We were working on my friends 2000 plate Audi A3 today and we went to undo the locking wheel nut bolt, and the air gun just wouldnt undo it.

So we got a breaker bar, its reasonably long and started trying to crack it off with that.... only to hear a massive SMACK and the what were straight splines on the actual locking wheel adapter were now diagnonal (not sheared or rounded, just diagonal now) the whole length of the splines ... we made sure the nut was fully home inside the wheel before we tried to crack it off with one of us holding it ona nd the other pushing.

But the strange thing is we put that wheel nut on 2 weeks ago with a torque wrench to about 130Nm ... and we cant understand how it took that much force and didnt crack off, and instead tried to shear the whole wheel nut adapter.

Long story short, the nut on the wheel is now totally rounded off.

How do we get this rounded locking wheel nut off, even if he buys a brand new adapter the bolts got nothing inside of it anyway for it to grip on? bearing in mind this is one of the ones that is recessed in with the plastic covers that go over them.

A rather large predicament

I managed to get a locking nut off my old car by hammering a hex socket bit over the top of the bolt head. It took a bit of force, but it came out.

Just don't do what this guy did!!

i fear that the nut in the wheel is that tight that it would just round it off again and screw my socket up.... plus a big enough socket to go over the diameter and be actually pheasable to hammer on wouldnt fit around it in the recess :(

And as to the guy in your pcitures above.... clearly a KwikFit fitter or a Halfords employee

Edited 24 August, 201114 yr by Milkybadger

First of all, spray PlusGas (WD40 isn't a dismantling fluid so it will not work) onto the thread from the rear of the hub and try again.

Air tools can often do what you can't, so it maybe best to take it somewhere. They will probably try wheel nut removers (if they can get them on) and heat from a torch often helps. If all else fails they can die grind it out for you.

Make sure you copper grease the new bolts before fitting.

...clearly a KwikFit fitter or a Halfords employee...

Must be Halfords - a Kwikfit fitter would have started by sawing throungh the tyre :(

Must be Halfords - a Kwikfit fitter would have started by sawing throungh the tyre :(

Haha yeh your right there... but on a serious note, this guys wheel is stuck on, and Mot is soon, hard to do a disk and pad change for him with a wheel on

First of all, spray PlusGas (WD40 isn't a dismantling fluid so it will not work) onto the thread from the rear of the hub and try again.

Air tools can often do what you can't, so it maybe best to take it somewhere. They will probably try wheel nut removers (if they can get them on) and heat from a torch often helps. If all else fails they can die grind it out for you.

Make sure you copper grease the new bolts before fitting.

I always do put copper grease on personally, but he hadnt :p, but the wheels where only off 2 weeks ago.

Also the actual nut holding the wheel on is the one thats rounded off completely on the inside diameter.. i think its gonna have to be a grinder, or a long time with a very expensive drill lol :p

Thank you for the suggestions so far though

Edited 24 August, 201114 yr by Milkybadger

Worth a try...

http://www.screwfix.com/p/laser-emergency-locking-wheel-nut-remover-4-pc/94826?_requestid=43347

Big drill bit to shift the head (you want one just over the bolt shank diameter, so you can get the wheel off and get at the shank with PlusGas (accept no substitutes; this isn't just the Daddy but the Granddaddy of dismantling lubricants)) and an external stud extractor like is used for head studs.

Thanks ill let him know

help much appreciated

My mate bought a nut remover from his local SnapOn van, Cost about £20 and it worked a treat on his Passat.

Find another wheel bolt. Have it welded to the locking wheel bolt, then wind her out.

Seen this done twice. Works perfect.

You can get a wheel nut remover from Halfords. I have had the same problem.

It's got a opposite thread, you tap it over the tight bolt head, then you use a Air gun or wheel wrench to undo the damaged wheel nut but as this adaptor has a opposite thread it tightens on the bolt and hay presto undoes the stuck wheel nut. It's made of high tension steel so it grips the alloy wheel bolt

Does that make sense?

I managed to get a locking nut off my old car by hammering a hex socket bit over the top of the bolt head. It took a bit of force, but it came out.

Just don't do what this guy did!!

Never tire of that one. Stupid yanks.

Hammer = Calibrated tapometer

I had this problem and I hammered a socket over the top of it, it takes serious brute force but that combined with a torque wrench and it came off in no time.