No lock nut key for spare? No problem (1 Viewer)

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My LX didnt come with a key for the lock nut on the spare. I Read up on here and was able to remove the actual spare tire holder very easily From under the truck. I then removed The lock nut and presto I have a spare tire again:

This is the actual spare tire holder that you want to remove . Its attached to the cross member with 4 bolts

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Here are The 4 bolts on top of the cross member for this removal. You can approach this from the driver side rear bumper by passing your hand above the tire And easily undo the bolts. BE CAREFUL the tire will fall down and is pretty heavy. Have a jack stand under it to prevent getting crushed

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Once thats done you will get to this

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Now to remove the lock key just pry off that black rubber funnel like thing and use a flat head to hammer down on the star shaped washer holding the lock nut in place.
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Bolt the spare tire holder back on to the cross member and you can now use the jack tools to lower and raise the spare tire without a lock nut key
 
Great write-up, good job!:) It helps a lot if the truck is rust free like yours though:)
 
Great write-up, good job!:) It helps a lot if the truck is rust free like yours though:)

If it's not rust free, and you can't remove the assembly to work on a bench, you can do what I did yesterday:

1. Hand crank the tire down a few inches with vice grips
2. Using two jacks, lift the spare tire up enough to eliminate tension on cable
3. Remove brace
4. Use gravity to bring spare tire to ground
5. Crawl under vehicle and use long flat head screwdriver, brute force, and all your pent up anger at Mr. T for this ridiculous feature to pry the offending lock out of the system.
6. After it pops out, reshape metal cone to ensure free turning
7. Toss offending tire lock into garbage with a sense of satisfaction.
 
[QUOTE="wvprankster, post: 13168902,
5. Crawl under vehicle and use long flat head screwdriver, brute force, and all your pent up anger at Mr. T for this ridiculous feature to pry the offending lock out of the system.
[/QUOTE]

Thats a great way too. To spare you some headache ...the lock is held in place by a star shaped washer. All you have to do is hammer the washer down with a flat head Which will free the lock and it will just fall into ur open hands. You wont need to pry at all
 
Thanks, @LXneewb. Someone whose patience was not exhausted can probably make better use of your less violent technique.

I do appreciate you having started this thread, however. It confirmed for me what I expected -- which was that the lock was removable.
 
Thanks for the tips here. Just wanted to provide a little more detail for others interested in removing the lock.

I cut the plastic cone with a razor, down the slit on the metal cone. Came out easier than prying it out. Don’t need that cone anyway.

Here’s that star washer that holds it in place. It appears when I hammered it down with a screwdriver I basically broke a few teeth or weakened them so they would bend as I pulled the lock out.
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Yep, just reached over the top with a ratcheting wrench when I did mine. Had it down in no time.

Ridiculous feature to begin with. Any thief that wants your spare tire/wheel will use a pair of side cutters and be out from underneath your vehicle with the tire.... in 30 seconds (no exaggeration).
 
Am I just a moron? My bolts are rusted so I'm trying to do it from underneath the truck, but for the life of me I don't see how you get at the star-shaped washer? I've got the plastic collar/funnel off and here's what I'm looking at:
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I don't understand how to get at the star washer since it's on the other side of this lock. Am I supposed to be able to pass the screw driver between the metal collar and the lock? Doesn't seem to be working for me.
 
The serrated washer sits down in a bore, just rock the anti-theft key back and forth and in awhile it will distort the washer where can pry the whole thing out.

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I sped up the process by squeezing a screwdriver at multiple points and hammering to break some teeth
 
Thank you! Finally got the bastard off. I just locked some vice grips on it and wiggled/pulled/bent/swore until it came out. Super thankful for whoever pointed out on here/the Facebook group that this stupid thing even existed. I was mad enough dealing with it in my driveway. I can't imagine standing on a roadside somewhere looking at a spare tire I can't put on...
 
Thank you! Finally got the bastard off. I just locked some vice grips on it and wiggled/pulled/bent/swore until it came out. Super thankful for whoever pointed out on here/the Facebook group that this stupid thing even existed. I was mad enough dealing with it in my driveway. I can't imagine standing on a roadside somewhere looking at a spare tire I can't put on...

You should see some of the ones from the 'rust belt' that aren't even recognizable. Or those that have gotten packed with mud/dirt over the years. They would leave you unable to lower the spare even IF you had the correct key.

But the folly of it all is: Any thief worth his salt will simply clip the cable and be out from under your vehicle (tire and wheel in hand) in less 30 seconds (not kidding about that). The older chain style winch as used on the 80 series can replace it and is what I have on mine.

I'd be more worried about my Catalytic Converter, that is what thieves want these days.
 
This was a huge help, I didn't realize I didn't have the key until I went to get my tires changed and wanted the spare updated with one of the existing tires. Use a knife to slit down the plastic cone, once that is removed just use vice grips on the "lock" portion and rock back and forth and it fell out.
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