Whilst swapping winter rubber/steels to summer rubber/alloys I came undone on one of the locking wheel bolts.

The locking bolt was on so tightly (fitted by 'Stealer') that the force applied by me through the nut, instead of turning the bolt in order to remove it, disfigured the pattern on the bolt head so as to strip off the edges of the star, meaning I can no longer remove the bolt. (The nut is OK as it worked no probs on the other wheels).

Anyone any experience of such a problem and possible solutions before I head off to my local speedy "tyre specialist" outfitter and likely get a bucketload of free flannel and a hefty bill?

Cheers

(As if that wasn't a huge pain in the butt in itself, one of my Nokian WR G2 winters, with only 1500 miles on the road, has a flipping great big nail near the wall. Doubtful it's repairable. Lucky white heather, anyone?)

Edited 21 March, 201115 yr by Rab-k

Either hammer a socket over the top, or use some easy outs.

There are only 2 ways i can think of, either get a welder and weld another bolt to your broken locking bolt or get an old socket fractionally smaller than the bolt and hammer it onto the damaged bolt so it makes it's own grooves and has enough purchase to undo the bolt.

Ian

there is a firm called dynomec based in castleford they make a tool to get locking wheel nuts off.......

or hammer a socket over it and pray..................

you can get locking nut removal tools, machine mart have some at about 13-14 quid I think...........dunno how well they work. have a look on-line. Most garages will do it if you ask them and shouldn't charge too much.

Moral to the story is if you want something doing right do it yourself in the first place :p

Thanks for all the replies.

Will let you know how I get on...

I has the same problem with my Leon, Old owner had buggered the locking wheel nuts

I ordered a brand new set of locking nuts from SERE Motors in Ireland (SEAT Dealer) at a price of about £30-40

I then hammered the old "Key" into the nuts and removed them and in the bin they went

The new Style 09+ locking wheel nuts are a better design

I went to take the wheels off mine to investigate noises coming from the wheels. Second wheel I came to the locking key kept slipping in the bolt.

Took it down to Kwik-Fit and explained to them that those and Costco were the only people to take the wheels off that car (other than maybe Skoda if they do that at a service) in the last 24 months. They remembered me been there a month previous to get some Michelins fitted. They supplied a new set of (aftermarket) locking nuts and removed the damaged one, all FOC.

My point is though, they had a tool to remove the old one.

Steve

Anyone any experience of such a problem and possible solutions before I head off to my local speedy "tyre specialist" outfitter and likely get a bucketload of free flannel and a hefty bill?

As has already been suggested, try Machine Mart's locking wheel nut remover:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/locking-wheel-nut-remover-2pc/path/tyre-and-wheel-tools

Halfords have the same, if they're more convenient, but they're more expensive:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_196491_langId_-1_categoryId_165469

Thanks for all the replies.

Will let you know how I get on...

Had a locking wheel nut on my caravan, but no special socket at all. The special tools failed. Getting a socket just large enough to hammer on over the bolt very hard solved the problem in two minutes.

Stuart

I had exactly the same problem, my solution was a trip to the local dealer (who happen to be excellent) where I borrowed there master tool - this was a much better fit.

I then replaced the whole set with the older spline type, which IMO are MUCH better

The new Style 09+ locking wheel nuts are a better design

See above comment, the newer ones are where the problem lies IMO.

IMHO if you can get the locking nut off that easily you should buy another type when you've fixed this problem.

We keep a set of lock-nut removal sockets. They do work, but you need to use them with an impact wrench. This is a regular problem for many workshops and not too difficult to sort out. You dont need to resort to hammering things on and chiselling at the bolt!

Dont bother with the McGard type, they are weak, get the splined type instead.

To go off at a slight tangent here, when was the last time any members on here had a wheel or wheels stolen, or heard of it happening to a friend/family member/colleague? Genuine question, actually interested in hearing the experience of others.

I certainly haven't heard of it happening to anyone I know for at least 15 years.

Now I know this might be tempting fate, but I didn't have my car for long before I removed the locking wheel bolts and replaced them with standard bolts. When we ordered the Mrs brand-new car we made sure the dealer took the locking bolts off before we collected it. They are just a pain in the arse, and I just don't see the need for them anymore.

Kwik-Fit fitter removed the offending bolt with a pneumatic wrench attached to the nut.

I've replaced the damaged item with a normal bolt, (£4), and it shall remain thus.

Likewise I recon the days of OEM alloys (esp. the likes of mine/ours) being nicked are long gone.

Thanks again for the replies.

(Now, just got to shell out £88 for the replacement Nokian... )

Edited 22 March, 201115 yr by Rab-k