IS IT POSSIBLE TO REMOVE A LOCKING WHEEL NUT OR BOLT WITHOUT A KEY?

• Method 1 - Find someone with the same locking wheel nuts or bolts

This should always be your first port of call. First try the car dealer. Then bung some beer in the back of the car, swallow your pride and drive around the town looking for someone with the same car of exactly the same age and specification as yours parked in front of their house. If that doesn't work, try every garage. You are very unlikely to find a matching tool even if you strike it lucky as the wheel bolts are changed so often on models, but this is worth a try - if it pays off, hand them the beer. You should combine this approach with method 4 and hunt for a garage with a universal removal tool.

• Method 2 - Standard socket and a hammer or Torx, drill and hammer

Standard Socket and Hammer: Now I know this works as I've seen it done a few times, but you do risk wrecking a decent socket, also if your bolts are on very tight or are seized it will not work at all. Simply take a standard socket slightly smaller than the locking bolt or nut and hammer it on hard. The splines of the socket will bite into the locking bolt and should hold it tight. You should now be able to undo the locking bolt... if you are lucky! Always use a splined socket like those shown in the photo, others will not work... and before you ask, no this didn't get my locking bolts off and yes it was very difficult to remove the hammered on socket to try another technique. My advice would be only to use this technique if you have nothing else available.

• Method 3 - Weld a bolt or socket to the locking wheel bolt or nut
• This works well but should be used as a last resort as you risk damaging your wheels and if you get it wrong you may well be left with a locking wheel bolt or nut that can only ever be drilled or ground out - a very, very expensive mistake! The basic idea is to weld a bolt to the end of the locking wheel bolt (make sure your bolt and locking bolt is steel first). Make a really good strong weld with a MIG and cover your wheels so the alloys aren't splattered. Once you have them welded on there, you should be able to undo them with a normal socket. I'd always use a bolt (see photo) for this if you have locking wheel bolts rather than a socket or tube as if you mess up it is easier to get off and you may not have wrecked the locking bolt in the process so can try other techniques. However, for locking wheel nuts, a tube or spare socket should be placed over the nut and welded to it. Tubes and sockets can also be used with locking bolts and they may give a stronger joint than welding a bolt if you have the clearance to weld all the way round - if not drill holes in the side and weld into those. Done correctly this technique always works, but should only ever be used as a very last resort after methods 1, 2 and 4 have failed.
• Method 4 - Find or buy a locking wheel bolt or nut removal tool

This will work 99% of the time and is by far the easiest method. In fact it is as easy as if you had the proper key... but only if you have the right sort of removal tool. Now there are loads of different types of removal tool out there.

The two most common, for "standard" (i.e. not spinning collars) wheel nuts, are shown in the photo. With these two types of tool you simply lock them onto a ratchet and as you try to undo the wheel bolt they "screw" themselves tightly onto it as they have left hand (reversed) threads/splines. However, beware as only removal tool No.1 will work 99% of the time. This tool has splines that bite into the locking bold and hold it very firmly as you 'undo' it. Removal tool No. 2 will work, but you need to get exactly (and I do mean exactly) the right size, also if your bolt is seized it will probably fail. Bottom line, do not be tempted by the removal tools you see in Halfords etc. buy a proper set or better still drive round the garages until you find someone who has one. If you need to buy a No. 1 tool you will find it is often listed as a "Bolt Extractor", which is exactly what it really is. This sort of tool pre-dates locking wheel nuts and has been tried and proven for years in garages for removing rounded off bolts, so I'm not sure why anyone bothered inventing the No. 2 type tool! Anyway, in the case of my new car, my comprehensive set of old tools (No. 2's) worked on 1 bolt, I found a garage with No. 1 type tools and had them all off in 10 mins and yes one was seized.

• Method 5 - Have the locking wheel bolts or nuts drilled or ground out.

Never try this method yourself always have a professional grind out your wheel nuts and bolts. This method will always work, but you are always going to end up with some damage to your wheels. If you try to do this yourself you may well end up with a ruined alloy wheel set, in the worst case you may end up with a structurally damaged and dangerous set of wheels. Even a professional will probably cosmetically damage your wheel set and while he'll get your locking wheel nuts off, he will charge you a fortune for the privilege. Finally, for locking wheel bolts, once you have ground down and removed the bolt head, you then have to find a way to remove the shaft which will be threaded into your wheel hub/disc assembly. If the thread is seized you will need to drill it out and then retap the bolt hole or replace the whole assembly. As a result, my personal recommendation is NEVER try this method unless there is no other solution, it may seem an obvious answer to your locking wheel bolt problems, but you will probably regret it if you decide to grind or drill them out!

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