So someone cut my spare tire off and I ordered a new carrier thinking it would be an easy thing to replace. The bolts that attach it to the frame come from the top and there's not a lot of room to work with. I called the dealer and the told me it should be an hour job. After I took the car in, they were working on it for 3 hours saying "everything is rusted under there" and that they need more time. They gave me a free rental and sent me home. That was yesterday. It's already almost 2 pm the next day and still no word from the dealer.
Spare tire carrier removal. Dealer keeping car overnight.
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Ralph Blake
Member
From what I have read in the past years,it's a high dollar item like all Toyota OEM parts. and if the bolts are rusted it is going to take time to get replaced I have read costing upwards to $800 parts and labor and not including the spare and it's rim and this was back in 08.
There was a lot of threads on people getting the cable cut and losing their spares. I bought a coiled heavy duty aircraft type security cable,and pulled it through my frame and the spare and locked it up high where it's not easy to cut off the lock.
The tire thieves have so far left my spare alone.
There was a lot of threads on people getting the cable cut and losing their spares. I bought a coiled heavy duty aircraft type security cable,and pulled it through my frame and the spare and locked it up high where it's not easy to cut off the lock.
The tire thieves have so far left my spare alone.
Ralph Blake
Member
What was the cost of the carrier Assy. and was it a Toyota OEM?
Ralph Blake
Member
It is OEM. Got it online for $122. It is a different design that uses a chain instead of a line to support the wheel.
Ralph Blake
Member
That sounds great anything has to be better, then the carrier system Toyota provided for the 08.
jmoskow
Member
Undercarriage is super clean! Looks great!
TechWrench
Senior Member
I have done this job twice, on two different vehicles, and I can say that it isn't nearly as easy as it looks if the bolts are rusted. The bolts can only be reached from the top, and there isn't a lot of room to work in. I had to use an air hammer to cut all of them off, there are 6. Once you get the bolts cut loose, installing the new one is fairly simple.
Davy180
New member
If they try to charge you more then you were quoted then tell them you didn't approve them to continue working past the agreement amount of time/money. What they should of or had to do is stop working past the agreed amount of time, normally 1 or 2 hours and call you and let you know that it is taking longer then expected and you would have to approve them to continue working on it. I used to be a technician and at this point the tech that did this is going to get screwed and you will win. He will only get paid what you were told it would take no matter how much time he spent on it.
If you didn't give them authorization for more money then you're only obligated to pay what you were originally quoted.
I think there might have actually been a warranty extension for these as they did rust easy and the cables frayed, reasoning for the switch to chain.
TechWrench
Senior Member
In the dealers defense, there are 6 bolts to remove, not two. They are difficult to get to. And if they are badly rusted, they can be a real PITA to remove. I know, because I have done this job twice on my own vehicles.
That being said, they should stand by their original quote, unless they called to update you with additional problems and new cost estimate, and you approved it.
Skip the under the carriage tire carrier and go with a Simple drop down... https://forum.ih8mud.com/attachments/75dade73-3fc3-4205-8a8a-a04fdfd76c14-jpeg.2515593/
Anyone else with knowledge of the warranty extension? I haven’t attempted this repair yet, but my winch cable is frayed and the bolts are rusted. I am dreading needing to put a spare on in the middle of nowhere and not being able to drop it.
AuSeeker
Elite Member
I'm not aware if there was ever a warranty extension for 4th or 5th Gen 4Runners, but if there was one it would of expired long ago, all warranty extensions have a expiration date, to put your mind at ease you might as well bite the bullet and replace it.
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ArthurKotb
Member
The one on my 2004 got stuck going up but down was okay. I hadn't read in here about the problems. If your carrier is rusted then it's a pretty difficult job to get to the bolts. Land Cruisers and Sequoias have a lot more room to access the top bolts. If they're rusted you would probably need an air chisel to cut them off. Even then, the bolts are threaded into the cross member and have to be drilled out.
I took the plastic cover off and shot WD-40 then Lithium grease into the mechanism while turning and jiggling the crank. Eventually it freed itself and I was able to put more grease on it. It's going to be a once a year maintenance item for me now.
In the attached picture you can see 2 of the bolts coming down from the top. There is almost no clearance on top of the cross member for a wrench.
I took the plastic cover off and shot WD-40 then Lithium grease into the mechanism while turning and jiggling the crank. Eventually it freed itself and I was able to put more grease on it. It's going to be a once a year maintenance item for me now.
In the attached picture you can see 2 of the bolts coming down from the top. There is almost no clearance on top of the cross member for a wrench.
Attachments
It's a gigantic pain in the rear but it's not particularly difficult, just unpleasant. Our 2009's hoist cable had totally frozen into place -- I assume due to corrosion. I ordered the "new" replacement part which, like 5th gen 4Runners, has a chain rather than a cable, and the six bolts that attach it to the car.
I cut the old cable so as to drop the spare. Everything in terms of mounting bolds was rusted together so while I had the part on order, I stopped by the local mechanic and had them cut the old one off. They didn't even charge me for that.
We don't have much rust under the car, but for some reason the area immediately above the spare was pretty rusty. I cleaned up the rear with a wire wheel and painted on some POR15.
Recommendation: you definitely want to order the OEM bolts; you might as well do it at the same time as the new hoist. They're just metric bolts, I forget what thread, but at any rate they are perfectly sized to fit into an insanely tight space. To get them started, you kind of have to use your fingers and scrape your knuckles; once they're started, you can get an open-ended wrench, then a short socket on there an get them tightened down. The hardest part of the job is getting the bolts started.
Long and short, I can't see how a dealer -- which, after all, has all the right tools -- could take more than an hour to do this job.
I cut the old cable so as to drop the spare. Everything in terms of mounting bolds was rusted together so while I had the part on order, I stopped by the local mechanic and had them cut the old one off. They didn't even charge me for that.
We don't have much rust under the car, but for some reason the area immediately above the spare was pretty rusty. I cleaned up the rear with a wire wheel and painted on some POR15.
Recommendation: you definitely want to order the OEM bolts; you might as well do it at the same time as the new hoist. They're just metric bolts, I forget what thread, but at any rate they are perfectly sized to fit into an insanely tight space. To get them started, you kind of have to use your fingers and scrape your knuckles; once they're started, you can get an open-ended wrench, then a short socket on there an get them tightened down. The hardest part of the job is getting the bolts started.
Long and short, I can't see how a dealer -- which, after all, has all the right tools -- could take more than an hour to do this job.
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