Flipping Spare Tire Bracket

[u2ra_winner]

After adding a larger tire you will need to also change the spare.

If you plan to hang it on the rear door you will either:
a) need to purchase a $100 bracket
b) flip the existing bracket
c) buy allot of bungee cords & duct tape

If you choose:
b) ‘flip the existing bracket’, it is a fairly simple job. Plan on about 2 hours without being rushed. The cost for mine was only $12. I had to replace two 75 cent clips, and I had to buy an interior panel removal tool.

Below I have tried to list the steps necessary to flip the bracket. We have a 2003 Discovery II, HSE 7. However I believe other Discos will be either the same or similar steps.

__________________________________________________ _______________

Flipping rear tire bracket will allow larger tire to fit on rear.

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Before


After


I) Needed

A) Tools

1) Drill & bit
2) File
3) Phillips head screw driver
4) Hack Saw or Electric Saber Saw
5) Ratchet & Socket
6) Exacto or Razor Knife
7) Interior panel; remover tool


B) Approx 2 hours

C) Other

1) Duct Tape
2) A few panel clips (some may/will break)
3) Pencil

II) Remove Spare to expose bracket

III) Open Rear Door



IV) Remove

A) Handle
B) Plastic Housing behind ‘Door Pull’
C) Speaker Assembly

1) Remove Speaker Grill


2) Remove Housing


3) Unclip Speaker


V) Using Upholstery removal Tool, carefully, pop clips around perimeter to remove rear door panel.


VI) Locate 2 vertical rows of three bolts adjacent to the bracket arms.

1) Cut Plastic


2) Loosen Bolts


VII) When removing exterior bracket & hardware; use caution to ensure bracket &/or hardware doesn’t fall and scratch paint.

VIII) Flip Bracket and mark where a notch must be cut so the rear wiper doesn’t interfere


IX) Prepare Bracket

1) Cut Notch


2) Line bracket ‘support strips’ with holes and mark new center hole location, & drill each side


3) File Sharp edges


4) Wash & Paint


X) Reassemble in reverse order with bracket in new ‘flipped’ position. After tightening bolts (Steps 6.2) tape the cut plastic with duct tape.

XI) Good luck & ENJOY

[BlueLion]

I heard this actually weakends the bracket and a better fix was to just buy the new one from Atlantic British and replace the old one.

[Disco Mike]

Originally Posted by BlueLion

I heard this actually weakends the bracket and a better fix was to just buy the new one from Atlantic British and replace the old one.

And I have heard Rovers don't leak oil also, but we both know it isn't true.
I have had my 265 hanging on the back of my D2 for over 3 years, I even backed into something one day, bent the crap out of the tire carier, pulled it out straight and it is still fine, no rattles, no movement and more importantly, now effect on the rear door hinges even though I also carry a Hi Lift.
Mike

[u2ra_winner]

I heard this actually weakends the bracket and a better fix was to just buy the new one from Atlantic British and replace the old one

Great point to bring up & I am sure many others would ask the same question.

One of the reasons I love LR is the fact they are so overbuilt.

If you compare a spare tire mounting bracket from a GM SUV, you would laugh at the sheer size difference. The LR bracket is about 3 x's larger. Another example of how overbuilt LR can be is when you look at how the rear speaker is mounted into the door. Most cars would have 4 clips and 4 screws. Not LR. They chose 6, 1&1/2 inch bolts. (pretty gold ones)

So to answer you question. Yes, cutting the bracket would make it slightly weaker. But the end result is still ‘over engineered’ (yeah). Because the notch cut is so small you are only making a slight difference.

I ordered the bracket from Atlantic British and chose to send it back. If you decide to install a bracket you will see you need to trim the existing bolts. (Which I did not want to do incase of returning my truck to original some day) You will also find that the new bracket mounts the tire further away from the door. This also creates additional stress, and was a bigger issue to me.

I do have an engineering degree, but am not going to compute which is better because it’s like chocolate or vanilla?

My opinion is: If a person enjoys doing this type of work and has the ability (Which this is really beginner level, a good place to start) THEN FLIP IT and put the $100 somewhere else.

If not, buy the bracket. In the end it’s about the same result.

This is all just my opinion which with $3 will buy a cappuccino at Starbucks. I hope though I have been able to help

[rmuller]

nice writeup! I did this with a cordless drill and a butter knife a year or so ago.. You can also reposition the wiper so you dont have to cut a notch.

[Choqiees]

yep you are right, if you want to know the truck better and work it out yourself, this is a good place to start.

you've done your job thoroughly with all the drilling and cutting....I only used 4 bolts instead of 6, left the 2 offset bolts unattached and I didn't cut the excess, just left the wiper touching the bracket...it's california here where rain is almost non existant.

no rattle whatsoever after all the jumping with only 4 bolts and the extra $100 went to something else heh heh

[u2ra_winner]

you've done your job thoroughly with all the drilling and cutting....I only used 4 bolts instead of 6, left the 2 offset bolts unattached and I didn't cut the excess, just left the wiper touching the bracket...it's california here where rain is almost non existant.

no rattle whatsoever after all the jumping with only 4 bolts and the extra $100 went to something else heh heh

Thx for the kind words.
The thread may be a little overkill, but I'm guilty of being MONKish.

When I set out to complete this job I could not find a set of instructions basause EE's site would not pull up. So, I thought since I was doing it I migt try to save the nect guy a few $$$'s.

Your comment and Mike's do prove the bracket is plenty strong. But I cannot blame members for asking if they have a concern.

Michael

[Choqiees]

I'm not blaming you for being thorough with the job, instead props for the nice job. you had all the tools you need, I didn't. no drills, files, cutting tools, and not even that special clip tool ( ended up with 8 broken clips). so it was more like a trial and error project to test how strong the bracket really was.

I do strongly recommend to do the job as you did if you had all the tools you need. more piece if mind when you're done with the job. heh heh