My truck came (used) without the crank for the spare as many seem to. Looked forever for a replacement but wasn't going to pay $50 - $80 for one on ebay especially when I already had a jack and lug wrench. Junkyards around here never have any. Found some threads where people had bought bar stock or ground down 1/2" socket extensions to fit, but figured there must be something out there.

Finally found a decent replacement:


CTA Tools 4359 Spare Tire Tool-White



It's the white-coded tool in this set.




It's just a long steel rod with a 7/16ths square drive on one end to fit the socket that turns the crank for the spare and a 3/8" socket on the other end. Says "07 and up" but fits 2004 - 2008. Looks to be a well-made tool. I could easily turn mine by hand so didn't even need to break out a ratchet.

About $13 + shipping = ~$23 to me from here:

http://paceperformance.com/i-5926904...-e-series.html

Or here might be less with shipping depending on where you are:

http://www.jbtoolsales.com/CTA-Tools...ire-Tool-White

Both drop-ship from the manufacturer so it takes a week or more to get it in.

Yeah! No more tire in my bed! lol Anyway, thought this might be helpful to somebody out there who's also looking.

 

Does it break down into a smaller piece than that? It's just a little long to be carrying in the cab, as well as whatever you need to turn the thing.

 

Naaa... Doesn't break down. I just tossed it in my truck box so no big deal in my case. The kit's really made for guys doing road/tire service versus owners. Given a choice I'd probably prefer one that did but for whatever reason the things seem to be like hen's teeth to find.

 

I lost my original spare tire tool kit and just ordered one of these.

Is this the only tool needed to raise and lower the spare tire?

 

...plus a 3/8" ratchet/breaker bar to turn it. Looks like a good replacement option. I actually like the idea of a one piece rod instead of the individual pieces.

Now, what about turning the jack? One of the OEM rod segments has a hook that goes into the hole on the jack screw end.

 

saw this on my local craigs list. says he will ship.
http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/pts/4109174788.html

 

...same as my older '92 F-150 jack. Will work fine.

 

When I bought my '04 F150 it didn't come with the crank tool either. I tried to use one from my brothers '96 F150 but it didn't want to fit properly.

Anyone know the correct size I'd need to order for this? I like the idea of having just one long tool to get the job done.

 

It would seem that about half of the auto owners in the USA keep the tire changing tools when they sell their vehicle. How weird is that?

 

I would never use the scissor lift that came with the truck... just don't trust it.

I've got 2 10 ton bottle jacks and a 2 1/2 ton low pro cheap HF floor jack along with about 1/2 of a shop in the back of my truck. I could change out practically anything on the side of the road.

 

Don't trust what about it? Obviously it's not ideal for everyday use, but it's fine for a roadside emergency. It's no less stable than a comparable footprint bottle jack.

 

It's the fact that I've had one fail on me before. The thing collapsed on me. Luckily I didn't lose any fingers or my hand, because I know better.

A 10 ton bottle jack is not going to break lifting a corner of a 1/2 ton pickup. At least I haven't had one that is maintained fail on me. I've had ones that had never been properly maintained fail on me.

I wouldn't even think of using my bottle jack on my truck only because I have my floor jack. If my floor jack died, then I'd use the bottle jack.

Personally, I like using floor jacks, because I can stay far away if something decided to let loose, including the jack itself.

But in either case, I have 2 10 ton rated safety stands that I put under and slowly raise them as I raise the chassis with the jack. This way if it falls, it ain't falling far.

 

Again, the jack is fine for an emergency, not for common maintenance. A floor jack is the only jack I'd use for normal maintenance (tire rotations, repairs, etc) combined with jack stands. The factory scissor jack is good enough for a quick tire change on the side of the road, instead of dragging around a 40lbs floor jack in the bed all of the time. The bottle jack is another compact substitute, but I don't really value one much over the other, either can fail. I can't imagine that Ford (or any car company) would provide a jack that wasn't rated to lift the heaviest corner of a factory truck, with plenty of margin to spare.

 

Thank-you for the information. The thread took the mystery out of the tool. I bought my truck used and it did not come with the tool. I believe that they must be in same place as single socks. lol Once I discovered that the tool is simply a very long 1/2" ratchet drive extension, I bought two 10" extensions. This gave the functionality I needed in the tool and the size small size I needed. The added benefits to this approach are that they fit easily in the tool well under the rear seat, low cost ($40 total), instant availability (Home Depot, Sears, Lowe's, etc) and the utility of being able to drive the winch with a cordless drill.