I bought a 2013-14 Ford Focus Mini Spare Tire/Wheel off ebay

[mwr]

After reading a lot here about a spare tire/wheel for my 2015 FFH (with 17" wheels), I bought a 2013-14 Ford Focus Mini Spare Tire/Wheel off ebay, arriving next week. $85 including shipping. I forgot about he foam thingy I've read about.(I assume it doesn't have that).

 

From what I read here, it's supposed to fit both in the trunk wheel well and on the car. Everyone agree?

 

What will I be missing functionally by not having the foam thingy, whatever it is?

[Texasota]

What will I be missing functionally by not having the foam thingy, whatever it is?

 

Do you have the jack and lug wrench assembly?

[mwr]

 

Do you have the jack and lug wrench assembly?

Not yet.

[Waldo]

The foam thingy just hold the jack and wrench. Usually you will find them available all together.

[mwr]

Thanks!

[Easy Rider]

 

What will I be missing functionally by not having the foam thingy, whatever it is?

 

Sounds like you haven't even looked under the floor of your trunk yet.

You should.

 

The high density foam "pillars" support the trunk floor above the tire well.

Without a tire in place, there are more and longer pilllars.

It is very likely that without the different designed trunk floor with it's attached pillars, you might have to take a sharp knife and hack yours up a bit for it to fit over the spare.

[mwr]

 

Sounds like you haven't even looked under the floor of your trunk yet.

You should.

 

The high density foam "pillars" support the trunk floor above the tire well.

Without a tire in place, there are more and longer pilllars.

It is very likely that without the different designed trunk floor with it's attached pillars, you might have to take a sharp knife and hack yours up a bit for it to fit over the spare.

Would the correct size foam pillars be found with a jack and lug wrench? From what cars?

[tr7driver]

I just wrapped my jack and wrench in bubble wrap to keep them from rattling and stuffed them in the wheel well. They are fine.

[Easy Rider]

Would the correct size foam pillars be found with a jack and lug wrench? From what cars?

Don't know but I assume that you would get a new trunk floor with the appropriate pillars ONLY if you order the whole "kit" from Ford.

The pillars are glued firmly to the piece of fiberboard that makes the trunk floor.

[Texasota]

Would the correct size foam pillars be found with a jack and lug wrench? From what cars?

The thread on spare tires discusses this but I think it concluded that the spare tire kit from a non-hybrid Fusion (2013+) or a spare tire kit from a 2012+ Ford Focus both work fine. I found the entire kit from a wrecked 2013 Fusion.

 

 

Don't know but I assume that you would get a new trunk floor with the appropriate pillars ONLY if you order the whole "kit" from Ford.

The pillars are glued firmly to the piece of fiberboard that makes the trunk floor.

Not sure I follow the discussion about pillars. My spare tire kit (tire/wheel, jack, lug wrench and the foam packing block) fits perfectly in the spare tire wheel well. The original fiber board that makes the trunk floor rests on top of it very nicely (no low or high spots).

[GrySql]

I don't have the spare tire foam insert, the OEM trunk floor just rests on the spare tire/wheel.

All this is explained in many of the other Pinned spare tire Threads, like these:

 

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/8437-all-from-dealer-method-for-obtaining-spare-tire-with-research-notes-and-installation-tips/

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/6818-spare-tire-for-ffh-with-18-wheelstires/

[Easy Rider]

The original fiber board that makes the trunk floor rests on top of it very nicely (no low or high spots).

Oops, sorry, brain cramp.

Forgot that the "foam packing block" is not attached to the trunk floor.

It is different between spare and no spare however.

[mwr]

OK, my mini wheel and tire arrived and seem to be in great shape. I "installed" it as best I could in the trunk. The pics below show the results. The following statements describe the results. Are those results what others get?

 

There's no room for the compartmented "insert" which will now go into my storage locker. Right?

 

The round-on-top long bolt that held the compartmented insert in place won't fasten with the spare in place, so there's nothing holding the spare in place except weight. Right?

[Texasota]

OK, my mini wheel and tire arrived and seem to be in great shape. I "installed" it as best I could in the trunk. The pics below show the results. The following statements describe the results. Are those results what others get?

 

There's no room for the compartmented "insert" which will now go into my storage locker. Right?

