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Damaged Spare While Sitting Under The AV

B

Blueruck

Full Member
Joined
May 17, 2002
Messages
2,368
Tonight after 24K miles on the AV, I decided to understand how to lower my spare. :0:

Once I got it down, I noticed something very odd. The spare had areas on the side wall that were worn away from rubbing against the bottom of my AV. One spot pictured is kind of deep.

Where the tire has rubbed I have bare metal under the AV. :8:

It is going to the dealer this week for an inspection.

See picture of damage to the spare. The dark spots in the full tire shot are where it has been rubbing.

I suspect it left the factory not fully snug :(

You might want to drop your spare to have a look - glad I found this before I reached 36K :)
 

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Yep, you definitely want to keep that tire snug up against the bottom of the truck. It never occured to me that it might be delivered with the tire loose! :eek:

-- SS
 
Good Tip....If it was not raining and a hurricane coming I would go out and inspect.....
 
Hey Blueruck . . .

That's sure a dirty tire that you have there . . didn't your momma tell ya to stay out of the mud ;D ;D

Thanks for the tip . . . I'l check mine this weekend!
 
Funny, I noticed the same thing a few weeks ago after only 3K miles! I was replacing the 16" spare with a full size 17" on a spare factory alloy rim that I picked up from another member. It surprised me, and worried me a bit about the new tire and Rim combo, ($300) guess so.

Here's what I want to know though, how tight can you crank it up? seemed a little chinsey to me, so I was afraid to go Hulk Hogan on it!

BTW: I had my Dad fabricate a 17+" steel disk set to sandwich the wheel with. One side, (the mount side) has a larger hole in the center to allow the hanging bar to fit through after the disks are installed. They are held together with a couple/three springs that run through the vent slots of the wheels and simply connect together.

The reason... I was afraid of OEM alloy wheel damage from rocks or debris hitting it, and ..... it seperated the new tire($200) from the rubbing point of the vehicle. I could easily add a pad of some sort to further protect it if needed, I'll check it in a few hundred more miles. It also keeps the spare wheel clean, so that if I ever really need it, It's a once and done deal. No need to lift the truck with that whimpy lift twice. Also very good for a 5 tire rotation.

I figured I'd make that $300 back in the additional length of time it'll take to have to replace the tires due to normal wear and tear.

Great post though, sorry I didn't think of it.
 
I got to see the Service manager at the dealer today - he told me that was a problem and GM would replace my tire and recoat the under carriage of my truck.

However, they want me to bring it back in so the regional service rep can see it too on Monday - I will be a good guy and help the Generals's team out. :)
 
jbarrow said:
BTW: I had my Dad fabricate a 17+" steel disk set to sandwich the wheel with. ?One side, (the mount side) has a larger hole in the center to allow the hanging bar to fit through after the disks are installed. They are held together with a couple/three springs that run through the vent slots of the wheels and simply connect together.
Click to expand...

How about a picture of this thingy your dad made? Inquiring minds wanna see..... ;D
 
ygmn said:
Good Tip....If it was not raining and a hurricane coming I would go out and inspect.....
Click to expand...

Good luck w/ the 'cane! :eek: Buffet comin' up this Sat. We'll be dressed to party a la Mardi Gras ;)

Thanks! ;D
 
RCinSoCal said:
Good luck w/ the 'cane! ?:eek: Buffet comin' up this Sat. We'll be dressed to party a la Mardi Gras ?;)

Thanks! ?;D ? ?
Click to expand...

You got the Mardi Gras Beads?

You do know what women should show you before you give them a pair of beads huh >:D

I saved the more risque' ones for myself >:D
 
The concert was great, and the beads were terrific! Wish I'd a known about the "giving rule". Missed out there! :7:

Thanks again!
 
Folks it is time to RANT

I took my Av to the dealership I get good service from (Fisher Chevy in Boulder CO), which is not the dealer who sold me the AV (Century Chevy in Broomfield CO). Fisher had their GM area service rep look at my tire and the underside of my AV. She told me this was a dealer prep issue and I had to take it to the dealer who sold me the AV. They wish they could help me, but they couldn't.

Well I took it to Century and their service manger (Bill) was less than friendly and wouldn't even look at me or acknowledge me saying hello. Bill thought I was pulling a fast one by having a 16" Firestone spare under my AV. I explained the situation to him and showed him my tire.

Bill and his looser personality told me he would have to talk with his GM area service rep which is a different rep than the one I showed my AV to at Fisher - I told him about the other rep's comments.

Yesterday I called about the status of the spare fix, and they told me they would call me back. 24 hours later without a call, I called Century back. They told me the area service rep said it was normal for the spare to move around, to have damage to the sidewall and for the under coating to be missing. They said if I wasn't happy with that I could call GM.

I spent 30 minutes on the phone with GM who basically told me the service rep was the final word.

