Re: Wheel lock

On 9 Sep 2003 06:58:55 -0700, the following appeared in rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys, posted by snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Snowboardripper):

I posted this in response to another question about wheel locks. Sounds like we used the same tire dealer... ;-)

"If you do, make damn sure no tire-change moron with an impact wrench gets at them. After *shearing* two keys on my McGard locks, it took a spare set of keys JB Welded to the locks and a 450 lb ft impact wrench to get them off. They did *not* go back on..."

SInce I don't need this hassle again, and since the chance of someone ripping off my stock wheels is slim-to-zero, and since even *if* that happened the insurance would cover it, I don't use the damn things any more. YMMV.

most shops just hammer on a slightly larger socket and muscle it off with an impact wrench. KH

Pounding a socket on is the usual way I hear about. 'If' you have the room, a nut splitter tool can crack them off.

In desperation, and again if you have the room a BFH will snap the stud off. Studs are cheap and easy to replace. They just punch out and pull back in with the nut.

Olof that came on our last Aug run with us in the van had one on so tight it stripped the corners off the nut. Nothing like a round nut set way into a hole...

We used a hammer and old solid core screwdriver to split the nut. Took a while, but it worked...

The edge of the rim hole kept the screwdriver tracking down the nut straight.

Mike

Snowboardripper wrote:

Me, too... after working tires for several years in my youth, I have an abiding disrespect for locking lugs. You *will* lose the lock, and find out only at the worst possible time that it's gone. __ Steve .

On Tue, 9 Sep 2003 16:17:42 -0700, the following appeared in rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys, posted by "Kevin in San Diego" :

That doesn't work too well with McGard locks; they're round.

I went to my dealer who had a box full of the master keys. I found one that fit, and removed all the locks.

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 21:16:59 GMT, the following appeared in rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys, posted by "Dave Milne" :

I used JBWeld filled epoxy and individual lock keys (for the greatest shear area), but the principle's the same.

well done. I'll have to re-evaluate JB Weld - I went off it big time after discovering that a car I bought had a JB Welded in sparkplug. Of course I only discovered this when the plug came out along with JB Weld powder, leaving behind a smooth, smooth sparkplug hole :-( Guess JBW *is* stronger than I thought.

Dave Milne, Scotland '99 TJ 4.0 Sahara

Look like another mechanic gone nuts with the air tools!

Guess JBW *is* stronger

We had an identical problem some time ago with the family TJ. I took it to wal mart for an oil change and tire rotation. Big mistake. The jackmonkeys stripped all the wheel locks. I didn't have the tools or anything to break the locks myself, so I took it back to walmart and showed them what they'd done and insisted they fix it. I don't know what kind of tools they used to do it, but it was no problem, only took them 20 minutes to break off the locks. I'm guessing that if walmart can do it that quickly, any reasonably equipped garage can do the same.

In my case the problem was noticed 30 minutes after leaving the service center, so I had the receipt and turned right back around and took it in and complained. Your situation might be a little different because it has presumably been quite some time since the last rotation. Nonetheless it never hurts to ask. I raised such a stink that walmart even gave me a new set of locks free.