Alhambra spare wheel winding mechanism

[Robin Vitiello]

Hi there.
I drive a 2002 1.9 Alhambra 1.9 tDi. I have had this car since trheec years old, and the other day I had a puncture. When winding down the spare wheel, the mechanism was faulty and would only drop the wheel part way. I got it off, but it was a nightmare. I have removed the unit which is only held on by two bolts. I am surprised that this should be faulty since the spare was the brand new one that came with the car when new, so the mechanism has never been used. I checked on the cost of a replacement which is around £118 plus VAT.

I tried scrap dealers who state they go as quickly as they come in because these parts are always going wrong.

Does any one know if there is a known fix for this problem that I can apply to my existing unit as I dont really want to spend about £130 for what is a simple winding mechanism.
Have any other Alhambra owners experienced this problem?

Thanks



Robin

[RadioactiveKidd]

If it's any consolation, I've had exactly the same problem!! Just living with it hoping I don't get a flat. I wouldn't fancy trying to change a wheel at the side of the motorway!! (let alone in the dark & rain!!)

[Robin Vitiello]

Hi thanks for the reply. I have sorted my problem now. It is apparently very common which is why thesecond hand spare part is hard to come by.
The winder mechanism from either the Alhambra, Galaxy or Sharan will all fir each other. I put out requests on the e sites for car breakers, but did not get any response. In the end I phoned round locally and got one for £15. Fitting is dead simple. Once you get you wheel off it is just two bolts (Mine had the torx type head), but in 30 seconds it was off and the replacement on. If you can't drop the spare enought to get the wheel off, then cut through the retaining swivel pin that goes through the centre of the spare and it will let the wheel drop off. From there its about a total of 1 minutes work to replace it.
The real trick is to get the replacement so " get hunting at the scrappies"

All the best


Robin

[dazmac]

So here is my version of the damned spare wheel.
Holiday in France 2007, journey home need the spare. Go to release it and get half way to the ground. Wrestle the wheel off as enough wire had been released, wrestle the bad wheel back on and tighten up.

Fork out the £130 for the new part when home thinking 'ouch'.
18 months later, go to change the tyre on the spare wheel and guess what, it won't lower. The brand new device has been used once to put on the spare wheel and is now jammed! I will be on the phone to VW tomorrow. Unfortunately I doubt I have the receipt, but they must have a record, otherwise, watchdog here I come.

It is an expensive part for what it does. I was about to spend a day on the car before the holidays and had 4 new tyres fitted. The wiper mechanism is seizing (as I just noticed today) and now the spare scenario, all this after I was giving the car so much praise, as it had been great for the last 5 years. (51 plate)

[zollaf]

from what ive read, 18 months is not long for the new one to last. but if the winch was not used for 7 years as stated, what do you expect. it is under the car, subjected to water and road dirt etc. anything like that needs the odd service, like some white grease being sprayed into it and being wound up and down a few times to ensure it doesnt seize up. i think this should be included in an annual maintenance check. might be worth asking the garage that does yopur work to do this, and hopefully it would then last a bit longer.incidentally, since it has rained almost continuously for two years, i have seen a lot of things go rusty, down to the fact that they have been wet and not had chance to dry.

[dazmac]

No matter how long it had been on the car, I feel that the 1st time operation should not fail.
Anyway, Spoke to VW aberdeen today and they have a 2 year guarantee on original parts. So when I go up tomorrow to collect my new £200 wiper spindles I should get the spare wheel holder sorted out.

Not all bad

[matthewgdavies]

Had this happen on my Alhambra this week, was quoted about £140 all in incl VAT by local Seat dealer for the parts, rang Benfield Ford and they advised there was an updated Ford Galaxy part for £78.16 incl vat - fits perfectly and parts of it are now nylon instead of metal - you do need a T40 male torx socket though for the two retaining bolts

Apparently the problem is often caused by tyre fitters spinning the spare down with a spider which lets the cable kink and jam the capstan - should only use a socket and ratchet or the wheel spanner supplied with the car which operate more slowly