I was unable to lower the spare tire using the winch on my 2006 LC because it was pretty much rusted solid. I ordered the winch from ToyotaPartsDeal.com for $110 and decided to tackle the project yesterday.
My winch had the theft prevention doodad on it and there was so much rust that I likely stripped it out using the factory supplied key. The new one did not have this feature and I'm happy about that, for sure. It was just one more thing to lose or strip out. Instead, you just use the same hook that you use for the spare tire jack to turn the winch and raise/lower the spare.
This should give you an idea of the kind of rust I was dealing with:
Yeah, I know, you can hardly tell there is a spring in there. Since I could not lower the tire due to the rusted winch, I placed my 3 ton floor jack under the center of the tire (with the AHC on "L") to support the tire while I took a pair of tin snips and cut the cable between the tire and the winch. After lowering and removing the spare with the jack, I got my first look at the winch:
Yes, that is a ridiculous amount of rust on the winch and everywhere else for that matter. This is what you get when you buy a rust belt vehicle from NY (sight unseen, mind you). Probably not the smartest thing I have ever done, but the mileage and price were right. If you think that is bad, take a look at the bumper (or what is left of it) from underneath:
Yeah, I know, sucks, right? Here is the back of the factory hitch. I am a little wary of pulling anything with it:
More to come in Part 2...
My winch had the theft prevention doodad on it and there was so much rust that I likely stripped it out using the factory supplied key. The new one did not have this feature and I'm happy about that, for sure. It was just one more thing to lose or strip out. Instead, you just use the same hook that you use for the spare tire jack to turn the winch and raise/lower the spare.
This should give you an idea of the kind of rust I was dealing with:
Yeah, I know, you can hardly tell there is a spring in there. Since I could not lower the tire due to the rusted winch, I placed my 3 ton floor jack under the center of the tire (with the AHC on "L") to support the tire while I took a pair of tin snips and cut the cable between the tire and the winch. After lowering and removing the spare with the jack, I got my first look at the winch:
Yes, that is a ridiculous amount of rust on the winch and everywhere else for that matter. This is what you get when you buy a rust belt vehicle from NY (sight unseen, mind you). Probably not the smartest thing I have ever done, but the mileage and price were right. If you think that is bad, take a look at the bumper (or what is left of it) from underneath:
Yeah, I know, sucks, right? Here is the back of the factory hitch. I am a little wary of pulling anything with it:
More to come in Part 2...
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