Wheel lock removal help?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,280
Likes: 0
From: Ramona, CA
Wheel lock removal help?
Ok I was checking the brakes the other day and the dang wheel lock removal tools pins broke off! Crap! 
So anybody have any ideas of what I can do without damaging my wheels?
I swear Ive never had good luck with wheel locks. Every time Ive ever used them Ive had wheel damage from stupid mechanics or theyve forgotten to return them to me after removing the wheels leaving me high & dry the next time I needed to remove a wheel for one reason or another. So I think the smart thing is to do without them from now on. I much would rather risk getting my wheels stolen as itd be cheaper & less of a heartache.
So anybody have any ideas of what I can do without damaging my wheels?
I swear Ive never had good luck with wheel locks. Every time Ive ever used them Ive had wheel damage from stupid mechanics or theyve forgotten to return them to me after removing the wheels leaving me high & dry the next time I needed to remove a wheel for one reason or another. So I think the smart thing is to do without them from now on. I much would rather risk getting my wheels stolen as itd be cheaper & less of a heartache.
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,664
Likes: 7
From: Dubuque, Iowa.
It's been so long ago but i wonder if i didn't use a large sidecutter to pry them off. I think I wedged the sidecutter jaws behind the lip that the little plastic cover snaps over. You know... that little black plastic cover that snaps over the Key hole.?. Put a paint stirring stick behind the sidecutter to keep from marring the wheel, and pry against the wheel.
I am pretty sure that is how i got mine off. I know i had only one key and it broke off in the first lock and i ended up prying all four off.
I am pretty sure that is how i got mine off. I know i had only one key and it broke off in the first lock and i ended up prying all four off.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,280
Likes: 0
From: Ramona, CA
How do I know if I've got a factory wheel lock? I mean it's not like any of the wheel locks I've owned in the past that required a center key. This one has five pins that engage the locking nut. See picture.
Maybe the #38 on the looking key will help me locate a replacment?
Maybe the #38 on the looking key will help me locate a replacment?
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Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,280
Likes: 0
From: Ramona, CA
Nop, no luck yet other than to discover that the manufacture is (was) one RND Ltd. out of Mountain View CA. Must be out of business because the numbers I have dont work and 411 information doesnt have any listing. Trying to find out if they may be listed under another name. Also the key number is 8C not 38 as I origenally thought.
As for the nut I tossed the others and the one is still on the wheel. Just hope I dont get a flat anytime soon.
As for the nut I tossed the others and the one is still on the wheel. Just hope I dont get a flat anytime soon.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,243
Likes: 19
From: Manchester,NH
If you do not have a wheel lock removal kit there is an easy way to remove. Get some deep 1/2" drive 12 point sockets that are about the same diameter and smaller. Pound on with hammer and remove with a breaker bar. You want the tightest fit without splitting the socket.
User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 3,291
Likes: 2
From: Midland, Texas
Take it to a shop with a impact wrench , I used a 1/2".
I forget the socket size but use a heavyduty, deepwell impact socket.
Spun all four right off.
If you look in the archives, the kindly, ex-Texan *** Yankee posted the travesty done to one of my wheels and hub when a clown -before I met Pattycakes- drilled thru the lock, alongside the stud without a clue as to what he/she was doing. since there is a recess pocket for the lug nuts/locks the wheel became involved -as in swiss cheese- somewhere in the process.
Post Script
Most of the big tire sales companies will not bust the locks off with an impact wrench -liability-?
Prior to my discovering the inate beauty of impact wrenches ...
I broke two 1/2 inch breaker bars of high quality -$$$$ price one at Sears$$$-
and a hand full of sockets were also sent to an early grave -splitting- when I resorted to a thick-walled, 3 foot long cheater pipe.
Caution if your lugs were over torqued -often the case- when a 1/2 inch breaker bar encrusted with a serious cheater pipe lets go ... You may discover some long forgotten, ancient spinal compression injury has come back to haunt you.don't ask...
I forget the socket size but use a heavyduty, deepwell impact socket.
Spun all four right off.
If you look in the archives, the kindly, ex-Texan *** Yankee posted the travesty done to one of my wheels and hub when a clown -before I met Pattycakes- drilled thru the lock, alongside the stud without a clue as to what he/she was doing. since there is a recess pocket for the lug nuts/locks the wheel became involved -as in swiss cheese- somewhere in the process.
Post Script
Most of the big tire sales companies will not bust the locks off with an impact wrench -liability-?
Prior to my discovering the inate beauty of impact wrenches ...
I broke two 1/2 inch breaker bars of high quality -$$$$ price one at Sears$$$-
and a hand full of sockets were also sent to an early grave -splitting- when I resorted to a thick-walled, 3 foot long cheater pipe.
Caution if your lugs were over torqued -often the case- when a 1/2 inch breaker bar encrusted with a serious cheater pipe lets go ... You may discover some long forgotten, ancient spinal compression injury has come back to haunt you.don't ask...
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 12,620
Likes: 8
From: Boulder Creek, CA
Those pins are probably a standard size, like .125" or 3mm. You can get case hardened pins in standard sizes at machine tool supply places. Drill out from the back and remove what's left of the pins with a pin drift, press the replacements in with red loctite and grind them to length.
Then you can use some more gentle persuasion on the lock. Back off the torque on the other 4 lug nuts to maybe 25 ft/lbs, drive it around the block, then with gentle pressure turning the wheel lock tap on the head of the breaker bar. You can tension the breaker bar with a scissor jack and let it sit for a while, tapping on the head of the breaker bar occasionally. Main thing is to avoid impact tools.
If all else fails, use a small dremel bit and grind the sucker away.
Then you can use some more gentle persuasion on the lock. Back off the torque on the other 4 lug nuts to maybe 25 ft/lbs, drive it around the block, then with gentle pressure turning the wheel lock tap on the head of the breaker bar. You can tension the breaker bar with a scissor jack and let it sit for a while, tapping on the head of the breaker bar occasionally. Main thing is to avoid impact tools.
If all else fails, use a small dremel bit and grind the sucker away.
