Stuck spare tire winch

[codemonkey]

The winch to rasie and lower my spare tire is stuck. I got about an inch down and then it wouldn't go any farther down, but won't go up either. No amount of pulling or pushing will make it budge now.

I do have it without spare right now since I have slightly larger tires on, but was hoping to see what it would take to stuff that spare underneath. Guess that will have to wait until I get the winch unstuck.

Is this common? Should I just take it to the dealer?

 

[jimbiram]

I don't think it is common, although I had mine replaced last month. Seems that the dealer broke it while lowering my spare, which is carried deflated due to it's size 285x60x18. They covered it under the extended warranty, though, and they said it was the first time they saw it at LRMV.

 

[Trynian]

Sounds like you bound up the cable. Without the weight of the spare on it you have to pull on it as you turn the the bolt to lower it.

Try winching it back up slow while pulling on the cable to see if you can unbind the cable.

It is not to hard to remove it if needed.