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- Jan 22, 2007
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I thought I'd post up a little detail on how to avoid buying a new spare tire retractor when the factory Dodge one fails and leaves you with a perfectly good spare tire that you can't get to!
This was done on my 2002 Dodge 3500 but probably applies to a number of year models....and I am not responsible if you tear into it and can't figure out how to get it back together. Read this and see if you think you are capable of actually fixing it or just go buy a new one.
First, my spare was stuck and wouldn't drop down any. I let the air out of the spare tire by pulling the valve core. This took the pressure off the cable and it came down easy after that. It may take a tap or two from a hammer if it doesn't drop right away. If it doesn’t drop, you may have to weassle the cable free from the deflated tire with some brute force. Next, take out the four 13mm bolts that hold the retractor under the truck. A metric gear wrench works perfect after you break them loose with a regular box end and some penetrating oil. (like PB blaster)
You'll notice four rivets holding the assembly together. These "permanent" items are less permanent than you think. Take a drill bit larger than the rivets and drill the tops off them or until they spin. Next, finish them off with a hand grinder and punch them out. Be sure and get the heads all the way off before punching, you don't want to drive an oversized head through and screw up the insides. You will now have a pile of parts in your lap. Once they have all been cleaned (I used gasoline) spray them with carb cleaner (like B-12 Chemtool) to displace any water and dry them out. This is what you'll see.
You can see where mine was frozen up with rust. It is apparent that water was sitting on top of this gear and froze it up.
Since the whole assembly rotates due to pressure on the springs, any rust or extra pressure will just let the spring assembly slip instead of turning the gear and actually moving the cable.
Next, take a DA (dual action) sander or my case a palm sander and clean all the parts with 300 grit (or close) sandpaper. Don't rough them up as it will cause more friction but it has to at least take the rust off. You can also use 100 grit and then follow up with 300 if you want. The finished parts look like this.
Notice the difference in this part.
REASSEMBLY
Put the shaft through the mouting bracket.
Put the springs on their holder.
Put this assembly onto the carrier plate as shown, notice the tabs on the plate point toward the springs.
Grease this entire assembly up, both sides, and slide over shaft with the springs facing the mounting bracket.
Slide the collar over the shaft and place it on the gear, notice the keyway that locks the two together so they spin as one.
Place the gear over the shaft and position the cut-out tab so that it lines up with the hole in the mounting bracket so the bolt keeps it from turning. Also grease both sides of this piece.
Next thing I noticed was that the white plastic piece was actually supposed to be one piece; it had broken, and was broken since I first took this thing apart. It may have broken when I drilled the rivets.
There ain't much JB weld won't fix. :hehe: Notice the black "bandaid".
Now the tricky part, while holding everything in its place, and positioning the little white cable guide we just fixed, position the pulley and black outer housing over the previous assembly as shown. Grease both sides of the black, plastic, outer housing before assembly as that is the only protection you will have from water entering the box once it is installed back under your truck. Also grease the inside of the pulley where the gear runs.
Replacing the drilled rivets with bolts, place a few of them in to keep it all lined up. Notice, one bolt is smaller than the other three. It is the one that goes through the white cable guide and its metal mounting bracket.
Place the other mounting bracket over the assembly.
Next, replace the little black, plastic grommet with a liberal amount of grease to seal the shaft from the bracket and keep water out.
Complete assembly looks like this.
Next, put nuts on all the bolts and tighten up snug. Then put it back in the truck and roll up your tire. It should be good for another 100K.
This was done on my 2002 Dodge 3500 but probably applies to a number of year models....and I am not responsible if you tear into it and can't figure out how to get it back together. Read this and see if you think you are capable of actually fixing it or just go buy a new one.
First, my spare was stuck and wouldn't drop down any. I let the air out of the spare tire by pulling the valve core. This took the pressure off the cable and it came down easy after that. It may take a tap or two from a hammer if it doesn't drop right away. If it doesn’t drop, you may have to weassle the cable free from the deflated tire with some brute force. Next, take out the four 13mm bolts that hold the retractor under the truck. A metric gear wrench works perfect after you break them loose with a regular box end and some penetrating oil. (like PB blaster)
You'll notice four rivets holding the assembly together. These "permanent" items are less permanent than you think. Take a drill bit larger than the rivets and drill the tops off them or until they spin. Next, finish them off with a hand grinder and punch them out. Be sure and get the heads all the way off before punching, you don't want to drive an oversized head through and screw up the insides. You will now have a pile of parts in your lap. Once they have all been cleaned (I used gasoline) spray them with carb cleaner (like B-12 Chemtool) to displace any water and dry them out. This is what you'll see.
You can see where mine was frozen up with rust. It is apparent that water was sitting on top of this gear and froze it up.
Since the whole assembly rotates due to pressure on the springs, any rust or extra pressure will just let the spring assembly slip instead of turning the gear and actually moving the cable.
Next, take a DA (dual action) sander or my case a palm sander and clean all the parts with 300 grit (or close) sandpaper. Don't rough them up as it will cause more friction but it has to at least take the rust off. You can also use 100 grit and then follow up with 300 if you want. The finished parts look like this.
Notice the difference in this part.
REASSEMBLY
Put the shaft through the mouting bracket.
Put the springs on their holder.
Put this assembly onto the carrier plate as shown, notice the tabs on the plate point toward the springs.
Grease this entire assembly up, both sides, and slide over shaft with the springs facing the mounting bracket.
Slide the collar over the shaft and place it on the gear, notice the keyway that locks the two together so they spin as one.
Place the gear over the shaft and position the cut-out tab so that it lines up with the hole in the mounting bracket so the bolt keeps it from turning. Also grease both sides of this piece.
Next thing I noticed was that the white plastic piece was actually supposed to be one piece; it had broken, and was broken since I first took this thing apart. It may have broken when I drilled the rivets.
There ain't much JB weld won't fix. :hehe: Notice the black "bandaid".
Now the tricky part, while holding everything in its place, and positioning the little white cable guide we just fixed, position the pulley and black outer housing over the previous assembly as shown. Grease both sides of the black, plastic, outer housing before assembly as that is the only protection you will have from water entering the box once it is installed back under your truck. Also grease the inside of the pulley where the gear runs.
Replacing the drilled rivets with bolts, place a few of them in to keep it all lined up. Notice, one bolt is smaller than the other three. It is the one that goes through the white cable guide and its metal mounting bracket.
Place the other mounting bracket over the assembly.
Next, replace the little black, plastic grommet with a liberal amount of grease to seal the shaft from the bracket and keep water out.
Complete assembly looks like this.
Next, put nuts on all the bolts and tighten up snug. Then put it back in the truck and roll up your tire. It should be good for another 100K.
