Couple of months ago, a friend bought a used MK3 1.4 TSI Octavia. The car came with locking wheel nuts so doing a winter wheel change recently he had to use the special socket to remove those. He succeeded with the first two but not with the other two. Turns out either during previous wheel changes some silly amount of torque was applied OR people that used the locking wheel nut socket did it carelessly, slightly damaging the socket to the point where it now has become unusable as several surfaces of the special pattern inside are stripped.

 

At first, he considered trying to drill the locking nut in the center so as to be able to use a screw extractor but I am not sure this method would bring success or more trouble. I know it works on broken/stripped screws where no bolt preload exists at that point since the head is off, but in this case the bolt is still in and applying quite a lot of torque so not sure the extractor will be able to overcome it. Even worse, those bolts are quite hard to drill with a typical 18V home drill as it turns out.

 

I am thinking the only safe way to go is order a similar set (4 nuts + 1 socket) from Skoda. However his local Skoda dealer was so helpless that he said my friend should find and provide him the "locking wheel nut code" for him to order it. He couldn't do it from either the registration or the VIN code, which I find very strange. So could anyone point to the right direction of where he should look for such a code? Any other suggestions for his situation are also welcome I guess.

Edited 18 November, 20178 yr by newbie69

The letter code should be on the 'faulty' socket. 

So it's just one letter? I think I saw "K" but for sure he can check it. My friend even showed the dealership guy the socket and one removed bolt but he said he couldn't know from those... 

Maybe a gator grip would work http://www.gator-grip.eu

standard locking nuts are one of a set of ... 17, I think. Any dealer should have those.

Alternative? Take the key to a tyre shop and ask them to help  That's how I got mine off when I broke the special thread...

 

 - Bret

Most tyre places have universal locking nut removers, you can get them anywhere like HERE  (other wheel-thief supply shops are available )

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions.  However we are positive the only locking nut code that exists (if he wants to get the same) is the one letter engraved on the socket, correct?

Edited 19 November, 20178 yr by newbie69

1 hour ago, newbie69 said:

Thanks for the suggestions.  However we are positive the only locking nut code that exists (if he wants to get the same) is the one letter engraved on the socket, correct?

Yes.

During the weekend, we tried to use the "12point small socket" approach, that employs a 12point socket slightly smaller than the outter diameter of the round locking wheel bolt that is forced over it with a hummer and then is used to undo the bolt. We didn't manage to go much further as a couple of sockets we tried were too large to go through the hole of the wheel. Not sure if there are thin-walled sockets available or those specific wheels on the car have too small holes but no socket would enter.

 

So kind of fed up with it my friend went to the dealer today to order a T type locking wheel nut (bolt) set for 35 eur. Here's the interesting part: Dealer told him you can order a locking wheel nut set but you can't ask specifically which type, they just come in random. I guess that's a way to order a locking wheel nut set and prevent thiefs ordering the needed type at the same time but in the case of my friend it wouldn't be much help... In despair, he agreed to book the car in tomorrow for the dealer to remove the locking bolts for a mere 25eur per wheel... 75eur in total, wow... Those things are a real pain in the ass if you damage/lose your special socket aren't they? Might have to make sure I keep mine in good condition.

Edited 20 November, 20178 yr by newbie69

How much? He should not be charged more than 20eur as Skoda Dealers keep master sets in case if customer loose his key. 

this is why I have a cheap aftermarket set of locking wheel bolts....I can get a new key for a few ££ .....cheap but..they are however made from 12.9 grade steel...which is good.

Well, it's done now and he's 75eur lighter...  He's now thrown them away and replaced them with standard bolts lol. If he would have told me I would have suggested trying another method to get them off, not about the price but as a matter of principle. Like they  are literally charging the price of a full wheel change for simply removing one single bolt, it's outrageous. 

 

What I keep wondering though is how the socket got damaged like that, I've done three wheel changes on mine with locking bolts and no sign of wear on the socket. But (both out of personal and professional back-ground) make sure to always apply around 120Nm and not just tightening it till the preload beats gravity and my own weight as some people (like the previous owner of my friend's car) like to do... I guess all the over-tightening, combined with the friction increase over-time (no caps on the bolts either) mean you need quite a lot of torque to untighten the bolts, and the contact surfaces on the locking bolt/socket are smaller than those on a standard hex head bolt. Add to that a clumsy attempt to undo the bolt without properly applying the socket on top of it and I guess you easily end up with a useless socket.

Edited 21 November, 20178 yr by newbie69

I've previously had to use a Dremmel to 'realign' some of the key ways after having an impact driver socket become slightly loose during tightening. 

1 minute ago, john999boy said:

I've previously had to use a Dremmel to 'realign' some of the key ways after having an impact driver socket become slightly loose during tightening. 

 

Yeah I know what you mean. My friend tried to "flatten" some of the worn socket surfaces that were not flat anymore using a home Bosch drill and it worked just enough to remove one locking bolt, then on the second one it got bad again. At least that one saved him 25eur. 

I had a similar problem on a previous car which was almost certainly caused by a tyre fitter with an air wrench. Luckily enough of the key was left to allow careful removal and replacement of the locking bolts.