Today's idiocy ...

[julianthegypsy]

I realized last night that one of the rear tyres on our focus REALLY needed changing, before I set off to deliver a pile of parts. No problem I thought, I'll stop by the tyre shop on the way. Good plan. Got to tyre shop, he asks for the locking wheel nut key. Sure. It's in the side pocket, where it lives. Except it isn't. Or in the other side pocket or the glove compartment, or anywhere else. Drove home dejected, swopped everything over and used the LDV instead. After pumping up the tyres since it hadn't moved for months!
So, what on earth do I do now? Is there an easy way to get the wheel nuts/studs out? A replacement set is cheap enough, but that assumes I can get the old ones out! And of course, just for giggles, for the moment it's our only car. I can drive the LDV to work, but they both have mot's coming up and I can't ask the wife to drive the car with a tyre that could let go any minute. All advice, as always, gratefully received!

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Garahe

I realized last night that one of the rear tyres on our focus REALLY needed changing, before I set off to deliver a pile of parts. No problem I thought, I'll stop by the tyre shop on the way. Good plan. Got to tyre shop, he asks for the locking wheel nut key. Sure. It's in the side pocket, where it lives. Except it isn't. Or in the other side pocket or the glove compartment, or anywhere else. Drove home dejected, swopped everything over and used the LDV instead. After pumping up the tyres since it hadn't moved for months!
So, what on earth do I do now? Is there an easy way to get the wheel nuts/studs out? A replacement set is cheap enough, but that assumes I can get the old ones out! And of course, just for giggles, for the moment it's our only car. I can drive the LDV to work, but they both have mot's coming up and I can't ask the wife to drive the car with a tyre that could let go any minute. All advice, as always, gratefully received!

Garage probably has it sitting in a tool box from the last time you had a tyre changed.

I always check when I get the car back

 

[Bobupndown]

Most tyre places will have tools for removing locking wheel nuts, it's a common issue.

 

[julianthegypsy]

Garahe
Garage probably has it sitting in a tool box from the last time you had a tyre changed.

I always check when I get the car back

I'm sure it went straight back in the door compartment. It shouldn't ever be anywhere else!

 

[EEEK]

You can usually get them all off in 5 mins with a hammer and a chisel.

 

[Parm]

Depends which type you have.

if it’s the simple ones then plenty of tools available for a diy job

i had the spinner type on my car. Cost me £60 quid, bloke had them all off and changed in less than 5 mins

 

[Agrismith]

Sometimes just undoing the other nuts is enough to loosen the pressure on the last one enough to undo it with something jammed in there

 

[premmington]

Weld something to it - bang it off with an airgun.

locking wheel nut removal

 

[RonA]

I realized last night that one of the rear tyres on our focus REALLY needed changing, before I set off to deliver a pile of parts. No problem I thought, I'll stop by the tyre shop on the way. Good plan. Got to tyre shop, he asks for the locking wheel nut key. Sure. It's in the side pocket, where it lives. Except it isn't. Or in the other side pocket or the glove compartment, or anywhere else. Drove home dejected, swopped everything over and used the LDV instead. After pumping up the tyres since it hadn't moved for months!
So, what on earth do I do now? Is there an easy way to get the wheel nuts/studs out? A replacement set is cheap enough, but that assumes I can get the old ones out! And of course, just for giggles, for the moment it's our only car. I can drive the LDV to work, but they both have mot's coming up and I can't ask the wife to drive the car with a tyre that could let go any minute. All advice, as always, gratefully received!

Did the locking wheel nut come with the car, had a similar issue on my Freelander. I called in with the VIN number to the dealers & they found a replacement from their vehicle records.
RonA

 

[julianthegypsy]

Did the locking wheel nut come with the car, had a similar issue on my Freelander. I called in with the VIN number to the dealers & they found a replacement from their vehicle records.
RonA

Got to be worth a try, I'll call them in the morning thanks.

 

[JMS1972]

I think usually you hammer on a cheap socket and that will do it ..

 

[julianthegypsy]

Well the dealer was useless, not worth the phone call. Looked at amazuseless and evil bay, got thoroughly confused, then my wife found a website. Take a photo of the wheel nut, driving licence and V5 email it off with far too much money and a new key should be with us in the morning. We'll see if it fits...

 

[angellonewolf]

Well the dealer was useless, not worth the phone call. Looked at amazuseless and evil bay, got thoroughly confused, then my wife found a website. Take a photo of the wheel nut, driving licence and V5 email it off with far too much money and a new key should be with us in the morning. We'll see if it fits...

depends on far to much money

how do you considder to much ?

 

[julianthegypsy]

depends on far to much money

how do you considder to much ?

Paid £20 extra for express delivery, so £64 in total. A new set of nuts would have been £30ish and I'd have had to either find the time (when I could be working) or pay someone to get the old ones off. It's temporarily our only car, the tyre needs doing urgently and the mot is due in a couple of weeks, so I bit the bullet.

 

[Ali]

Do allot wheels still get nicked? Genuine question. I didn’t get a key with my latest so just removed them and fitted normal uns.

 

[RonA]

Well the dealer was useless, not worth the phone call. Looked at amazuseless and evil bay, got thoroughly confused, then my wife found a website. Take a photo of the wheel nut, driving licence and V5 email it off with far too much money and a new key should be with us in the morning. We'll see if it fits...

Sorry to hear the dealer was a waste of space. Hopefully your alternative source comes up trumps.
I lost mine when I accidentally drove off with wheel nut key still in place albeit not for long, most annoying part is you could kick yourself having once lost it.
RonA

 

[ukracer]

Well the dealer was useless, not worth the phone call. Looked at amazuseless and evil bay, got thoroughly confused, then my wife found a website. Take a photo of the wheel nut, driving licence and V5 email it off with far too much money and a new key should be with us in the morning. We'll see if it fits...

Have you got a link to the website...it will be useful when one of my son's friends turns up and wants to use my welder....I can give them the link lol

 

[julianthegypsy]

Have you got a link to the website...it will be useful when one of my son's friends turns up and wants to use my welder....I can give them the link lol

www.lwnk.co.uk, I think!

 

[MetalMonkey]

Do allot wheels still get nicked? Genuine question. I didn’t get a key with my latest so just removed them and fitted normal uns.

If the scrap price is high enough. I had twenty of them took from a yard a while back, including some rare ones. I couldn't replace one for what they probably got when they weighed them in.

I don’t think it is so common for them to take them off cars, catalytic converters are worth more.

 

[angellonewolf]

Paid £20 extra for express delivery, so £64 in total. A new set of nuts would have been £30ish and I'd have had to either find the time (when I could be working) or pay someone to get the old ones off. It's temporarily our only car, the tyre needs doing urgently and the mot is due in a couple of weeks, so I bit the bullet.

id bet they charge that to remove the and replace so that dont seam bad just rubs the grain

the best one now the socket it will be in the boot with the spare wheel