I spent hours on trying to drop tire using extractors and bars. Bought a new key figuring that the VIN would match the adapter for $100. Dumb move!! Didn't match. What was I thinking?? Called dealer and their factory trained tech said, beat adapter off. WTF??? Drove up and down the road looking for Ford pickups and asking people to borrow their key. Most couldn't find theirs and those that did ended up not being a match. How many configurations can there be?? By now a long list of adjectives have been used so I needed to step back, have a beer and reevaluate. Save time and aggravation and cut the damn cable.. Used my hot wrench and in 1 minute, the tire was on ground. Now you can reach up and pry that stupid adapter off. Total time, 5 minutes. Took old and new adapter along with key and thru them as far as I could never to be seen again. Thanks Ford...
Thanks for the video. This was extremely helpful. I got my truck used and the cable was retracted without the spare on it. I've been carrying the spare in the bed. Popped the lock off and now the tire is back under the truck where it belongs.
Nice, I just helped a lady stranded on the side of the road because of your video. We were out in the pouring rain and she couldn't figure out why her spare wouldn't lower and I watched your video in the rain and we found her key in her glove compartment. Thanks!
Well I’m also one that got saved from your video,I couldn’t understand why the hoist wasn’t coming down,but I soon found out why,Thanks alot,another satisfied Ford Owner
Driving the 9/16 on worked perfectly for my 2006 F250 Diesel. Pulled the plastic guide tube out first, wasn't that difficult. Wouldn't have tried, had you not suggested. Thanks - saved me a trip to Harbor Freight for an extractor (though I'm usually looking for reasons to go there) and a bunch of time and money trying to find a used key.
On my 2005 F350 long bed, I had to remove the plastic guide tube to fit my socket in. It pulled off fairly easily with a pair of channel lock pliers. I then used a #11 Craftsman bolt extractor socket. This socket is 1/2" drive, but I adapted down to 3/8" drive and used a long extension. I had to tap it on with a hammer to get it to bite, and then I was able to easily crank the spare tire down. After removing the wench and key, I found that the #11 extractor fit a narrow rim around the lock, and a #9 fit around the body of the lock, but a #10 would not fit either. After reassembly without the lock, the plastic guide tube snapped back in and the stock spare tire crank works nicely.
I was trying to get the winch down to put a new spare wheel on and was trying to figure out what was wrong and thanks to your video I was able to get the lock and to put my tire back and I called ford to see if I could get a new key they said yea but I have to bring in the truck because those are put in at randome and there are aproxammatly 20 difrent ones and the key itself is OVER 55 bucks plus tax so I am just going to leave the lock out and thank you so much for posting this video and saving us all money
+Cody Guntharp Thanks for sharing and I am glad I was able to save some money and for you explaining your situation, as it will probably help others in the future.
I had to do this task today with the help of this video. The "Bolt-Out" tool set at my Sears was $64.00. It has to be the 3/8" size Bolt-Out for my 1999 F350. There is a set for $31.00, but that will not work for my application. Anyway, I ended up using a 9/16 (on a 3/8 in. long extension) and whacked it a few times and I was able to easily lower the tire. Then I removed the awful tire lock and now I can use a 3/8 in. extension to lower the tire. Note: I employed the technique part of the video as it mentioned at the 59 sec mark.
I used a 6 point cheap 9/16, socket, works great, not to steal the thunder here, but everyone's got one and no extra cost, then remove the lock from the socket and your done. You do have to smack the socket on with a small hammer, I had to smack mine twice, then when I pulled it off the socket and lock came with it, the socket goes around the outside of the lock, so if your goal is to retain the lock, there's no damage to it.
Great video. I did not even have the key, let alone the special lock. But I found a piece of 1/2" rebar 36"-48" should be fine, with a 90 degree bend (for a handle) works great. All you need to do is pound the long end to get an oval shape. Just keep pounding until it fits into the key hole where the lock used to be ( used a 4 pound hammer and just pounded the rebar while cold). You can use the spare lock as a size guide for the rebar tip. I had the rebar laying around, but you could pick them up for a few dollars at a hardware store. Now I can keep my new "tool" with my jack behind the seat for future use. And it was all free for me. Total time-less than it took to write up this comment.
Hell yeah Trevor! Videos like this are why I love youtube (best invention since the book)! You solved it for me. I used a 14mm socket though on my 2004 f150 5.4L Off Road. Thanks for making the vid.