So I had some very firm discussions with GM and they are going to call both area service rep's. I was told that if the service rep denies fixing this then I will have to contact the BBB. During the call I also asked to have a formal complaint opened against the dealership. I am sure that fill do a lot of good :(

With all of that said, I am very excited right now and plan to push this as far as I need to push it. You can draw own conclusions about my feelings towards Century Chevy :8:
 
Blueruck,

It sounds like you had a miserable experience with Century. We haven't dealt with them. They seem to act pretty smug though.

One thing I will say is that Luby Chevrolet actually has a great sales department (or maybe it was just the salesman :)) but a bad service department. We had our AV specially ordered from Stevinson. On our old 1997 K1500 pickup, we had service issues. At 60,000 miles, it was diagnosed with piston slap. We were told that they were not going to do anything about the problem until the truck broke down. Besides, "THEY HAD NEVER REALLY HEARD OF PISTON SLAP. IT JUST SEEMS TO BE A RARE PROBLEM." What a bunch of liars :8: I'm sure most of us know the story on piston slap. It doesn't seem to be a problem on Avs (yet). I know your frustration.

The truck never did break down. We just lived with the piston slap for 30,000 miles. In fact, we took it to Pennsylvania in July of 2001 with 85,000 miles on it and we didn't have any problems!

Rant done. Good luck, Blueruck.
 
Well, I looked at my spare. It was snug, but guess what. IT IS A FREAKIN FIRESTONE SPARE :8:
I've had my Av for about 4 months and this is the first time I've even looked at the spair. Stupid me. Will my dealer replace the firestone with a Goodyear like the othe four tires on my truck or will I be wasting my time? Thanks.

JB
 
thumper05 said:
Well, I looked at my spare. It was snug, but guess what. IT IS A FREAKIN FIRESTONE SPARE :8:
I've had my Av for about 4 months and this is the first time I've even looked at the spair. Stupid me. Will my dealer replace the firestone with a Goodyear like the othe four tires on my truck or will I be wasting my time? Thanks.

JB
Click to expand...

JB - I think you would be wasting your time - as I understand, all 2002 1500's came with the 16" Firestone spare. There have been other post on the site on this subject and I understand it will NOT damage your AV if you have to use the spare.
 
well my problem continues

GM says they won't replace the spare or fix my under coating and the dealership says it is not their problem.

I have been told by GM this is a common problem for all AV's :8: In fact the GM of the dealership said they pulled in two brand new AV's and they have the same problem. Funny, my problem happened from driving several thousand miles with a spare that wasn't tight. I wonder how GM can deliver brand new trucks with damage that takes several thousand miles to happen.

I have not accpeted the BS I got fromt he GM, and he hasn't called me back for a week or more. I am tired of chasing them, so I filed a complaint with the BBB today and forwarded the complaint to the dealership via e-mail.

I might have got a good deal at Century Chevy in Broomfield CO - but I will never buy from them again. I couldn't figure out why some of their SA's are rude, and I now see the problem starts at the top and filters down. :6:
 
Blueruck said:
well my problem continues

GM says they won't replace the spare or fix my under coating and the dealership says it is not their problem.

I have been told by GM this is a common problem for all AV's ?:8: In fact the GM of the dealership said they pulled in two brand new AV's and they have the same problem. ?Funny, my problem happened from driving several thousand miles with a spare that wasn't tight. ?I wonder how GM can deliver brand new trucks with damage that takes several thousand miles to happen.

I have not accpeted the BS I got fromt he GM, and he hasn't called me back for a week or more. ?I am tired of chasing them, so I filed a complaint with the BBB today and forwarded the complaint to the dealership via e-mail.

I might have got a good deal at Century Chevy in Broomfield CO - but I will never buy from them again. ?I couldn't figure out why some of their SA's are rude, and I now see the problem starts at the top and filters down. ?:6:
Click to expand...

Good luck, Blueruck! That all does sound like a bunch of bull.

I hope this is related to the topic but my dad doesn't even know how to lower the spare tire. He was just trying it out one time and the crow bar never seemed to latch onto anything to lower the tire :6:.
 
ColoradoAV - he better figure it out while he has time - I was really glad when I got a flat that I hadn't taken the time to understand, before I was in a situation where I might have gotten very excited :)

My fear was trying to figure it out at night along a highway and not being able to see.

Tell him to schedule 30 minutes to sit down and figure it out.
 
Blueruck said:
ColoradoAV - he better figure it out while he has time - I was really glad when I got a flat that I hadn't taken the time to understand, before I was in a situation where I might have gotten very excited :)

My fear was trying to figure it out at night along a highway and not being able to see.

Tell him to schedule 30 minutes to sit down and figure it out.
Click to expand...

I don't know if it's his fault or a problem with design flaw with the AV but my dad has quite a lot of experience with flat tires ;D. I don't know much about the subject but this design with spare tire retrieval with the AV is different from every other vehicle out there isn't it?
 
I never checked mine, but I assumed :rolleyes: that the retreival process is the same as my old truck.

I switched from a '95 GMC X-tended cab Pick-up to the Av.

I guess now I will have to go check it out in more detail.
 
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