Koz

First let me say I'm a loyal Toyota enthusiast, I’m going on my forth Toyota vehicle (05 T4R V8 Limited, any day now). That said, they have got to be kidding with the spare tire and jack set-up on the Tacoma. I had my first flat tire on my 98 supercharged PreRunner last week. I was on my way home from work. It was the driver’s rear tire (31x10.5x15). In the storage compartment for the jack I had put a pair of leather work gloves just for this event. I find the wheel lock key and the key for the spare tire lock. I figured the tire is outside and can be taken easily, so when new, I installed the Toyota spare tire lock. I pull out the jack and 4 piece crank (key, crank, and 2 extensions. Put it all together, take off my tie and put on the gloves.

The fun begins! There is no way to get the spare tire key to line-up to crank the spare down without a flashlight. No problem, I keep a Maglight under seat. OK the spare is on the ground. I have crawl under the bed to get the center mount off the rim to release the spare. Pain In The Ass (PITA) Loosen the lug nuts and lock. I place the jack under the rear axle just like in the little picture on the jack (PITA). Again, this is the first time this equipment and spare is used, brand new. I start to crank the jack up and with each turn it gets harder to crank (PITA). It gets to a point when the jack is fully extended. I take off the lugs + flat tire and guess what? The jack didn’t lift the vehicle high enough to get the spare on. Talk about being pissed off. Luckily I’m two miles from home and I have my cell with me. I call the wife and have her pick me up and take me home to get a floor jack, and take me back. Talk about a cheesy POS jack set-up!

Moral of the story, check your ˟˟˟˟ out before you depend on it. I carry a portable floor jack now.

Koz

wvuviv30

interesting... you should show the dealer... see what he says... if he says NO WAY... prove it to him...

nees1212

I had the exact same thing occur with mine. Except, it took me forever to locate someone to bring me something out to get it high enough. I ended up using a couple small concrete blocks. Now I carry one of them along with some pieces of 2x6. Anyways, I went straight to Toyota, because I was pissed. They wouldn't do anything about it, because no-one else has ever had the problem. I tried to prove it to them, but they didn't care. I even wrote Toyota, and I got no response.

rimpainter.com

I never had a problem with my Taco's bottle jack

I had the LTD with 31's. Did you upgrade the tires? Maybe the jack was for a Prerunner with smaller tires. I don't see how that would be smart on Toyota's part, but you never know. Just curious.

Koz

I had the TRD off-road package, which comes stock with the 31" tires.

Koz

PoBoy

Are you sure the jack was fully extended? Most have a second layer inside...so it looks like it is fully extended, but keep cranking and another layer pops out.

yellowspeedracer

no he's right, it is a bit short.
i haven't tried the back but when i had a flat while 4wheelin i had to use a rock under the jack to get the front up high enough. when i changed it back at home on level ground the jack was high enough but just bearly. toyota could've given us an extra inch or 2.

as far as the tire lift and key issues, i haven't had any problems

Roadtripr

it might have been the lack of level ground because it worked fine at home in my garage (265/70/16 ~30.5")

rimpainter.com

Were you guys jacking it up off the correct part of the truck?

Keggo

You know... I had the same prob with a '94 Toyota Pickup... the little bottle jack had to have the help of a couple blocks of wood for enough height.. that IS ridiculous... if they're going to offer a package with bigger tires, they need to offer a bigger jack!

nees1212

I know I was using the correct part of the truck, because I double checked after finding out it was a couple inches too short. And I was on level ground in the middle of Dick's Sporting Goods parking lot.

Fink

I have heard of that happening before, a buddy of mine has a '99 and he had the same problem, I had to come pick him up and bring my craftsman floor jack with me.

**Minor Hijacking Below**

I have decided to wait on my hilift jack so now I will need something else to lift the rig in the event that one of the mudders goes flat...I know that Kobalt makes some bottlejacks that they sell at Lowe's...other than this, what are some other types of jacks that y'all keep in your rigs in the event of a flat?

**Hijacking complete**

Fink

Pretacopower

Same thing happened to me on a 1000 mile road trip up to Oregon last year. Got a flat on the freeway in the middle of nowhere only to find out that the factory jack didn't lift the truck up high enough :pat:

Luckily there was a gas station nearby. Just put some fix-a-flat in it (the stuff's a mess but it sure works wonders) and made it to a shop about 30 miles away.

yellowspeedracer

the bumpers, right?

Tacoma Dude

That's weird... my jack works just fine

Paul H.

Put a block of wood in your bed. A very cheap solution.

aviator

why not sell the POS factory jack (some sucker will buy it) and get yourself a nice 3-ton bottle jack its small enough it should fit in the stock storage space but big enough to lift the truck and a full load with no problem. (it would be faster then the little toy spinny thingy too. The only down side is you would have to get closer to the truck when lifting it, so be careful!.

my major headache is that the carrier thing for the spare is siezed on mine. I've tried all available fluids, so I pray not to get a flat...(that did it i'll get one on the way home now...). I think my next step will be to cut the cable and replace the assembly with a new one.

note to all to avoid this siezing problem you should exercise the thing at least twice a year. Lower it /lube it/raise it.
If the previous owner had done this I would'nt have this problem. Cheers Aviator

SHINYSIDEUP

I had the same problem on my 95 4Runner, of course it was 11 PM and raining! Couldn't get the truck lifted high enough. Had to call AAA to change my flat tire. BTW the guy said it happens all the time with Toyota trucks. When I mentioned it to my friend the Toyota mechanic he said I should keep a 4 x 4 block of wood in the truck. Still haven't done it.
Also have had lots of trouble with the spare tire carrier. You definitely want to lube and use that baby a couple of times a year on a nice sunny afternoon, which beats the hell out of doing it on a cold rainy night in your work clothes.
I was trying to think of something I could put on the hook (end) portion of the crank to keep it from slipping out of the cranking slot. I was considering conduit large enougn to slide over the crank and the slot.
One more thing. I painted the cranking slot with day glo paint to make it easier to see.

TechWrench

Cut a couple/three pieces of 2x6 into 6 inch square blocks and keep them behind the seat. You can then use what you need to make the jack easily reach the axle.

tombothetominator

Never had any problems with my bottle jack. im assuming that you have the bottle jack right, not the scissor jack that they throw in the cars? Definately check to make sure that it is fully extending, as was said earlier it has two 'layers' to it, and yes it does get harder to crank the higher you go. Worse case scenario, as was said earlier, get a nice heavy duty bottle jack and keep that with you.