I HAVE A 2002 FORD F-350. I BOUGHT THE CRAFTSMAN 5-PC. BOLT-OUT PLUS ON SALE FOR $14.99. I TOOK THE PLASTIC TUBE OUT...TOOK THE PLASTIC GROMMOT OUT OF THE BUMPER. THE TOOL AND EXTENTIONS SLIPPED RIGHT THROUGH.THE #10 CRAFTSMAN BOLT-OUT DIDN'T WORK. I USED THE #9 AND IT WORKED PERFECTLY...EASY AS PIE. Z LA GRANGE, NC
did you know the tube that you went thru with that long extension, can be pulled out, thus exposing the lock that you can just pry off with a scew driver and then there is no need for any special tools or sockets. you can use the long spare tire rod that came with the truck (if it did come with truck)., to lower the spare tire or raise it.
I used a piece of PVC plumbing 3/4” to remove the old key. Bought a new one at ford and from Amazon I bought the replacement bar and tire wrench for 25$ snug had to use vice grips to remove from the end of the 3:4” pvc pice.
First off, thanks for the video! I was unable to get that gd plastic guide off, no matter what I tried or how much I wiggle the sob. I got the idea from another video to cut the cable, which will drop the tire, then fix the cable with a u-hook and some hardware afterwwards which is what I did. Once I decided this route it only took about 10 minutes to do. So, I used a plumbing hack saw, duct taped it to a pole. Then you fish that between the bumper and the bed and cut the wire. Literally only took about 4 min to cut through the cable. Once it dropped, I could (finally) yank that gd plastic tube off. Mine was never just going to pop off, it has two guides (180 degrees apart) and two snap like tabs (180 degrees apart). I would have never been able to get it off by pulling alone. Once the tire was down I twisted the b.... and came off. Then unbolted the winch, pullled it down. Hack sawed the bolt that was on the end of the cable off the metal spare tire support thingy to get it off. Then thread the cable through the hole and secure it with a u-bolt and hardware. Done!
Good video. Very helpful. However, the access hole in the bumper of my F-150 was too small to allow the extractor and 7/8 socket thru. Had to remove the bumper and then the plastic jack guide that sits around the lock in order to gain access to the lock. Also, the #10 extractor was too big for the lock. Fortunately, I was able to use a #7, which did the job just fine. Once the tire was down, the lock was very easily removed with a flat head screwdriver. I've seen another video where the user actually removed the winch to remove the lock. Which would have been way more work than needed.
Don't bother for a 2016 model. They must have made it bigger cause the #10 doesn't fit. Try the next size up or do what I did and grind away at the inside of a 12 point 5/8 socket until you can drive it onto the outside diameter of the lock. Then everything else is the same.
Put the extension through the hole in the bumper first without the socket, and then put the socket on from underneath the bumper once your extension is through the hole. Let me know if I understood your question and this solved things for you correctly.
Ditch1221 Hey, on my truck their is a plastic tube about 14 " long that is used as a guide for the rod Pull it off your stuck socket will be inside then you can reach the stupid lock nut I had to give the easy out a couple taps with a hammer to get it to bite but job done!!!!
No need for an extractor socket Kurt or to remove the mechanism For those that don't have a special key I bought my 02 f150 last november2014.....just found out I had no special key, bought the socket extractor, which was not much help, so I took off the back bumper 4bolts, not real hard to remove and gave me more room to work, after that with an hax saw and blade turned sideways I cut the plastic tube as close as possible to the special bolt that lowers the tire, unnecessary thought to cut the tube, tube will pull out exposing the bolt, which I was then able to pry off and just like kurt showed in his video, woohoo.....put tube back in tapping with a hammer, put the bumper back on , used the no need for special key and just the rods that come with the truck to lower the spare tire.......
Anti-theft my ass. I had a flat in the wal-mart parking lot. And my key wouldn't go in the lock. So i beat it out with a flathead screwdriver and a concrete hammer. Only took me about a minute.
Yeah Man I"m With Ya, I Was Stuck Out in The Snow in The North Dakota Oil Patch @ 3 a.m. & Even The Tow Truck Driver Didn't Have The Special Socket...Whoever Was The Engineer Who Thought up That Idea, Must Have Had Way Too Much Kool-aid With His Lunch That Day...
Ford makes amazing vehicles I love their trucks but they are hard as fuck to work on compared to other trucks everything is in a small tight place you gotta take other stuff apart to get to what you need 😂😂😭😭😭
DAMN Sir, you just saved me $100.00+ according to the Ford Dealership here in town, that's what was quoted for a new Key. what a rip off these guys really are.
