DIY Guide to Removing McGard Spinning Locking Wheel Bolts
Discussion
Let's start out with the glaringly obvious. This isn't a guide on how to steal alloy wheels. No one really does that anyway. And I'm sure the underclass of society would realize there are far easier ways of earning a dishonest living after reading this. I'm just trying to help someone else (as I'd have liked to read this before starting the job) and spreading a bit of Christmas cheer.
If like me you lose your key... You are left with paying a high (but fair for a persons skill/time) fee, being fleeced by the dealer, hoping a tyre place will help you out - or just sorting it yourself.
My method will work. It won't damage your wheels. And it works even if the bolt is tight - on one wheel the locker was put on massively tight with an airgun (not by me) - I couldn't use my normal 400nm gun to get it or the other bolts off. But this method worked.
A McGard spinning locking bolt looks like this:
The outer bit spins. This collar is made from incredibly hard metal. As is the head of the bolt. There are two types of locking bolts like this(maybe more).. One is the ultra and the head shears off. And the classic with just the spinning collar. The ultra is arguably easier to crack as can be seen by this handsome Canadian/American: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6TQxlk3lC8
The problem you will run into is you might not know which type you have. This isn't a problem at all - just follow my method. If at some point your head falls aff follow our handsome heroes advice above.
You won't need to weld. You won't need to cut your wheel off. You won't even need to worry about it that much. Once you have done this take the locking nuts and throw them in the bin. Replace with normal bolts from a motor factor for about £2 a corner and live a happy life knowing you'll never have to worry about finding the key again.
Let's start off with the tools you will need:
If you have spinning locking nuts which do not shear off (or you don't know). I wouldn't attempt this without an impact gun. The one in the pic is quite high torque. You need this to defeat the spinning collar! I had need of it on 1 of the 4 bolts as you will see. Some folks will tell you it's doable with just a breaker bar... Or you can use a chisel or a punch to get the collar off! I have done rigorous experiments and can confirm this is BS. You will see why later.
Don't try this with anything less than 1/2 sockets! I had to use my shiny new black ones when I needed to downsize. But I wouldn't have dreamed off using one of the countless old 3/8 ones... It is not worth the risk. I also wouldn't try this without 12 point sockets. It would work well if you had decent stud removers like Irwin - but mine didn't go big enough. I wouldn't use impact sockets even if you have 12 point... Impact sockets are great because they deform... You don't want this you want chrome sockets which are brittle.
Now onto the method.
Measure your socket against the locking bolt head. You want one slightly too small. In my case I used 22mm. Put the socket on the extension and get your big hammer (don't use a small one). Tappy tap tap at first. Then swing like your life depends on it. You want this on tight.
I didn't' take any photos of this. As if you can't use a hammer to knock a socket on you shouldn't be considering this. But the big smacks of the hammer actually helps to loosen the bolt. And you are trying to both bits into the locking bolt and also compress the spinning ring. This is what it will look like when it's done so you can visualise what's happening:
The socket is both compressing and gripping the ring. So you have to really get it on. On top of compressing the spinning collar the impact gun allow you to change the angle of attack meaning the spinning collar won't line up perfectly with the bolt, causing friction and helping you to get the locking bolt off.
Simply take the big impact gun and put it on full power in reverse. If it spins stop. Take your hammer and smack it a few more times. Then repeat. 3 times out of 4 I got this:
You may have to force the impact and different angles slightly. You are trying to create friction. This is why I do not think you should try this with a breaker bar. Make sure you keep your weight behind the impact gun. You want it pushed well on.
If you still get spinning as I did with the very tight one it's not a problem. Repeat the above process a bit more. Then simply force the impact from side to side, up and down and you will get the ring to spin off. It will look like this in your socket:
After this take a smaller socket and smack if over where the ring had been. The metal here is much softer so it's much easier. The remaining part of the bolt will look like this:
Notice how deeper the grooves are compared to the rotating collar above? The top of the head of the bolt and the ring are made from crazy hardened metal.
