Upright Spare Tire Post/Arm?

Sorry to be bombarding ya'll with so many posts lately... but I've been meaning to ask this for weeks now.

I have a donut for a spare tire that came stock with the Sports. Since I got new rims, I have a full size spare now. I would like to put it where the donut is. But, I can't do this because the donut was so skinny, the metal arm that holds it in place is too short to go through a 215 regular size tire. I don't know what this "arm" is called, but it goes horizontally through the middle of the tire, and screws tight to hold it in place. Does anyone know what this thing is actually called and where I could get a longer one? I tried searching for this as "spare tire arm" or "spare tire post," but didn't get anything good. I'm thinking the Jeep dealer would have this, most likely?

Are we talking about mounting the spare inside the cargo area?

If so, that strikes me as odd - my '92 had a donut originally (mounts inside), and when I switched up to a full-size spare on factory rim, I had no problem with the length.

Since I moved up to 30s, though, the mounting point has turned out to be just a bit too low, so the nut is at an odd angle (been meaning to get a piece of metal plate and make an extender, but haven't gotten around to it yet). The length is still okay, though.

As an alternative to the dealer, what about a junkyard? Might be cheaper.

Rob

I have found that another issue arrises with the larger tire. The distance between the rear hatch the the inner fender will allow only up to certain size, full size spare. I took the strapping to the floor appoach. A strap has to be cheaper than a dealer

Yes, mounting the spare in the back, behind the back seats, on the left side, by the rear window. That is odd that a full size would fit in yours and not mine. Was your full size spare smaller than a 215? If so, maybe that's why. But if not, then I don't know. The arm only goes about half-way through the middle of the full size, so there's no way I can even try and screw it in place. Junk yard is a good idea, though.

luvme88xj said:

I have found that another issue arrises with the larger tire. The distance between the rear hatch the the inner fender will allow only up to certain size, full size spare. I took the strapping to the floor appoach. A strap has to be cheaper than a dealer

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Yeah. I have 215's right now and I'm planning on buying 30s some day, so I'm not sure if one of those would fit. But, I am also planning on getting a roof rack and putting the spare up there (when I get 30s), so I might not have to worry about it inside. I have also considered strapping it down in the back, but then there goes all my cargo space. : /

Have you tried turning the spare 180 degrees so the other side of the wheel is facing out? Might it be a backspacing issue?

Dave

Its the backspacing thats messing you up like CantonXJ described. Make sure the face of the wheel is facing the window and the rod gets moved up to the next hole in the body, also I belive the rod goes though the a hole for one of the lug nuts and not thought the center with a fullsize spare.

i had no problem mountin a 235/75R15 spare in the stocl location, like they said spin the wheel around

black93xj said:

also I belive the rod goes though the a hole for one of the lug nuts and not thought the center with a fullsize spare.

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yep, that's correct. i had a 30" spare back there with no problems for a while

In my 99 I have a 31 mounted in the stock spare location. I cut down a deal that holds the spare under the bed of a 77 Ford to fit inside the rim of the XJ and ran the "arm" thru the middle of the rim (with the face of the rim toward the window) and used an old nut and a couple of washers for spacers, then ran the "wing nut" over that.
I'll get a pic and post it tonight if needed.

FWIW... the "arm" in my 91 is shorter than the one in my 99.
If you run the "arm" thru the lug hole and it comes loose, even just a little, it will wallow out the hole. Had it happen to my spare on my old rims.

Thanks guys! I'm gonna try to put it in tonight.

XJ Jeepin Girl said:

Yes, mounting the spare in the back, behind the back seats, on the left side, by the rear window. That is odd that a full size would fit in yours and not mine. Was your full size spare smaller than a 215? If so, maybe that's why. But if not, then I don't know. The arm only goes about half-way through the middle of the full size, so there's no way I can even try and screw it in place. Junk yard is a good idea, though.

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Oh, good - we are talking about the same thing.

When I first went to a full-size, I was running 225/75R15 on the 5-spoke alloys. I have since moved up to 30s on the same rims, and it still fits (it's a tad of a tight fit against the back seat, but I can still latch the rear seatback on both sides).

As the other folks have said, with a full-size spare you put the tire in place so that when you look through the quarter window at it, you see the same face as the ones on the axles (this may be the opposite of how your donut was mounted, which can probably be mounted either way due to being narrower). Use the upper of the two holes on that little body bracket for the rod, and run it through one of the lug holes.

If you're having trouble picturing this, keep an eye peeled in parking lots for stock XJs running full-size spares and you'll see what I mean.

I wouldn't put a spare on the roof - that's awful heavy to risk dropping on your head, and it will take a bite out of your MPG. Stick with the stock cargo area mount unless/until you go larger than 30x9.50s.

Drifto77: I haven't had a "wallowing" issue yet that I know of, but I crank the spare down real tight (any time I hear it creak going over bumps, I give it another twist). Still, you make a valid point, and I'll probably check mine before I head for NACFest next week.

Oh, and definitely post the pic - sounds interesting. I'm sure a number of the folks running 31s might be interested. How's visibility with this setup?

Rob

Thanks Rob. Yes, I totally know what you are talking about, and which way the tire should face. I'll let you all know if it works out for me later today.

Rob Mayercik said:

Oh, and definitely post the pic - sounds interesting. I'm sure a number of the folks running 31s might be interested. How's visibility with this setup?

Rob

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Will do, but it will be LATE tonight.
No problems with the visibility, I dont use the inside mirror much though.
Still not a problem though.

Yup, you guys are right. It fits. The reason I didn't get it to fit before was because the face of the rim was facing me, not the window. Thanks for the help, all!

.

When I first got my 31s (Interco TrXus, so they're true-to-size), I put the spare in the stock location for a while, with no back seat (see this picture), though I found that a 31x10.5 tire is much too wide to use the stock 'hook' attachment. In that pic, it's held to the mount by a ratchet strap. I was going to buy a length of threaded rod and a connecting nut to lengthen the 'hook', but couldn't find any with the correct thread size/pitch. I eventually moved it to the floor because it was a heavy tire, and I wanted it to be more in the center of the Jeep.

Mambeu said:

I found that a 31x10.5 tire is much too wide to use the stock 'hook' attachment.

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Uhhhhh........ get one out of a 99.
Mine fits (BFG a/t ko 31x10.5) with threads to spare.

drifto77 said:

the "arm" in my 91 is shorter than the one in my 99.

Click to expand...

Rob....
heres the pics.......................
these are with the 30" spare mounted. I have not put the 31's back on it yet.
(switched tires with my 91 for my Colorado trip)
The 31" spare fits just fine too, but is a tight fit.

XJ Jeepin' Girl: Glad to be of help

Drifto77: Looks good and secure. Any concerns about the edges cutting into the rim?