 

The round-on-top long bolt that held the compartmented insert in place won't fasten with the spare in place, so there's nothing holding the spare in place except weight. Right?

 

I obtained the entire spare tire kit which included the tire/wheel, jack, and lug wrench and the retention bolt. The foam block that came with the kit secures the jack and lug wrench and the retention bolt worked perfectly with the bolt attachement point you see there in your wheel well.

 

Correct, the old foam block witht he compressor will no longer fit in your wheel well. I stored it in the garage.

[GrySql]

Lots of extra room in that space with a standard donut spare tire vs the one with the larger tire that matches my 18" OEM wheel diameter.

Not that it matters now that we know either will work fine for an emergency.

 

I put the spare upside down so my 'stuff' fit in the wheel.

-

 

My spare with the bigger tire diameter, not much room left, it's a snug fit.

 

-

 

The spare mwr just got, look at the space on the left side (red arrow).

 

Edited December 5, 2014 by GrySql

[Texasota]

Lots of extra room in that space with a standard donut spare tire vs the one with the larger tire that matches my 18" OEM wheel diameter.

Not that it matters now that we know either will work fine for an emergency.

 

The spare mwr just got, look at the space on the left side (red arrow).

 

I used that extra room around the spare to store jumper cables, a quart of motor oil, a small tool kit and a few other odds and ends. Mwr, you have a good start but that spare won't help you without the proper jack and lug wrench.

 

Long ago GrySql posted a great suggestion to print the pages from the owner's manual of a gas Fusion that documents the procedures for jacking up the car and mounting the spare tire. Those instructions do not exist in the FFH owner's manual but the procedure is exactly the same for our FFHs. I printed them off and store them in my owner's manual.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Texasota

[mwr]

 

Mwr, you have a good start but that spare won't help you without the proper jack and lug wrench.

Not so. There's always (usually) AAA :-)

[GrySql]

 

print the pages from the owner's manual of a gas Fusion that documents the procedures for jacking up the car and mounting the spare tire. Those instructions do not exist in the FFH owner's manual but the procedure is exactly the same for our FFHs. I printed them off and stored them into the pages of my owner's manaual.

I'd forgotten that. Let's do it again.

Here's the gas only Fusion OM, the 'Changing a Road Wheel' section starts at page 288:

 

13FFOwner's manual.pdf

[Texasota]

Not so. There's always (usually) AAA :-)

Yes, that works assuming you don't mind being stranded on the roadside waiting for AAA and also assuming the AAA roadside assist truck has the ability to jack up your FFH without damaging it and I would not bet on that. Overall, your new spare is not very useful without a jack and lug wrench.

[mwr]

assuming the AAA roadside assist truck has the ability to jack up your FFH without damaging it

Are there instructions available to provide to roadside assist operators about jacking up the FFH?

[Waldo]

Why not just order the kit, here's one that will fit right in:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-FUSION-Jack-1033636-/301357643352?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item462a50b658&vxp=mtr

Edited December 5, 2014 by Waldo

[tr7driver]

The round-on-top long bolt that held the compartmented insert in place won't fasten with the spare in place, so there's nothing holding the spare in place except weight. Right?

Flip the tire over and the bolt will fit and hold the tire in place. Go to the junkyard and pick up a jack and lug wrench, wrap them in bubble wrap so they don't rattle and store them inside of the tire.

[tr7driver]

 

I used that extra room around the spare to store jumper cables, a quart of motor oil, a small tool kit and a few other odds and ends. Mwr, you have a good start but that spare won't help you without the proper jack and lug wrench.

Ever worry about the oil leaking? I got rear ended once in my Avalon and the plastic bottles of milk, juice and Tide in the grocery bags in the trunk all leaked. What a mess.....

[mwr]

Why not just order the kit, here's one that will fit right in:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-FUSION-Jack-1033636-/301357643352?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item462a50b658&vxp=mtr

Looks good! Would that kit fit over the spare tire/wheel such that the cover (over the whole flat floor) would fit flat over the whole thing?

[hermans]

Looks good! Would that kit fit over the spare tire/wheel such that the cover (over the whole flat floor) would fit flat over the whole thing?

The tire fits over the jack accessory kit. It's that easy.....