To get the bolts out of your shiny sockets it's easy enough. I used an SDS chisel and the big hammer:
It will take some serious knocking. The sockets remain in perfectly usable condition:
The socket which takes out the spinning ring on it's own... To remove the spinning collar get a punch. Work it for 45 minutes. Give up. Get a Dremel... using a grinding bur for 20 mins give up. Then spend half an hour with a diamond cutting disk and achieve this:
In the end - get bored and realise it's a £4 socket of which you have about 10 and do this with an angle grinder:
My point is... With this in a vice and with the perfect angle of attack I couldn't crack this. The idea that the average DIYer is going to be able to do this on their drive with the bolt in the car (possible recessed) is absurd to me. The easy way to get the collars off - is with massive amount of torque at high speed with the impact gun. Maybe if you had endless patience and were willing to damage your wheel you could do it. But why not simply ask to borrow or buy a high toque gun? It's a one off job.
It really is that easy and you can't really go wrong. If you end up giving up and want to get your socket off. Use the impact wrench and simply pull it back at an angle in a circular motion. Without the impact this could be a big problem. If you try this without the impact and get a socket stuck on the bolt spin DO NOT try cutting it. Simply drive it to a garage or ask on here. I'm sure someone will help you out. You could also try using an extention and a jack to apply pressure on the socket at different angles - but I'd not advocate it as if the extention snaps in the socket you might be in more trouble.
I think we can all agree most thieves are not going to be smashing sockets onto bolts with lump hammers. Using heavy and noisy impact guns. Putting all their tools back in their car, loading your wheels on and driving home. Especially as they might have to smack on 2 different types of socket!
I'd rate this a 2 beer job. It only takes about 10 minutes to get them off even with problems. But you need your second beer to get the bolts out of the sockets and put the tools away.
This isn't meant as a tutorial for the experts on here. It's for people who found themselves in a similar position to me who just want the bolts off. If anyone has a better way of getting these off please share it.
If like me you lose your key... You are left with paying a high (but fair for a persons skill/time) fee, being fleeced by the dealer, hoping a tyre place will help you out - or just sorting it yourself.
My method will work. It won't damage your wheels. And it works even if the bolt is tight - on one wheel the locker was put on massively tight with an airgun (not by me) - I couldn't use my normal 400nm gun to get it or the other bolts off. But this method worked.
A McGard spinning locking bolt looks like this:
The outer bit spins. This collar is made from incredibly hard metal. As is the head of the bolt. There are two types of locking bolts like this(maybe more).. One is the ultra and the head shears off. And the classic with just the spinning collar. The ultra is arguably easier to crack as can be seen by this handsome Canadian/American: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6TQxlk3lC8
The problem you will run into is you might not know which type you have. This isn't a problem at all - just follow my method. If at some point your head falls aff follow our handsome heroes advice above.
You won't need to weld. You won't need to cut your wheel off. You won't even need to worry about it that much. Once you have done this take the locking nuts and throw them in the bin. Replace with normal bolts from a motor factor for about £2 a corner and live a happy life knowing you'll never have to worry about finding the key again.
Let's start off with the tools you will need:
If you have spinning locking nuts which do not shear off (or you don't know). I wouldn't attempt this without an impact gun. The one in the pic is quite high torque. You need this to defeat the spinning collar! I had need of it on 1 of the 4 bolts as you will see. Some folks will tell you it's doable with just a breaker bar... Or you can use a chisel or a punch to get the collar off! I have done rigorous experiments and can confirm this is BS. You will see why later.
Don't try this with anything less than 1/2 sockets! I had to use my shiny new black ones when I needed to downsize. But I wouldn't have dreamed off using one of the countless old 3/8 ones... It is not worth the risk. I also wouldn't try this without 12 point sockets. It would work well if you had decent stud removers like Irwin - but mine didn't go big enough. I wouldn't use impact sockets even if you have 12 point... Impact sockets are great because they deform... You don't want this you want chrome sockets which are brittle.
Now onto the method.
Measure your socket against the locking bolt head. You want one slightly too small. In my case I used 22mm. Put the socket on the extension and get your big hammer (don't use a small one). Tappy tap tap at first. Then swing like your life depends on it. You want this on tight.
I didn't' take any photos of this. As if you can't use a hammer to knock a socket on you shouldn't be considering this. But the big smacks of the hammer actually helps to loosen the bolt. And you are trying to both bits into the locking bolt and also compress the spinning ring. This is what it will look like when it's done so you can visualise what's happening:
The socket is both compressing and gripping the ring. So you have to really get it on. On top of compressing the spinning collar the impact gun allow you to change the angle of attack meaning the spinning collar won't line up perfectly with the bolt, causing friction and helping you to get the locking bolt off.
