Diff cover hits spare tire

[SHulse]

This past weekend, I installed a Mag-Hytec Differential cover on my Ram 2500. I’ve got the Dana 80 axle and the wheels and tires are stock original equipment. All went well, including repositioning the sway bar, until this morning. After putting the desired number of miles on the truck after the install, I did the final verification of fluid level and went to reinstall the spare tire I had removed to make the installation easier. That’s when it hit the fan! When snugged up against the frame, the tire is in contact with the fins on the new cover. I tried holding the tire to the rear of the truck while my wife winched it up, but the winch pulls the tire into its proper storage position where it rubs on the housing. I’ve got a call into Jerry at Mag-Hytec and expect a call back this afternoon, but was wondering if anyone has had this problem, and what was done to fix it.



Thanks,



Steve

 

[Byershome]

I use a short piece of chain hooked to the hoisting cable to hold it back away from the cover. Just enough to keep clearance not enough to damage the hoist.

 

[Straight6Jeff]

On my 3500 2wd, I have the spare pulled to the rear and winched up. It keeps it away from the diff cover. It hits I I do not have the tire strapped.



I'm thinking of relocating the winch a little farther back, or throwing the spare in the bed

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

make a bracket from some 1/4" thick plate about 2" wide and two bolts welded to it. It goes between two holes in the wheel where the lug nuts would be and spaces the stock winch cable and foot to one edge of the center hole in the wheel. With that to the front, the wheel will pull up off balance but end up towards the rear. I put the info in a past issue of the magazine but I don't recall which one. Maybe someone else does.

 

[pgleavitt]

I used a chain covered in nylon wear sleeve avail. at any hydraulics shop to stop hoses from chaffing and a keyed lock. Pull the tire back a couple of inches and wrap chain throu rim holes to trailer hitch and Lock it. I tried to hold the tire back and crank it into position but after a couple of days checked it and found that it had moved back forwards and was loose. I also know I will still have a spare when I need it

 

[rweis]

I use a little ratchable cargo strap fron Home Depot to pull the tire toward the rear as I winch the tire up. Then tie off the extra ratchet strap. I use a strap instead of a wire or chain because I could cut the strap if needed, ie the ratchet rusted unusable or something like that.



I have a Mag-Hytec diff cover also. The tire clears the cover by about 1/2" or so. I put a 1/2" wooden dowel agains the Mag-Hytec cover vertically and see that it clears the tire so I know that if the suspension ever came that far down it would clear the Mag-Hytec cover.



Bob Weis

 

[SHulse]

Thanks for all the inputs. Jerry at Mag-Hytec was helpfull and very cooperative when we talked yesterday. He mentioned Joe Donnelly had run into a similar situation and had a possible fix (see his response above). I will try Joe's fix when it stops raining here in sunny So. Cal. I hate laying in the driveway when its raining.



I'll post a message when I get the fix installed - it may be a week or so 'cause I have to go out of town next week.



Thanks again for the inputs.



Steve

 

[Ram4Sam]

Mag Cover...

Steve, Joe's solution will work but there is an easier way, using the stock bracket that is already there. I measured the stud centers between two of the lug holes in the spare. With that measurement, you can drill a 3/8" hole, one in each ear of the bracket, I used a 2"x 3/8" bolt that is threaded all the way to the head. Just run a nut down to secure it in the bracket with the stud end pointing up. When you hoist up the spare, the bolts in the bracket go into two of the wheelstud holes in the rim, instead of the center of the wheel. It will lift the wheel a little lopsided, just rotate the low side to the rear and crank it up tight. You end up with 3/4 to one inch of clearance, which is plenty. No need for a chain or strap pulling the wheel back.



Sam

 

[JSellers]

Is this interference issue mostly a problem with 2wd trucks? Or will I need to consider this with my 4x4 if I get the Mag Hytec cover?



Also, I would like to get larger tires when I next replace them. If the interference is an issue with 4x4 trucks, does anyone have quantitative measurements about tire size limitations? (I'm only considering one step up in size - to 255-85/16 - this is about a 33-inch tire, compared to 32-inch diameter for the 235 size. )



John

 

[Ram4Sam]

John, it is probably just a 2wd issue since the 4x4's use axle blocks between the leaf springs and the axle housing.



Sam

 

[Bob4x4]

A 33" tire will just squeeze in



Bob

 

[Short Stack]

tire rubbind cover

I had the same problem with bigger tires but the stock spare was allright I have a 02 4x4.

 

[JSellers]

Sam and Bob,



Thanks for advising me on the Mag-Hytec clearance for 4x4. I had the thought that I may just put the spare in the bed - perhaps bolt a mount to the bed-side rail. Yeah, that's the ticket - it'd also give me room to put in dual exhaust tips, right?



I'm going ahead with my new tires - big ones.



Regards,

John

 

[Short Stack]

rear end cover

I had a 33" m/s tire on a spare rim it fit in there but keep a eye on it with a load, when I hooked up the 5er it would have hit the cover so I had to put the tire in the bed.

 

[SHulse]

OK. . I got back from my trip and went ahead with the fix Ram4Sam mentioned. I traced the outline of the bracket on some cardboard and made a template of the bracket. This let me stick the template into the wheel rim and move it around to make sure the holes were located in the optimum position. From there, I transferred the hole measurements to the bracket, drilled the holes, put in the bolts and tightened them down with the nuts. I now have about 1 & 1/4” clearance between the spare tire and the fins on the cover. After a day of driving around doing errands, the spare is still tightly in place. This, to me, is a great solution. Oo.



Again, I’d like to thank everyone who responded and gave me some ideas. This is what makes TDR so great !