I went to take off my spare tire so that i could replace my rear shock and the crank that you turn to drop the tire is completely rusted. I tried putting the hex head in (by the rear bumper) and turning it and it is so rusted that it started to fall apart. Is there an easy fix for this...or a way to get the tire off. Glad this happened in my garage and not on the side of the road. Thanks

 

Let the air out of the tire and see if there is any wiggle room or you could cut the cable as there is plenty in there and go to Home Depot and get another cable holder to re-attach the curved plate that holds the tire or you can get this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge...item3a63ed5aab