Ok, I can understand why people want to put wheel locks on with their brand new set of expensive wheels, but it seems I always get a vehicle with locks and no key.

Situation is: I have one wheel lock left to get out, and the "jam a socket on it" method has only produced a round lug nut surface. What would be the best way to get it off? The shop I went to to get tires wouldn't touch them because they didn't have a lock, and their lug nut removers were too big to fit into the wheel lug nut openings without eating up the wheels.

My thoughts were:
A. Get a set of left hand drill bits and try drilling it off or out, or
B. Take off the wheel hub nut and the bolts out of the back holding the hub to the spindle, or
C: Drill it out and try to split the lock nut in half.

Does any of that sound like it would be possible, or is there some other option? Last resort is to take it back to the tire shop and get them to use their lug nut removers, and say screw the wheels, but if at all possible, I'd like to not ruin the wheels, so I can sell them, as I have factory style wheels to go back on.

 

If your really good, you can burn the nut off with a torch without harming the stud or the wheel

 

you can weld a nut on it and then use a socket and turn it off or you can take a chisel and notch it and use a hammer and turn them. Thats how I had to get mine off.


B. isnt possible the way you described. if you take the nut off you'll have the hub assembly and the wheel on there. you'd have to cut the end of the lug bolt off and press it through. but then you'll have to get a lug bolt.

 

That's actually what I was thinking, I just forgot to complete my thought in sentence form. [:@] If I could get to the back and grind it down, I can take the rest of the lug nuts off, and just press or hammer that one on through. Replacing the lug nut stud wouldn't be a problem.

To clarify, I was referring to removing the center hub nut, remove the three bolts in the back holding the hub to the spindle, remove wheel, rotor and hub/axle, and then grinding the head off of the lug nut stud, to press or hammer it through.

 

Why not check a different tire shop. Most of the ones around here have various kinds of keys to fit the most common types of locking lugs. If you could find out what kind of key you need, I think they are less than $10 and you don't have to beat on your truck and risk further damage.

 

Weld a regular lug nut to it and then take it off with your normal lug wrench. Just be careful and try not to burn the rim.

 

+1 on the tire shop. If you have the kind of locking nuts that have the puzzle piece on the end - they can likely get it off pretty easy (at least that is what I have been told in the past).

Good luck,
Cartman

 

+1 for the tack weld quickest way just protect the wheel with denim shirt or pants

 

It was already rounded off or I would have tried another shop. The lock nut was one of the kind with splines sticking out, rather than an imprint in the head. It wasn't like the tuner lugs at Autozone, with the splines all the way up the nut, but rather only about 3/8 inch long, at the bottom of the lug nut. I completely broke them off trying to get the nut off with a socket. So I was already beyond that. In the future, I'll remember to do that though.

I had good and bad luck after getting off work today. Bought a set of Craftsman (I believe) Bolt-Out bolt extractors at Sears, and put the one that fit the lug nut head onto the impact wrench. It managed to eat the edge of the nut opening on the wheel, but at this point, it already has hammer marks, so I wasn't too worried about it. I put on the next smaller size, as it too fit, and the larger one wasn't going on all the way and was trying to eat the wheel. After about seven or eight minutes of almost nonstop, uh...impacting? It finally started to move the thing a little, and then all of a sudden, it broke loose! Or rather, broke the lug nut stud in half. Either way, I can get my stock wheels on, and start driving the truck. I'll replace the stud at a later date, or have the tire shop replace it if they don't want to charge too much.

 

The studs seem to be fairlyeasy to change. http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech/studs.php

There is a tech article on it.