Locking wheel nut - can't remove and made it worse
Locking wheel nut - can't remove and made it worse
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Discussion

DezMondo

Original Poster:

5 posts

111 months

Monday 20th May 2019
quotequote all
Hi.

I have a locking wheel nut which is stubborn to remove and has shafted the wheel key, making it unusable. Thought I'd try hammering on a bolt to get a tight fit then try removing the nut. BUT didn't realise the locking wheel nut is the rotating body type so now the the bolt has been hammered on and it just spins. Now stuck with a wheel nut which has a spinning bolt. Any ideas what I can do?

Thank you.

DezMondo

Original Poster:

5 posts

111 months

Monday 20th May 2019
quotequote all
Picture attached for reference...

CoolHands

23,667 posts

226 months

Monday 20th May 2019
quotequote all
Put straight extension bar in and lever up and down to get it off the bolt.

Oldandslow

2,405 posts

237 months

Monday 20th May 2019
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Novexx

396 posts

105 months

Monday 20th May 2019
quotequote all
Yes, crack it off.

After that either get a bolt welded onto the head or see if you can blag a shot of a master key set from a dealer or well equiped indy.

DezMondo

Original Poster:

5 posts

111 months

Monday 20th May 2019
quotequote all
Tried to lever it off with straight extension bar with no joy frown
Not enough wiggle room to get it off frown

CoolHands

23,667 posts

226 months

Monday 20th May 2019
quotequote all
If all else fails I think a welder could weld a bar of plain metal to the socket in order to at least get it off.

InitialDave

15,157 posts

150 months

Monday 20th May 2019
quotequote all
I'd probably weld something onto the socket and use a slide hammer to try and get it off.

You could try welding the socket to the head of the nut through the centre of it, and undo the thing as a lump first. Nothing to lose really.

E-bmw

13,609 posts

183 months

Monday 20th May 2019
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1. You need to remove what you have managed to stupidly force on without looking, or you are going nowhere.

2. You then need to take it to a professional or at least an amateur with what you should have used to start with.

The only way to achieve the above is to "go nuclear" to start with & go to your local fast fit, as most can do this.

A quick phone call will tell you where to go.

2gins

2,861 posts

193 months

Monday 20th May 2019
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Worst case scenario options often help to clarify things, so here's how I see it:

Wheel nut removal guy in pangbourne near reading m4 j12. Very good. Will get em all out for £50 plus a bit for the arse ache of the 4th one.

Or, how much is a new wheel? Cut the spokes, remove the other 4 and tap the remains round with bfh until it loosens off.

This is the guy I think.
Lockingwheelnutsremoved.com
No drama, he's seen it all before, ask me how i know. I didn't get as far in as you though!


Edited by 2gins on Monday 20th May 22:42

GreenV8S

31,027 posts

315 months

Monday 20th May 2019
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The suggestion to lever it using a long extension is what I'd try first. It ought to be possible to get it to shift, and from there it should just be a matter of patience to wiggle it off.

If you have a Dremel or similar and a lump hammer, my fallback would be to cut a slot through one side of the socket as deep as I dared without damaging the wheel, and then put a chisel in there and whack it hard in an attempt to split the socket.

milkround

1,371 posts

110 months

Tuesday 21st May 2019
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Get a strike through screwdriver. And a decent size hammer. A punch or a chisel will do. And knock it off. You might need to jack up the car to spin the wheel or just roll it along the ground to have a go at it from a few different angles. But it will come off.

I wouldn't dream of spending £50 to get a locker off. What you need is one of these: https://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/tools/hand...

Then take the same chisel/strike through screwdriver and smack the end of locker hard repeatedly causing an indentation. After that but Halfords tool on the end and you will get it off with a few good smacks. You could also 'damage' the spinning part enough to make it not spin using a punch. Then go back to smacking an old socket on the end and having it off.

DezMondo

Original Poster:

5 posts

111 months

Tuesday 21st May 2019
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Thanks for all your advice. Breaker bar did the trick to get the spinning bolt off. Have a new key on order to attempt the wheel nut again :/

bazjude2998

666 posts

155 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2019
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You will probably find the stud head is knackered and the new key won’t locate
There is a socket on the market that has a spiral inner which grips the stud acting like a screw extractor.Used them with success

GreenV8S

31,027 posts

315 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2019
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bazjude2998 said:
You will probably find the stud head is knackered and the new key won’t locate
There is a socket on the market that has a spiral inner which grips the stud acting like a screw extractor.Used them with success
Are you sure stud is the term you're looking for? I think you may be referring to either the wheel nut or bolt, depending which this vehicle uses.

bazjude2998

666 posts

155 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2019
quotequote all
GreenV8S said:
Are you sure stud is the term you're looking for? I think you may be referring to either the wheel nut or bolt, depending which this vehicle uses.
I think you may be right 😜 wheel nut or bolt
But I guess O P knew what I meant

GreenV8S

31,027 posts

315 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2019
quotequote all
bazjude2998 said:
I think you may be right ?? wheel nut or bolt
But I guess O P knew what I meant
If hammering a socket over the head didn't work them the sort of screw socket you describe will be no help here.

InitialDave

15,157 posts

150 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2019
quotequote all
Yeah, you'd need to get the rotating collar off first. But if you do so, those left hand threaded type sockets do work well.

Can be a right sod getting the bolt/nut back out of them though, an appropriate threaded something or other held in a vice works.

milkround

1,371 posts

110 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2019
quotequote all
InitialDave said:
Yeah, you'd need to get the rotating collar off first. But if you do so, those left hand threaded type sockets do work well.

Can be a right sod getting the bolt/nut back out of them though, an appropriate threaded something or other held in a vice works.
There is a hard way to do a job and an easy way. And thats hard.

Just batter it with a chisel. Then use an impact driver to get it out. Takes about 5 mins.

imagineifyeswill

1,250 posts

197 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2019
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Now that you have the socket back off you need to take a nice sharp centre punch and work it into the edge of that spinning collar, a few good whacks with a hammer and the collar will split and can be levered of with a screwdriver. This achieved you can now hammer on an old tight fitting socket and remove the bolt.