Spare tire tube joint for Performance Accessories 2" body lift
Instead of drilling a hole in the painted portion of the bumper and then
having to remove the plate to get at the tube, I used a 3/8" universal joint
(swivel) and some of the leftover PA hardware to use my stock exit hole.
Mark the stock tube at the edge of the cross frame that is closest to the
rear of the truck. Make another mark 3/4" back from there (towards the flat
part). Cut on both marks and discard the small piece. Weld the 3/8"
universal joint in between the two parts. I used a cheap swivel on my 97
and had problems with it so I sprung for a Craftsman this time on my 2000
since I didn't want to get stuck on the side of the road with no way to get
the spare down.
Now that you have your flexible tube, you will need to make the bracket. PA
included a bracket in my kit that is made to use with this tube. I modified
it by cutting tangent from each side of the hole down to the 90 degree bend.
I then bent that part back making a horseshoe shaped opening. I then bent
the bracket from a 90 to approximately a 45 degree angle. You can use a
little trial and error for the bend here. What you need to do is to get the
pipe as close to the frame cross member as possible without binding the
tube.
I had to remove the rubber grommet from the truck and shave off the little
tabs that keep it from turning in the opening. You will need to rotate this
at a different angle to match the new angle of the tube and the tabs will
prevent you from doing that.
Next, I used the hardware that PA provided to secure the bracket to the
cross member. I put the pipe through the bracket. Then I put the back end
through the stock rubber grommet, and then pulled it forward enough to get
the cotter key through. That's it.
The only thing to watch out for is that the tube is now at an angle so your
tire wrench will come close to touching the tailgate when you are turning
it. I use a big, flat blade screw driver which gives more room than the
large diameter tire wrench.