Sorry but they are not all that easy to get to. First theres a plastic cone in the way. And no your not going pull it off with vice grips even if you could it would only move back about 3 or 4 inches without removing the bumper. It goes though two holes though two brackets so you are not going to pull it back and let it drop down. It would be great if you had all the room this guy had.The plastic cone fits to tight over the lock to put anything on it to remove it. This is a 2002 ford 150.
Jeff Andrews, this is for those that have bought a used truck, lost their lock, or had their lock taken. Of course it isn’t for those that already have a key for their lock.
10 years later and still finding this great video useful. I had my key, but it appears to have been lightly stripped by the previous owner.
I spent hours on trying to drop tire using extractors and bars. Bought a new key figuring that the VIN would match the adapter for $100. Dumb move!! Didn't match. What was I thinking?? Called dealer and their factory trained tech said, beat adapter off. WTF??? Drove up and down the road looking for Ford pickups and asking people to borrow their key. Most couldn't find theirs and those that did ended up not being a match. How many configurations can there be?? By now a long list of adjectives have been used so I needed to step back, have a beer and reevaluate. Save time and aggravation and cut the damn cable.. Used my hot wrench and in 1 minute, the tire was on ground. Now you can reach up and pry that stupid adapter off. Total time, 5 minutes. Took old and new adapter along with key and thru them as far as I could never to be seen again. Thanks Ford...
Thanks for the video. This was extremely helpful. I got my truck used and the cable was retracted without the spare on it. I've been carrying the spare in the bed. Popped the lock off and now the tire is back under the truck where it belongs.
Nice, I just helped a lady stranded on the side of the road because of your video. We were out in the pouring rain and she couldn't figure out why her spare wouldn't lower and I watched your video in the rain and we found her key in her glove compartment. Thanks!
Well I’m also one that got saved from your video,I couldn’t understand why the hoist wasn’t coming down,but I soon found out why,Thanks alot,another satisfied Ford Owner
Driving the 9/16 on worked perfectly for my 2006 F250 Diesel. Pulled the plastic guide tube out first, wasn't that difficult. Wouldn't have tried, had you not suggested. Thanks - saved me a trip to Harbor Freight for an extractor (though I'm usually looking for reasons to go there) and a bunch of time and money trying to find a used key.
On my 2005 F350 long bed, I had to remove the plastic guide tube to fit my socket in. It pulled off fairly easily with a pair of channel lock pliers. I then used a #11 Craftsman bolt extractor socket. This socket is 1/2" drive, but I adapted down to 3/8" drive and used a long extension. I had to tap it on with a hammer to get it to bite, and then I was able to easily crank the spare tire down. After removing the wench and key, I found that the #11 extractor fit a narrow rim around the lock, and a #9 fit around the body of the lock, but a #10 would not fit either. After reassembly without the lock, the plastic guide tube snapped back in and the stock spare tire crank works nicely.
I was trying to get the winch down to put a new spare wheel on and was trying to figure out what was wrong and thanks to your video I was able to get the lock and to put my tire back and I called ford to see if I could get a new key they said yea but I have to bring in the truck because those are put in at randome and there are aproxammatly 20 difrent ones and the key itself is OVER 55 bucks plus tax so I am just going to leave the lock out and thank you so much for posting this video and saving us all money
+Cody Guntharp Thanks for sharing and I am glad I was able to save some money and for you explaining your situation, as it will probably help others in the future.
I need to meet the Ford engineer that came up with this design so I can gut punch that A hold. 🤣
I'll bring the duct tape!!
I had to do this task today with the help of this video. The "Bolt-Out" tool set at my Sears was $64.00. It has to be the 3/8" size Bolt-Out for my 1999 F350. There is a set for $31.00, but that will not work for my application. Anyway, I ended up using a 9/16 (on a 3/8 in. long extension) and whacked it a few times and I was able to easily lower the tire. Then I removed the awful tire lock and now I can use a 3/8 in. extension to lower the tire. Note: I employed the technique part of the video as it mentioned at the 59 sec mark.
I used a 6 point cheap 9/16, socket, works great, not to steal the thunder here, but everyone's got one and no extra cost, then remove the lock from the socket and your done.
You do have to smack the socket on with a small hammer, I had to smack mine twice, then when I pulled it off the socket and lock came with it, the socket goes around the outside of the lock, so if your goal is to retain the lock, there's no damage to it.
