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I was installing 5 winter tires on our new 2023 Defender. I took off the Goodyear spare tire and screwed the “alignment tool” onto the top lug nut stud. This thing that makes it easier to install the spare tire:
I loosely install the 2 lug nuts on the 2 lower spare tire studs. Then I attempt to unscrew the alignment tool. It will not budge. I get a big screwdriver and start turning it and I see the entire wheel pulling away from the mounting bracket with each turn. I give up and take off the lower lug nuts and the spare tire. Now I can easily unscrew the alignment tool off the stud. I have no idea what is going wrong here. Then I try passing the alignment tool through a lug nut hole in the wheel and learn that it does not go through. Mystery solved. My 2023 alignment tool is useless as it's too big at the bottom and you cannot unscrew it once you put the spare tire on it. Just to confirm, I went and got the alignment tool out of our 2021 Defender that I have used multiple times. It easily passes right through a lug nut hole. Test your alignment tool on a wheel hole before you attempt to use it.
I was installing 5 winter tires on our new 2023 Defender. I took off the Goodyear spare tire and screwed the “alignment tool” onto the top lug nut stud. This thing that makes it easier to install the spare tire:
I loosely install the 2 lug nuts on the 2 lower spare tire studs. Then I attempt to unscrew the alignment tool. It will not budge. I get a big screwdriver and start turning it and I see the entire wheel pulling away from the mounting bracket with each turn. I give up and take off the lower lug nuts and the spare tire. Now I can easily unscrew the alignment tool off the stud. I have no idea what is going wrong here. Then I try passing the alignment tool through a lug nut hole in the wheel and learn that it does not go through. Mystery solved. My 2023 alignment tool is useless as it's too big at the bottom and you cannot unscrew it once you put the spare tire on it. Just to confirm, I went and got the alignment tool out of our 2021 Defender that I have used multiple times. It easily passes right through a lug nut hole. Test your alignment tool on a wheel hole before you attempt to use it.
I learned that the spare is VERY easy to take off and re-mount with one suggestion. Someone else was concerned here a while back about it so I'm mentioning it.
One tip that makes it very easy is, remove the top nut completely but leave the bottom 2 tight. Insert the pin that holds the tire (it's in your kit with the jack). This does not fit easily if you try to start the thread!! Someone else had the same issue. To solve that, use the screwdriver end of the tire iron and just start turning. It's counter-intuitive to start turning a screw before it's threaded at least a little but it does work.
The complaint was that the pin should be smaller. It is a very tight fit but it needs to be to ensure that the wheel does not get scratched in the next step.
After the pin is threaded, remove the bottom 2 nuts and the tire will slide off.
To replace, slide it back on the pin, insert and mostly tighten the bottom 2 nuts. Remove the top pin and install the top not.
Torque all 3 and it's done.
My spare (wheel only not tire) is coated and I'll never have water spots again.
Seemed to work fine for you, with no trouble. Curious to see what the difference is, maybe aftermarket wheels I’m thinking.
Nope, OEM style 5098 wheels. Tool does not fit though the lug holes of the dark grey 5098 wheels it came with and it does not fit though the light silver 5098 OEM wheels the winter tires are mounted on. It's not just tight, my tool is actually too big and has a small lip at the bottom that prevents it from going through a wheel hole.
Probably just a 2023 problem as the alignment tool that came with our 2021 Defender works fine with all 20 of the style 5098 OEM wheels I have.
Unscrewing that alignment post is tough. I don't screw it in all the way and use the provided lug wrench flat blade to loosen the post. The blade on the lug wrench is a lot bigger and provides much better leverage than a screw driver.
Bringing this back to the top. Putting the spare back on when I installed the Thule bike rack was a disaster. The alignment tool does not fit through the lug hole in the 22” wheel. Of course, I discovered that after I attempted to remove the ‘tool’ and had to take everything off and drift out the ‘tool’ from the back side. If I had been dealing with a flat, instead of in my driveway, I would have contemplated homicide. Simply unbelievable that the OEM ‘tool’ does not fit the OEM wheels…
02-18-2023, 06:19 AM
Useless Spare Tire Alignment Tool
