Wheel cover on spare tire?
03-24-2011, 06:21 PM
#1
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Wheel cover on spare tire?
Please no "bashing the rookie" comments ... but one of my tires has serious wear and needs changing. I would like to use my spare for the meantime because I plan on getting larger tires within the next 6 months. My question is how to remove the wheel cover and properly install on the spare? 
03-24-2011, 07:38 PM
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Hey no problem man, most on here are very helpful and we've all been new at something along the way. The spare tire drops down using a crank tol that is found behind your rear seat with the jack. Your owners manual show how to do this pretty good.You basically just turn the crank and the wheel will lower to the ground and you unhook it.
To take off the wheel cover, get a small pry bar and a heavy cloth or piece of rubber and carefully pry up on the edge of the wheel cover and slowly work your way around it, you'll see it start to lift out as you gently pry. Try not to dig up the wheels when doing this. After the covers off, break free each lugnut with a tire iron or socket set, but don't remove, just loosen a turn or two. Then jack the truck up (be sure your on level ground and have a tire chocked). Once in the air remove the lugnuts and remove the tire. Swap the tires and tighten the lugnuts hand tight. Lower the jack down so the tire tread is just on the ground, not the weight of the truck though. Torque the lugnuts down in a criss cross pattern (start with one, go across the hub to the next and so on). Torque each lugnut to 100-110 ft lbs. To put the hub cap back on, just center it and puch in. Give a hit or two with your palm and be sure it is seated.
Hope this helps, youtube, and google are great places to find beginner videos on this kinda stuff too... Good Luck
To take off the wheel cover, get a small pry bar and a heavy cloth or piece of rubber and carefully pry up on the edge of the wheel cover and slowly work your way around it, you'll see it start to lift out as you gently pry. Try not to dig up the wheels when doing this. After the covers off, break free each lugnut with a tire iron or socket set, but don't remove, just loosen a turn or two. Then jack the truck up (be sure your on level ground and have a tire chocked). Once in the air remove the lugnuts and remove the tire. Swap the tires and tighten the lugnuts hand tight. Lower the jack down so the tire tread is just on the ground, not the weight of the truck though. Torque the lugnuts down in a criss cross pattern (start with one, go across the hub to the next and so on). Torque each lugnut to 100-110 ft lbs. To put the hub cap back on, just center it and puch in. Give a hit or two with your palm and be sure it is seated.
Hope this helps, youtube, and google are great places to find beginner videos on this kinda stuff too... Good Luck
03-24-2011, 08:39 PM
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Great stuff, but my trouble lies in removing the entire wheel cover...not the lug nut cover. My goal is to put an existing wheel cover on my spare tire. Sorry, now that I reread my post, I see how it looks like I'm just trying to change a tire. I assumed that it comes off like the lug nut cover, but it doesn't seem to want to budge. Thanks again for your help!
Last edited by scruto459; 03-24-2011 at 08:42 PM.
03-24-2011, 09:58 PM
#4
DIY
a picture may help... its not usual to have a wheel cover in an F150.
but if you have a wheel cover like this:
you just have to pry it grabbing from the inside and pulling. most times is just kept in place with pressure.
This other image can give you an idea what is behind the cover: some plastic tabs and a metallic ring. so, just pull.
but if you have a wheel cover like this:
you just have to pry it grabbing from the inside and pulling. most times is just kept in place with pressure.
This other image can give you an idea what is behind the cover: some plastic tabs and a metallic ring. so, just pull.
Last edited by picaflor; 03-24-2011 at 10:01 PM.