I bought a used 2003 S10 ZR5 crew cab S10 and it was missing the spare, the hoist, and the extension.

I bought a spare tire and the missing hoist system and extension from a junk yard...

but when I put the thing at the end of the hoist wire through the center tire hole and hoist it to the top, it doesn't seem very stable at all... just kind of hangs there and moves around...

Is that right?

 

It should go all the way up until the tire is pushed up against the frame to stabilize it.Is the hoist from another 2003 S-10? Maybe you can try and turn the spare tire over before hoisting it.