My spare tire has not been held down by anything for a while now, I believe I lost the "spare wheel anchor":

I've got a piece to bolt into underneath the tire, but nothing to hold the actual tire down... my trunk looks similar to this:

Is the part I need definitely a "spare wheel anchor"? Just making sure, there are so many parts on the 350z OEM part sites.

Secondly, what's the best place to get a lift gate spring? I can only find them for $30 or more.

 

1) Yes you need the piece that you pictured first.. It screws down over the spare tire and holds it down.

2) You won't find any of those lift gate springs for less than $30ish new from companies/stores. Best bet is to look on craigslist and find a wrecked Z that is being parted out, and offer them like 15 bucks for them.

 

Bmurray350z is correct. You won’t find new lift gate springs for less than $30 (well ok…$29.90).

I wouldn’t recommend buying the springs off of a wrecked 350z since those might also be worn. Also, the “penny trick” works, but don’t put too many coins inside the spring or you risk damaging the sheet metal.

Replacing the rear hatch lift support gas spring shocks might be a better solution. The gas shocks leak and become weak after a few years. I replaced the gas shocks when the car was about 7 years old, and it made a huge difference when popping the hatch open. I went with shocks designed to lift a heavy tailgate (equipped with a weighty spoiler).


--Spike