about it not being present. With that said, doesn't the OP (original poster) need his spare tyre back under the vehicle? That was the first time I spelled tYre and not tire :rofl:

As an aside, I'm not sure if other 80 owners are aware of something really cool that Toyota did in this area. That factory tyre cross member is designed to sit BELOW the factory sub tank. How cool is that? In another words, you CAN have a sub tank and a spare tyre both in their home positions. The Aussies get all the cool toys for the 80 series and we don't :bang:
Seems like it will probably be fine without the cross member, at least till I have time to have anoth crack at putting it in.

Wasn't going to put it back under. I'm going to get a rear bar with a swing out carrier in the future, but for now it can sit in the back. It hangs too low and I seem to get hung up on it every time I go off-road.

I tell you what though, it'd be a hell of alot easier to get that cross member in and out without the sub tank there. Not much clearance between the two.
 

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