Ucube

Believe it or not, I've never removed my wheels since I bought the car from the previous owner more than 4 years ago. Wouldn't you know it, I ran into trouble on my very first try today. It turned out the wheel lock key in the spare tire cover wasn't the right fit, so off I went to the dealership to buy a replacement. The weird thing is not a single one of the service tech's 30 factory master keys fits my wheel lock bolt, even though all of the tech guys agree mine looks factory. Is this possible? The previous owner bought the car from the very same dealership, and it was exclusively serviced there. In fact, he had the tires changed to SO-2s at that dealership prior to selling it to me.

The car came with the factory 18-inch turbo-look rims, so it's unlikely the previous owner somehow swapped out the wheel lock bolt with an aftermarket one. The tech guys don't believe there's an aftermarket wheel lock bolt for the 911 either. Is there some aftermarket specialty tool that can remove a wheel lock, or is my only option to have the dealer shear off the wheel lock bolt?

Thank God I've never had a flat all this time!

wrljet

A friend of mine had a problem where a shop used an impact gun on his wheel locks, and eventually split the "key". He ordered a new key. New one broke, by hand, before loosening several of the bolts. He wound up, very carefully, using a Dremel tool to form a hex head on the darn things and removed 'em with a normal socket.

Bill

Alan C.

This is why the first thing I do when I get a new car is to throw away the locks and get 4 standard lugs/bolts.

evansaero

Amen to that

Tried to take off one of the wheels and the key broke.

Had the locks all removed and put the standard bolts on.

wrljet

Me too.

Amazing thing is, my friend replaced the locks after he managed to get 'em off! Idiot.

arenared

In defense of your friend, it depends on where you live/park and how much your wheels cost. The real idiots could be the shop. It amazes me how "all-over-the-map" bolts are torqued when I get a car back from the shop. Seriously, I weigh 200lbs and have had to stand on a torque wrench to loosen bolts sometimes. I always retorque bolts after getting a car back from the shop. Another factor is that if you never remove your wheels (i.e. for cleaning/waxing) or to ever retorque the bolts, they can rust in place.

wrljet

He lives in Maine, in the sticks. And the car in question of the locks is a minivan. So what's his defense now?

Bill

Alan C.

Oops

arenared

OK, I withdraw my devil's advocating defense, even more so if they are stamped steel wheels.

I would recommend periodically checking wheel bolt torque (including that they're not over-torqued) especially if some work has been done with the wheels. Also, apply a thin coating of antiseize on the threads and under the collars per the manual.

wrljet

They were alloys, with the nuts deep set into wells. Thus the hard job of forming the hex head with the Demel. Nothing would fit down in there.
(and he's very **** about stuff and didn't want to risk any damage to the finish on the wheels)

Speaking of anti-sieze, is it possible to get the Optimoly they call for?

Bill

jerler

Optimoly can be ordered at your dealer parts department. Small tube (8 oz?) is about $17 last I got it.

nycebo

It's good advice as mentioned above to: 1. ensure that you have the wheel lock key for the locking lug nut; 2. loosen and retorque the lugs once a year (if you live in the north, that happens automatically when you go to the winter setup); 3. before putting the bolts in place, I always clean and lightly lube them.

Rusted lug nuts and overtorquing the lug nuts can really ruin your day if you get a flat in the middle of nowhere.

WFO

buy a piece of steel pipe, in a diameter that you can hammer the end of the pipe over your wheel lock. Once you have hammered the end of the pipe onto the wheel lock....take a pipe wrench and turn the pipe, thus removing said wheel lock. Yes, it works if you get the right sized pipe.

waynesworld

I used a similar technique on my old SL's BBS wheels. I found a 1/2" drive socket of the appropriate internal size - standard/metric 6pt/12pt provides a lot of choices. Just drive it over the wheel lock and then use a ratchet or bbar to remove. May cost you a socket, but is cheaper than other alternatives.

evansaero

Wish I had known about this before I spent $163 to have mine removed and replaced with bolts.
Dealer charged 1 hour. I almost lost it

One day I was removing a wheel and the key broke in two