97RangerXLT said:
If you want the bar, I'll send it for cost of shipping, it will be one less thing in my garage. good news is that you can put another bolt in it to replace the eyebolt. I also coated the bar with POR 15.
will dig it out. I am in North East Indianapolis, so not too far from you
AJ
AJ, I am awaiting your contact info. Where do I send the moolah?
AJ,
I received the spare tire bar over the weekend. THANK YOU!!!
Since I didn't want to pay for an expensive, rust-prone eyebolt from LMC, I had been trying to fit a 12mmx100mm long metric bolt in through one of the five holes in the rim into the tire carrier bar, and found that, unless the tire is lined up PERFECTLY with the bar's threaded hole, it was very difficult to insert without the danger of cross threading. (No wonder these eyebolts break!)
I came up with the brilliant (to me, at least) method of inserting the bolt and a lock-washer through the bar FROM UNDERNEATH. So when the flat tire is installed on the bar and rotated slightly so the bolt pokes through (UPWARDS), everything self aligns. A 12mm wing nut secures the rim to the bolt just fine for now. In future, I may glue or otherwise attach a 12mm nut to a plastic knob to make it easier to secure without tools.
Oh, yes, ALL the new fasteners: bolt, lockwasher, and wing nut, are stainless steel. I plan to fight FORD's rust gremlins and win.
The whole assembly will probably outlast the truck, LOL!