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HELP! Locking hubcap on 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis

Anyone know of a good way to get this security nut off of a 91 Mercury Gran Marquis hubcap? The owner of the vehicle has lost the key for it. It is a lot like a regular wheel lock nut, except in the center of the hubcap, and a lot smaller. Unfortunately the Ford dealership does not have one for this, and it is too small for a lug nut remover.

Were there a large number of varieties made? If not, I might just trudge through a junkyard looking in the gloveboxes of this kind of vehicle.

The best I can think of is to drill a hole and use a screw extractor, but I don't know how tight this center nut will be. Any suggestions? The tire has a nail in it, of course...

Pictures here:

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P.S. This is not the axle nut, or the lug nuts. It simply is from an era of paranoia about hubcap theft. It came stock with the vehicle, and there was a key for it.

Reply to
Conan Ford
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Put a punch against the lock screw, give the punch a good stout whack with a 2# hammer, it will drive the screw thru the center of the hub cap.

Reply to
aarcuda69062

Those same type of nuts have been around for a long time (~30 yrs) and are on a lot of Fords. Can you print out the pic and take it to a tire & wheel place?

Reply to
=?x-user-defined?Q?=AB?= Paul

Its not the same key thats on the 92+ Crown vics, i dont think.

I had one of these style vics with spoke hubcaps, and it was just a tool look like a cheap t wrench with a screwdriver for the T handle, and an open ended part on the end to remove the hubcap...

that is the same as mine was... i don't THINK it is the same as my security lugnut on my crown vic, which i HAVE been meaning to change, because they are annoying as hell!

Reply to
Picasso

I would think you might find a key at a junk yard, if you traced the key pattern. Although there might be many without tools in the cars junked, I would think there would also be many. You might also consider making a slot in the bolt with a Dremel tool and unscrewing it with a blade screwdriver.

Reply to
Ken

Phone around to find a shop that has a commercially available wheel lock remover kit... or a tech that has some experience and can think for himself.... There are many variation on te theme for removing these including reverse cut drill bits, tack welding a bolt to the lock.... and on and on..

Reply to
Jim Warman

Picasso wrote in news:3t2tg.9353$ snipped-for-privacy@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca:

Thanks for the replies. Turns out that an older Ford/Mercury dealership around here (who sold these cars when they were new) had kept their master keys and simple undid the hubcap lock nuts. The dealership checked at first was actually a fairly new one, it turned out.

By the way, for actual security lugnuts, all you need is a lugnut remover socket (i.e.

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and many more) and a 1/2" breaker bar. So, they are not really "secure" at all. I'd be surprised if these sockets are not in every car thief's kit already.

Reply to
Conan Ford

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