Big thanks for this instruction!! really saved me at 2 in the morning!
I am glad it could help.. And thanks for the kudos...
Thank you for your post... pounded mine (2007 F350 Diesel) with a generic 9/16 socket i had and got my spare tire down and took the lock off.
Great video. I did not even have the key, let alone the special lock. But I found a piece of 1/2" rebar 36"-48" should be fine, with a 90 degree bend (for a handle) works great. All you need to do is pound the long end to get an oval shape. Just keep pounding until it fits into the key hole where the lock used to be ( used a 4 pound hammer and just pounded the rebar while cold). You can use the spare lock as a size guide for the rebar tip. I had the rebar laying around, but you could pick them up for a few dollars at a hardware store. Now I can keep my new "tool" with my jack behind the seat for future use. And it was all free for me. Total time-less than it took to write up this comment.
I love that ingenuity!! Great job.
Thanks man. I was going crazy thinking I was doing something wrong to make it not work.
You’re very welcome.. Glad it was useful to you.
Hell yeah Trevor! Videos like this are why I love youtube (best invention since the book)! You solved it for me. I used a 14mm socket though on my 2004 f150 5.4L Off Road. Thanks for making the vid.
Kyran Keisling, thanks for the kudos ... and I am so glad it was of use to you...
Thanks for posting this I was about to swear louder than the interstate beside me.
+David Hoover Thanks David, I hope it helped.
Thank you for posting this! you just saved me time and money!
sstingrae777 Thanks for the reply Sting...I am glad it helped. Ford was out of their minds when they thought this up...
I HAVE A 2002 FORD F-350. I BOUGHT THE CRAFTSMAN 5-PC. BOLT-OUT PLUS ON SALE FOR $14.99. I TOOK THE PLASTIC TUBE OUT...TOOK THE PLASTIC GROMMOT OUT OF THE BUMPER. THE TOOL AND EXTENTIONS SLIPPED RIGHT THROUGH.THE #10 CRAFTSMAN BOLT-OUT DIDN'T WORK. I USED THE #9 AND IT WORKED PERFECTLY...EASY AS PIE. Z LA GRANGE, NC
Zack Apperson Thanks Zack for letting me know .. I have put some of your information in the video notes so people will know that other sizes can work.
did you know the tube that you went thru with that long extension, can be pulled out, thus exposing the lock that you can just pry off with a scew driver and then there is no need for any special tools or sockets. you can use the long spare tire rod that came with the truck (if it did come with truck)., to lower the spare tire or raise it.
you just saved me a head ache. Thank you sir
I used a piece of PVC plumbing 3/4” to remove the old key. Bought a new one at ford and from Amazon I bought the replacement bar and tire wrench for 25$ snug had to use vice grips to remove from the end of the 3:4” pvc pice.
OMG. Just saved me $50 on a new key! Thank you!
I am curious, the socket #10 is equivalent to 10mm ?
First off, thanks for the video! I was unable to get that gd plastic guide off, no matter what I tried or how much I wiggle the sob. I got the idea from another video to cut the cable, which will drop the tire, then fix the cable with a u-hook and some hardware afterwwards which is what I did. Once I decided this route it only took about 10 minutes to do. So, I used a plumbing hack saw, duct taped it to a pole. Then you fish that between the bumper and the bed and cut the wire. Literally only took about 4 min to cut through the cable. Once it dropped, I could (finally) yank that gd plastic tube off. Mine was never just going to pop off, it has two guides (180 degrees apart) and two snap like tabs (180 degrees apart). I would have never been able to get it off by pulling alone. Once the tire was down I twisted the b.... and came off. Then unbolted the winch, pullled it down. Hack sawed the bolt that was on the end of the cable off the metal spare tire support thingy to get it off. Then thread the cable through the hole and secure it with a u-bolt and hardware. Done!
i have a 2010 f350 just got a new spare tire hoist, also got the tool roll kit. does the 2010 f350 have this lock shit
Well you were at 420 likes, but I just had to give you another.
do you know if this works for a 2010 ford f250?
Good video. Very helpful. However, the access hole in the bumper of my F-150 was too small to allow the extractor and 7/8 socket thru. Had to remove the bumper and then the plastic jack guide that sits around the lock in order to gain access to the lock. Also, the #10 extractor was too big for the lock. Fortunately, I was able to use a #7, which did the job just fine. Once the tire was down, the lock was very easily removed with a flat head screwdriver. I've seen another video where the user actually removed the winch to remove the lock. Which would have been way more work than needed.
