Locking wheel nut key broken.

[chesterpiglet]

Hi all.
Had a puncture so have the temporary on. It took a 2m scaffolding pole & all my weight(100kg) behind it to remove the nuts. It's going into a Renault Dealership on Tuesday to have new tyres all around(supplied by me)- fitted & balanced for €60(reasonable for France). So this morning I have checked all the others(loosened them all off, cleaned & greased up) & found just one locking bolt- on opening my bolt key box I was greeted by this(nice of the garage to tell me). The part number on the box does not correspond to the type of key I have(good job I checked). Went online to find possible solutions, the most effective(other than buying a new key of course) being hitting a slightly oversize socket onto the bolt & removing like that. Looks easy on the videos but I need at least a 22mm socket to do this.......... which of course won't fit in the wheel nut aperture! You can see from the photo how the "garage" removed it before by removing the outer collar & then hammering on the socket. I'm loathe to buy another key as I wont be using the locking bolts again. Eventually...... my question is how difficult is removing this collar? I guess on a ramp with the right tools quite easy but probably not for me(in the garden with a dodgy hip) so I've answered my own question really. "having a go" will mean a new key wouldn't work & the Renault dealer may have their own solution to easily removing it. The 4 remaining nuts on this wheel weren't as tight as the others either so the key would probably have worked on it. So yet another thread on breaking locking wheel nuts............ take them off! If only I could............

 

[BigJase88]

What clown put them on

 

[W1ghty]

AA or RAC might be able to do it

 

[W1ghty]

What clown put them on

A big strong one

 

[SpikyMikey]

A big strong one

with very little brain

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Search for a local specialist in removing broken locking wheel bolts. When you’ve done a few then they’re really easy to deal with, but an absolute nightmare first time.

A professional will repeatedly pound a lump of soft metal into the damaged locking bolt so that it fills the voids in and around the bolt, and grip it like the key would.

They then use a long bar to very gently and slowly turn the lump of soft metal with high torque rather than impact force, and the locking bolt comes out easily.

A tyre fitter was reluctant to attempt to remove an over torque locking bolt, so I took it to my main dealer and asked them to try even if the key sheared in the process.

They tried their best not to shear the key but eventually it sheared. I then found a specialist who does nothing but remove them and it was the work of a few moments.

 

[chesterpiglet]

Thanks Bobby Dazzler, if I get a typical Gallic shrug of the shoulders with "it's not possible" I'll have a go myself. The collar is clearly a separate part & removable. It's a Renault Main Dealer so they will have the ability if not the inclination...............maybe!

 

[chesterpiglet]

AA or RAC might be able to do it

I'm in France..........

 

[chesterpiglet]

What clown put them on

I know, I know........... there seems to be little Professional pride these days. Just as easy to put it on correctly as incorrectly but there we go. C'est la vie as the French love to say(it was put on by a UK Garage though)

 

[W1ghty]

I'm in France..........

Le AA or Le RAC then buddy

 

[merc estate]

I have a friend who has a tyre shop and people coming to him all the time with the same problem he puts a socket on it with a long bar and as he turns the bar anti clockwise he wacks the socket with a club hammer, he always gets them of the he makes sure the other locking wheel nuts are ok to get off and he tells people to throw them in the bin and put new bolts is as no one nicks wheels anymore they nick your car.
Altho i see him telling people this all the time i still have them.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Le AA or Le RAC then buddy

L' AA surely ?

 

[chesterpiglet]

I have a friend who has a tyre shop and people coming to him all the time with the same problem he puts a socket on it with a long bar and as he turns the bar anti clockwise he wacks the socket with a club hammer, he always gets them of the he makes sure the other locking wheel nuts are ok to get off and he tells people to throw them in the bin and put new bolts is as no one nicks wheels anymore they nick your car.
Altho i see him telling people this all the time i still have them.

That's what the video(I watched) shows but the problem is with the Merc keys they have a rotating collar on them as an added security feature(I presume) which means you cannot get a large enough socket onto it. If you can see in the photo the one that has been removed has had this collar removed enabling a socket to be hammered onto it.

 

[DSM10000]

Thanks Bobby Dazzler, if I get a typical Gallic shrug of the shoulders with "it's not possible" I'll have a go myself. The collar is clearly a separate part & removable. It's a Renault Main Dealer so they will have the ability if not the inclination...............maybe!

Just make sure it is not coffee time, or lunch time or within an hour of going home time when you ask the dealer

 

[optimusprime]

Chesterpiglet For others watching , and reading this,= take a look at the picture above of chesterpiglets locking wheel nuts and key . Now if yours are the same as this, then i would remove them from the car ASAP and fit a better set . These mb type are made of soft alloy type material , little bit stronger than cheese . Then on the first emrergency wheel removal that you need to do you can bet your stuck out in the sticks on a wet and nasty night, with a first time flat, then the very same thing could happen to you . .Best thing you can do is to go out to your car and check if the locking wheel nuts are the same type ,then try and open them up one at a time ,,,easy ,dont break them off . If you cant remove them then they have been over tightened in the past by a ham fisted tire shop. Get them checked out, it will save a lot of heart ache later on .Or visit your dealer and get them to sorted it , and if they bust them off they will have to replace them ..If the threads are lightley oiled and set to the right torque you might just get away with them .Ask me why ,,i know i had the teashirt. ...

 

[SpikyMikey]

Chesterpiglet For others watching , and reading this,= take a look at the picture above of chesterpiglets locking wheel nuts and key . Now if yours are the same as this, then i would remove them from the car ASAP and fit a better set . These mb type are made of soft alloy type material , little bit stronger than cheese . Then on the first emrergency wheel removal that you need to do you can bet your stuck out in the sticks on a wet and nasty night, with a first time flat, then the very same thing could happen to you . .Best thing you can do is to go out to your car and check if the locking wheel nuts are the same type ,then try and open them up one at a time ,,,easy ,dont break them off . If you cant remove them then they have been over tightened in the past by a ham fisted tire shop. Get them checked out, it will save a lot of heart ache later on .Or visit your dealer and get them to sorted it , and if they bust them off they will have to replace them ..If the threads are lightley oiled and set to the right torque you might just get away with them .Ask me why ,,i know i had the teashirt. ...

Yep.
My lockers went in the bin a while ago (actually they went back into their little storage box in the boot where they will stay. Normal bolts replaced them.