Recommended jack solution

[oldgeek]

You drink the bottle of Jack after you change the tire to calm your nerves!

If downing it before changing the tire, one just might not care.

But then later, trying to change it with a pounding headache...

 

[JoshT]

I would not buy a hydraulic bottle jack, tend to leak if left on their side so they need to be stored vertical.

Ok when I read that the first time I thought it said

I would not buy a hydraulic bottle jack, tend to BREAK if left on their side so they need to be stored vertical.

I was about to call bullshit on that. Still, I've never seen one leak due to that, but I won't say that it can't happen. I also haven't had one with the rubber fill plug that @lil_Blue_Ford talks about.

 

[Josh B]

I got one of the early "portable" "mini" floor jacks, at a great price courtesy of my BIL circa 1979 - or early 80s. It was $82 or 84 dollars, if I hadn't been burning money he wouldn't got that much for it, actually I don't think it was much past that the prices tumbled drastically.

It also wasn't much use in the Mississippi mud, in the middle of the night, on the side of the road, in a pouring rain.

And yes, it did leak, and the only way to add oil was to pop that rubber thing out

 

[James Morse]

Won't hurt anything to run ONE smaller tire in 2WD or 4WD, even with Limited Slip in the rear axle

I hesitate to argue with Ron since chances are I lose, but just saying, my manual says:
"CAUTION: continuously using a spare tire other than a conventional spare tire on vehicles equipped with Traction-Lok rear axles could cause damage to the Traction-Lok differential."
also
"NOTE: Extended use of other than matching size spare tires on a Traction-Lok rear axle could result in a permanent reduction in effectiveness." then, oddly "This loss of effectiveness does not affect normal driving and should not be noticeable to the driver" really? then why do we even have it? seems strange to say this.

also

"The temporary spare tire is smaller than a regular tire and is designed for emergency use only." and is marked Temporary Use Only. Here they may be talking about a mini spare (?).

I thought we talked about this and said if you had to run different size, put it on the back, I think... it's about the binding in 4x4... wearing out the lsd... Ford says if it wears out you won't notice it? seems nuts

 

[RonD]

Yes, I would agree, that long term use of 2 different diameter tires on L/S or any axle would not be a good idea, also throws handling off

But I was referring to a spare tire which would be used temporarily, I just assumed, lol, so my bad

It was more to dispel the "must use 4 equal diameter tires on 4WD", so you can carry a spare tire that is smaller(fits in the spare tire rack under the bed) and it can be used to replace one larger diameter tire to get you back on the road until the original tire can be repaired/replaced

 

[JoshT]

As RonD said, not meant to be an extended or loing term solution. Smaller spare tire is intended to get you to a location that you can safely Fix Or Replace Dead tire. It's common for some of us to want a full size spare because it might not be so quick and easy to get back to where that can be done.

"This loss of effectiveness does not affect normal driving and should not be noticeable to the driver" really? then why do we even have it? seems strange to say this.

I'm thinking that "normal driving" wouldn't involve any situations where the Traction-Lok differential would come into play, therefore the "loss of effectiveness" would not be detectable in "normal driving" because the Traction-Lok is not being used and it "should not be noticable to the driver" if driving normally.

That's just me pretenting to wear a "weasel out of warranty work" cap.

 

[RobbieD]

Just carry a big roll of duct tape. If you have to run a smaller spare on an L/S axle, just run the duct tape around tire on the thread, until it's the right size. Problem solved.

 

[RonD]

Or skip the middle man, just use the roll of duct tape as the spare tire: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/j4BK4ZsMKJ8/maxresdefault.jpg

If you don't have this much on hand then you are not really a DIYer, you are just a "mechanic" and replace broken parts with new parts, which ANYONE can do

Actual largest roll of duct tape: https://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Largest_0cc80f_695174.jpg
but at 64" diameter too big for a spare tire but you could use it down to 30" or so