Excellent! Thanks!
I have 2000 Ford F-250. Is craftsman #10 the right 🔧??? ☺
Don't bother for a 2016 model. They must have made it bigger cause the #10 doesn't fit. Try the next size up or do what I did and grind away at the inside of a 12 point 5/8 socket until you can drive it onto the outside diameter of the lock. Then everything else is the same.
I just tried this and the 7/8 socket won't fit through the hole in the bumper.That plastic sleeve don't want to come out of the wench.Any ideas?
Put the extension through the hole in the bumper first without the socket, and then put the socket on from underneath the bumper once your extension is through the hole. Let me know if I understood your question and this solved things for you correctly.
are you using a half inch drive, short 7/8 socket like in the picture... and the easy out from craftsman?
Ditch1221 Hey, on my truck their is a plastic tube about 14 " long that is used as a guide for the rod Pull it off your stuck socket will be inside then you can reach the stupid lock nut I had to give the easy out a couple taps with a hammer to get it to bite but job done!!!!
Wayne Miller Could you please tell me an easy way to remove that plastic tube? THanks
No need for an extractor socket Kurt or to remove the mechanism
For those that don't have a special key
I bought my 02 f150 last november2014.....just found out I had no special key, bought the socket extractor, which was not much help, so I took off the back bumper 4bolts, not real hard to remove and gave me more room to work, after that with an hax saw and blade turned sideways I cut the plastic tube as close as possible to the special bolt that lowers the tire, unnecessary thought to cut the tube, tube will pull out exposing the bolt, which I was then able to pry off and just like kurt showed in his video, woohoo.....put tube back in tapping with a hammer, put the bumper back on , used the no need for special key and just the rods that come with the truck to lower the spare tire.......
How do you get the plastic tube out ?
where u able to get the socket by itself or had to buy the whole set
billy bob I bought the set... but like 19.99
billy bob but I think one guy drove a 12 point socket, like a 9/16 on it and that worked..
Trevor Davis ok I just brought the set at sears today the sets able to take the 1/2 inch drive so I'm going to give it a try thanks
I have the same problem why the f*** would they do this stupid s*** unbelievable
Anti-theft my ass. I had a flat in the wal-mart parking lot. And my key wouldn't go in the lock. So i beat it out with a flathead screwdriver and a concrete hammer. Only took me about a minute.
Let's give Ford a big "Screw you" for their invention.
No Doubt. At least the F150 isn't that bad, but still sucks with the jack provided.
Yeah Man I"m With Ya, I Was Stuck Out in The Snow in The North Dakota Oil Patch @ 3 a.m. & Even The Tow Truck Driver Didn't Have The Special Socket...Whoever Was The Engineer Who Thought up That Idea, Must Have Had Way Too Much Kool-aid With His Lunch That Day...
Ford makes amazing vehicles I love their trucks but they are hard as fuck to work on compared to other trucks everything is in a small tight place you gotta take other stuff apart to get to what you need 😂😂😭😭😭
DAMN Sir, you just saved me $100.00+ according to the Ford Dealership here in town, that's what was quoted for a new Key. what a rip off these guys really are.
Sorry but they are not all that easy to get to. First theres a plastic cone in the way. And no your not going pull it off with vice grips even if you could it would only move back about 3 or 4 inches without removing the bumper. It goes though two holes though two brackets so you are not going to pull it back and let it drop down. It would be great if you had all the room this guy had.The plastic cone fits to tight over the lock to put anything on it to remove it. This is a 2002 ford 150.
thank you!!!!
Great! Teach criminals how to steal my tires...
Anthony Williamson hahaha...
If the theft wants it the theft will take it no matter what..
Wow Ford Company make it so difficult for a lot of people including me Damn is so bad i can't even remove my spare tire still 😡😠😏😏😏😏
ok but why not just have the key in your glove box??
Jeff Andrews, this is for those that have bought a used truck, lost their lock, or had their lock taken. Of course it isn’t for those that already have a key for their lock.
What if the first owner lost it?
I love Ford but damn it's a bitch to do anything to their trucks.
I also have an F550 with a 6.0... this is a nightmare engine because of the fuel system.
fukkin camera all over the place,
Don't do this! Your tool will get stuck down in the hole and you will have a helluva time getting it back out!
Phillip Herder what hole?? I say in here to pull the plastic tube off