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This week I got my first flat in the PM. Looks like a chunk of steel went through the tire. Luckily, by the time it was flat enough to notice I was at a truck stop with plenty of space to change it. The TPMS light came on immediately though.
Because I've never done this on the PM I had to bust out the manual. In short, this is either the greatest spare tire system in the world, or the worst. I really can't tell.
You use the jack handle (2 piece) and a weird adapter to operate the rear winch mechanism. You crank it and the tire lowers on a cable down to the road, then you wind out about 5 feet more of cable and get the tire upright behind the van. Then a wing nut releases the tire from the winch, and you crank the cable back in. I'm not sure how well this is going to work when I replace the spare under the van, or how well it will hold up after 10 years and lots of grime.
The scizzor jack is pretty self explanatory, as are the jacking points. But the wheel has two spikelike studs that come out of the hub, which are offset so they locate and pilot the wheel as you install it. It doesn't work well, so it was a lot of back breaking to lift the wheel up and wiggle it onto the hub. More to the point, ONLY rims with the locating holes will work on the PM, though I assume you can remove the piloting studs. They appear to bolt into brake rotor "hat".
The jack handle itself is also new to me. It's a two piece that slides together to make a T shape. You can get extra torque by sliding it more to make the T into an L, and when the handle hits the ground you can slide it to the other side and start cranking again. Not sure if I like it or not, but it's different.
All of these tools can be found in the black plastic suitcase that's under the passenger seat. But the jacking instructions are in the manual.
Since it's clean and easy, you all might want to open the suitcase and get familiar with how the system works. Better that than find out on the side of the road, in a snowstorm.
Because I've never done this on the PM I had to bust out the manual. In short, this is either the greatest spare tire system in the world, or the worst. I really can't tell.
You use the jack handle (2 piece) and a weird adapter to operate the rear winch mechanism. You crank it and the tire lowers on a cable down to the road, then you wind out about 5 feet more of cable and get the tire upright behind the van. Then a wing nut releases the tire from the winch, and you crank the cable back in. I'm not sure how well this is going to work when I replace the spare under the van, or how well it will hold up after 10 years and lots of grime.
The scizzor jack is pretty self explanatory, as are the jacking points. But the wheel has two spikelike studs that come out of the hub, which are offset so they locate and pilot the wheel as you install it. It doesn't work well, so it was a lot of back breaking to lift the wheel up and wiggle it onto the hub. More to the point, ONLY rims with the locating holes will work on the PM, though I assume you can remove the piloting studs. They appear to bolt into brake rotor "hat".
The jack handle itself is also new to me. It's a two piece that slides together to make a T shape. You can get extra torque by sliding it more to make the T into an L, and when the handle hits the ground you can slide it to the other side and start cranking again. Not sure if I like it or not, but it's different.
All of these tools can be found in the black plastic suitcase that's under the passenger seat. But the jacking instructions are in the manual.
Since it's clean and easy, you all might want to open the suitcase and get familiar with how the system works. Better that than find out on the side of the road, in a snowstorm.