Drilling out knackard locking wheel bolts

[Hol]

4lf4-155 said:

What wheel are we talking here?

Mate had a similar problem - it was cheaper and FAR less hassle just to cut the wheel off.

I agree with this.

Alloy is soft to grind and drill out and if you can pick up a new rim for under £50 it will save you a lot of time and effort.

But, everything is relative, so it depends on how much money you would happily spend to get it sorted vs' how much time you are willing to personally spend to sort it.

Edited by Hol on Monday 25th November 10:48

[hairykrishna]

With a similar litany of failure on an Omega wheel we ended up using a carbide rotary burr bit and grinding the remains of the nut away. The deeply reaccessed ones are an absolute bd - we couldn't get any of the normal removal tools in or get a weld that would work.

[Juber]

smash a socket in there..... Pic below of my McGuard locking nut that literally had no teeth left.

Before it broke:

<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=41A794A19D08758B&resid=41A794A19D08758B%211426&authkey=AA3Ovg2zclsJzec" width="180" height="320" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Broke:

<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=41A794A19D08758B&resid=41A794A19D08758B%211418&authkey=AN5kIpccj_83w2s" width="320" height="180" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

After smashing a 17mm socket into the bolt itself.

<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=41A794A19D08758B&resid=41A794A19D08758B%211434&authkey=AACVCPsDvnufUfc" width="320" height="180" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=41A794A19D08758B&resid=41A794A19D08758B%211432&authkey=AC_2pivgOYq6h9Q" width="320" height="180" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

[CO2000]

Welding a nut on shouldn't damage the wheel if care is taken as it's the centre of the nut that fills up with weld. Something to deflect the spatter would help too.

[Davie]

Been there, done that....

Davie said:

I also asked him to remove the locking nuts a) they're piss b) who steals wheels these days and c) I didn't fancy fannying around at 3am, in the rain at the side of the M6 with a puncture. And that's where it all went wrong. Three came out no problem, the fourth - not a chance. 2hrs of power bats, air guns, impact drivers, swearing and even the proper RAC / AA approved tool and the nut was refusing to move.



Google suggested McGard do a drill out kit, in essence three sleeves with a progressively larger hole in the centre so you can drill out the locker whilst remaining central. Only issue, it was Saturday and I was leaving on the Monday. A mercy call went out and saw me armed with some insanely sharp drill bits and a man sized power drill. 2hrs later and I'd made a 2mm deep hole. I swore a lot and considered calling Enterprise. Final attempt, remove all the other nuts and drive the car in a circle hoping it'd a) stretch the bolt or b) distort the seat in the alloy and thus relieve some pressure. Did it work? Did it fu...

Dummy well and truly spat out the pram, final mercy call went out and it was off to see a mate of a mate who again had a crack with the pukka lock nut kit - ie the one that you leather a brass (?) stud down into the locker, thet then forms to the pattern and then in theory with a few smacks and an impact driver, job done. Always works, yet to have one that didn't come out. First for everything. I sukled some more.

Decision time, do we heat the bolt from the back but risk damaging the bearing and associated parts or simply admit defeat and keep drilling. I looked at the new wheels in the boot, looked at the scabby original alloy that was sat there, sneering at me...

Now, again those from an engineering / OCD / Daily Mail background, look away now...







Lock nut removal, the man's method. £25.00 and one wheel lighter...

[4lf4-155]

And that's how it's done!