Simply take the big impact gun and put it on full power in reverse. If it spins stop. Take your hammer and smack it a few more times. Then repeat. 3 times out of 4 I got this:
You may have to force the impact and different angles slightly. You are trying to create friction. This is why I do not think you should try this with a breaker bar. Make sure you keep your weight behind the impact gun. You want it pushed well on.
If you still get spinning as I did with the very tight one it's not a problem. Repeat the above process a bit more. Then simply force the impact from side to side, up and down and you will get the ring to spin off. It will look like this in your socket:
After this take a smaller socket and smack if over where the ring had been. The metal here is much softer so it's much easier. The remaining part of the bolt will look like this:
Notice how deeper the grooves are compared to the rotating collar above? The top of the head of the bolt and the ring are made from crazy hardened metal.
To get the bolts out of your shiny sockets it's easy enough. I used an SDS chisel and the big hammer:
It will take some serious knocking. The sockets remain in perfectly usable condition:
The socket which takes out the spinning ring on it's own... To remove the spinning collar get a punch. Work it for 45 minutes. Give up. Get a Dremel... using a grinding bur for 20 mins give up. Then spend half an hour with a diamond cutting disk and achieve this:
In the end - get bored and realise it's a £4 socket of which you have about 10 and do this with an angle grinder:
My point is... With this in a vice and with the perfect angle of attack I couldn't crack this. The idea that the average DIYer is going to be able to do this on their drive with the bolt in the car (possible recessed) is absurd to me. The easy way to get the collars off - is with massive amount of torque at high speed with the impact gun. Maybe if you had endless patience and were willing to damage your wheel you could do it. But why not simply ask to borrow or buy a high toque gun? It's a one off job.
It really is that easy and you can't really go wrong. If you end up giving up and want to get your socket off. Use the impact wrench and simply pull it back at an angle in a circular motion. Without the impact this could be a big problem. If you try this without the impact and get a socket stuck on the bolt spin DO NOT try cutting it. Simply drive it to a garage or ask on here. I'm sure someone will help you out. You could also try using an extention and a jack to apply pressure on the socket at different angles - but I'd not advocate it as if the extention snaps in the socket you might be in more trouble.
I think we can all agree most thieves are not going to be smashing sockets onto bolts with lump hammers. Using heavy and noisy impact guns. Putting all their tools back in their car, loading your wheels on and driving home. Especially as they might have to smack on 2 different types of socket!
I'd rate this a 2 beer job. It only takes about 10 minutes to get them off even with problems. But you need your second beer to get the bolts out of the sockets and put the tools away.
This isn't meant as a tutorial for the experts on here. It's for people who found themselves in a similar position to me who just want the bolts off. If anyone has a better way of getting these off please share it.
I somehow managed to leave the key on a wheel after doing a repair and promptly set off on a test drive... Gone!
Easiest way for removal is to contact McGuard directly, 48 hours and €28 later I had the right key in my hand brand new. Buzzed them all off and chucked then into a drawer to avoid buggering it up again.
Easiest way for removal is to contact McGuard directly, 48 hours and €28 later I had the right key in my hand brand new. Buzzed them all off and chucked then into a drawer to avoid buggering it up again.
Couple of top tips,
Before you start get a breaker bar and tighten all the other wheel nuts as tight as you dare, doing this helps by taking som of the pressure off the locker.
If the locker is really really tight then loosen off the other wheel nuts 2or 3 turns and go for a spin round the block and be aggressive on the brakes and steering. Then try again, sometimes you can even hear/feel the whell come loose so make sure you've got a bar and socket to nip it back up until you get home!
Before you start get a breaker bar and tighten all the other wheel nuts as tight as you dare, doing this helps by taking som of the pressure off the locker.
If the locker is really really tight then loosen off the other wheel nuts 2or 3 turns and go for a spin round the block and be aggressive on the brakes and steering. Then try again, sometimes you can even hear/feel the whell come loose so make sure you've got a bar and socket to nip it back up until you get home!
Gassing Station | Home Mechanics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff