I got the spare tire removal tool and tried it. Counterclockwise (down), clockwise (up) and stripped the square to no avail. Someone mentioned in a review that the same thing happened to them. I bought this product because he said it was a DORMAN product so I bought a spare tire crank. Since Dorman is aware of this manufacturing issue, why don't they use this feedback and improve their product, they don't say "SO FIX IT" about it. I use Dorman products because they're usually pretty good and made to OEM specs. However, this is a very sloppy fit on the square end of the extension. To put it mildly, not happy.