Spare tire damaged from factory

[ace1642]

Does anyone else’s spare tire look like this?

It looks like this pointed bracket in front of the spare tire is actually into my tires tread.
It looks like it is holding air and not leaking but it looks pretty deep into my treads. I think that’s definitely a safety concern.

Don’t know why Ford put that there. Maybe it’s a safety thing in case I’m rear ended, but if it compromises your spare tire doesn’t make sense either way.
I’m going to send these pictures to my dealer and see what they say. I only have 300 miles on my truck

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[Takk]

It definitely should not be like that. There are other posts on here that describe the toothed bracket as a safety device to perform an emergency deflate on the tire in the case of a serious accident.

When I pick mine up tomorrow you can definitely bet I'll be shimmying my way under the truck in the dealer's lot now.

 

[APD]

Have you tried the most obvious thing: pushing it back away from from the teeth?

 

[1929]

Have you tried the most obvious thing: pushing it back away from from the teeth?

Agree. Loosen the mount and adjust the wheel / tire away from the deflate device. Not normal for it to touch the tire.

 

[MostlySafeBear]

I'm curious about the reason for the 'deflate device/bracket' being there in the first place. Obviously it's to deflate the tire in the event of an accident, but why?

 

[APD]

In a crash situation modern cars are designed to protect the occupants by absorbing the energy of the collision. This mean crush zones.
What you dont want is solid frame members or other parts of the vehicle moving into the cabin. In a rear end collision the tire would be pushed forward. By popping it, it would absorb some energy, become smaller, and less likely to be driven into the cabin area.

 

[APD]

Don’t know why Ford put that there. Maybe it’s a safety thing in case I’m rear ended, but if it compromises your spare tire doesn’t make sense either way.

If you get hit hard enough to pop that tire, you wont need a spare tire. You'll need a spare vehicle.

 

[Knine]

My guess would be that at some point unloading the vehicle it bottomed out on the tire driving it forward.
There was a run of cars in the 80's that a manufacturer didn't put an adequate roof support in and the roofs were buckled when they were rolled off the car carriers.

 

[Clock Doc]

Is that the wheel that came with the truck or did you buy another full sized tire to replace the donut spare? The reason I ask is because the factory full size spare is still smaller than the actual road wheels. Other posts have mentioned the saw tooth being an issue if you swap them out.

 

[Hcopter]

This video discusses that part and shows it with a mini spare, which sits pretty close, so I can imagine the full size spare may be right up against it.

 

[Bmr4mav]

Then imagine how bad it would be when you try to fit an actual full size tire in there. XL takeoff in back. Full-size hybrid spare in front.
I mounted an XL combo on today and had to cut the teeth off for it to fit without fear of accidental popping. Tire barely touches the hitch but teeth had to go.

 

[RichardCranium]

Then imagine how bad it would be when you try to fit an actual full size tire in there. XL takeoff in back. Full-size hybrid spare in front.
I mounted an XL combo on today and had to cut the teeth off for it to fit without fear of accidental popping. Tire barely touches the hitch but teeth had to go.

so in other words a full size spare is not actually full size.
thanks for the pictures.

 

[Bmr4mav]

so in other words a full size spare is not actually full size.
thanks for the pictures.

not at all. What Ford actually means is it an actual wheel and tire (non-spare) meant for some vehicle other than a Maverick.

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