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97: Spare tire question

I have a 97 F-150 with 120,000 miles on it. I just got new tires for it (it's third set), but I've still got the original spare, which probably has less then 1000 miles on it. The problem is that the spare has some indentations on the side wall from resting up against the frame for oh so many years. I'm wondering if it's safe to use?

Keep in mind I only would ever use the spare short term...I don't rotate it with the other wheels, since it's painted black. Another factor: I'm currently running 255's, but the spare is a 235 (the original tire). In practice, I haven't noticed a difference when I've run the spare, though as I've said, it's only been short periods.

I did keep one old 255 tire from the last set to possibly replace the original spare with, but it doesn't have much tread on it.

Thanks in advance.

Reply to
Brett Jaffee
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It is typically not recommended to use a tire older than 6-7 years old. I blew a 6 year old 5th wheel tire that looked brand new. Now, it was over 100F outside so there was stress. Speed was about 65mph. Non the less, there is a risk.

Reply to
Mellowed

Age is all important in tire safety. They will crack, which is something you can see, but even if it's not cracked, old tires will still blow up sometimes. 6-7 years is not really all that old, but at some point you should punt the tire. If you put an old tire on the ground be extra-sensitive to any shaking that results. If any of the belts in the tire go bad it may get a little out of round before failing.

Reply to
Joe

On Sun, 09 May 2004 20:17:20 -0400, Joe rearranged some electrons to form:

Or a LOT out of round. I just experienced this a couple weeks ago on my OT car. One tire developed a bulge on the tread more than an inch high. Unfortunatly the tires that were on the car were a relatively unusual size (23570R14) so I could not buy an exact replacement in the same tire model (BFG T/A radial). I ended up having to buy two 22570R14's.

The tires were about 8 years old, and do not get driven all that much.

Reply to
David M

Probably. I'd turn it in it's mount to move the indentations to a new place. Let the old ones smooth back out. The rubber is just taking a set, kinda like a flat spot on tires that sit in one spot too long. I doubt it would really hurt the sidewall unless it gets punctured. MK

Reply to
Mark Keith

I sometimes carry a "second" spare in the mountains, so if I do get a flat, I can keep on going. Karl

Reply to
Karl Shoemaker

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