Lowering the infamous spare tire

[nuclear3579]

Hey everyone. Well, I have another one of my questions again...

I have a '97 4Runner. How on EARTH do you lower the spare tire? When I open the back hatch, I see a small black hole that seems to lead to the spare tire winch, but I cannot find a tool to fit in there to try to turn it.

The only tools I have are the jack, and two bars with hooks on the end of them. Am I missing the factory tool to lower the tire? Do I even have the right hole? I used to have a '94 pickup, so I'm familiar with how the mechanism works, I just can't figure this one out.
Thanks for any input!

[mudwiser316]

i have an 99 4runner. i do believe it's the same setup! the jack tools you have should work! you just don't use the hook part. you should be able to feed the bar through the the hole and crank the tire down. hope this helps! later!

[nuclear3579]

Thanks for the reply, mudwiser...I was digging through my basement and actually found the big long peice that was designed for the spare tire. First try and the tire started decsending. It's kind of funny, it's always reminds me of a ship dropping its anchor every time I drop the spare...