Broken security lug nut socket

[pendragon1998]

So I'm dealing with a brake problem and while doing the on-again-off-again cakewalk with my wheels, I got to one of my security lug nuts and the socket wouldn't grab it. I took a closer look at the socket, and half of the damned security pattern on the inside has chipped off. The security lugs are round on the outside and have a female pattern on the inside that the male pattern on the inside of the socket locks into. Then you attach a 21 mm socket on the exterior of the security socket to turn it.

Anyway, I'm now left with a truck with bad brakes in the garage (thank the Lord this didn't happen roadside in the rain). There are four fully-tightened security lugnuts on the vehicle, and as (bad) luck would have it, my other 4runner's socket doesn't fit the first one. Any ideas on how to get the lug nuts off?

 

[Filson]

Picture plz? Used to work in tire shop, but there are dozens of diff styles.

 

[noslocars]

I used a drill, and a chisel in a rivet gun to remove a neighbors when his broke. I drilled into it to get an area that the chisel would grab. I then used my rivet gun with a chisel in it to hit the lug nut until it spun off. It worked for me but depending on the wheel it could really ****. The local tire company busted it and then just gave up and said they couldn't get them off.

 

[nlabell]

Either you buy a lock nut remover or what you can do is to force with an hammer a normal 6 points sockets that you don't care too much to fit tightly on the lock nut, then using a breaker bar or long ratchet, you removed the nut.

 

[jal395]

http://m.sears.com/productdetails.d...itemSrc=Online&threshold=59.0&fullFillment=TW

would this work?

 

[Skin]

If the nuts themselves are ruined smash a socket on it (fluted if you have them) and use a breaker bar or impact. If the lugs are fine go to the dealer and get a wheel lock socket.

 

[Murphy4570]

Weld a nut onto it and zip it off with an impact. No need to beat around the bush with those things.

 

[pendragon1998]

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to smash a socket or a nut remover on all four lug nuts. For one thing, the lug nuts are cylindrical on the outside. Welding a nut on would be fine, if I had a welder. Similarly, an air chisel could work, but I don't have air.

Anyway, wouldn't it be easier to remove the intact nuts somehow? Isn't there a tool or specialty socket out there for doing this?

I'm going to call the dealer and see if they might have a socket that I can buy. As soon as I get these off, I'm putting regular sockets on.

 

[1Fast2G]

Those are the easiest to remove. Get a 19mm 12 point 1/2 socket and hammer it on as hard as you can. Then get your impact or breaker bar and remove. To get the wheel lock out of you socket, put it in a vise and hammer thru the socket with a punch. If 19mm is to big or small substitute with what ever size fits. Sears also sells a wheel lock removal kit. I have it it works good/

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-3-pc...p-00947392000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

 

[JJThrasher]

I've beat a 5/8" 12 point on one before with a mini sledge. Then take it over to the vice and use a punch to get it out.

 

[firebox40dash5]

There's kits of fluted removers for just such a thing. I know many moons ago the auto parts place I worked at sold a generic version, though I heard it kinda sucked. Have a Matco kit at work, thankfully unused so far. In my limited experience, they all work better with an impact than by hand.

My $0.02, do the weld and bust. No one's stealing your 4Runner wheels and tires unless you live in Compton or the Bronx anyway. They'd rather cut off your catalytic converters.

 

[redwrench60]

Take a sharp good sized cold chisel.
Start at 12 o'clock and apply hammer blows to cut a notch for the chisel to dig into.
Tilt rear of chisel to right slightly and apply hammer blows to break loose nut then spin off by hand.

I'm a ninja with an air chisel at the shop. It takes me longer to walk over to the toolbox for the air chisel and bit than it takes to do it.

 

[#1SomeGuy]

I had the head on a couple mine break once, sheered right off when I was tightening them with a torque wrench

I managed to get them off with a rag and vise grips...not sure you'll be able to get it in there.

Apparently you can order those sockets keyed correctly if you have the code for them.

These sometimes work:

 

[Fedwrench]

http://www.tooltopia.com/ken-tool-30254.aspx

I think harbor freight had a 2 piece set for like 10 bucks that covered 19-22mm sizes. Left hand spiral that dug into the locking lug nut to remove it. No beating, no welding, no fuss. Used them several times when customers lost their lug nut key. Those appear to be OE, you can probably buy a new key socket from the dealer but, it won't be cheap.

 

[Guns R Tools]

12 point socket mentioned earlier works well. Hammer it on good.
Use breaker bar, more controllable.

 

[ChevyEFI]

I'd rather have wheels stolen than run that style of locking nut.

Thieves have remover tools. Slow them down, but run this type:

 

[spotco2]

You can order a replacement removal tool if you have the registration number for the nuts.

Otherwise just hammer a cheap socket on them.

 

[dadsEH]

I had the head on a couple mine break once, sheered right off when I was tightening them with a torque wrench



No you didnt! they broke because of 2 things..
1....you bought cheap cast iron **** lock nuts!

2...Look at the pics... you can see that the wheel stud has bottomed out into the end of the nut ... you kept on tightening them and "ping"

 

[Kracin]

^ this guy...... hes right.


the gorilla ones are a pretty good quality and harder for someone to just hammer a socket on to remove.

but any can be removed if you really wanna get them off. with common tools too.

you could also use a cutting wheel, cut a slot into it, and then use a hand impact tool with a large flathead attachment to break it loose pretty easily. works for most styles pretty quickly too...... problem is you cant do it on the side of the road

 

[Rezeppa]

Weld a nut

 

[dsmnickk90]

Lost mine and was stuck in the side of the road with a flat. I beat a 12pt socket on it and works like a charm

 

[firebox40dash5]

Those appear to be OE, you can probably buy a new key socket from the dealer but, it won't be cheap.

Those are McGard (IIRC) so I kinda doubt the dealer can do anything, aside from order another key from McGard and mark it up further, they're still going to have to order it. I don't have that kind, but if you're lucky, maybe the key code is stamped on that key, if not every customer I have with OE ones still has the package with their old lug nuts in it somewhere in the car, and the key code should be hiding there. Might as well order a spare for the other one if you're going that route.

 

[MikeF2316]

Those are the easiest to remove. Get a 19mm 12 point 1/2 socket and hammer it on as hard as you can. Then get your impact or breaker bar and remove. To get the wheel lock out of you socket, put it in a vise and hammer thru the socket with a punch. If 19mm is to big or small substitute with what ever size fits. Sears also sells a wheel lock removal kit. I have it it works good/

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-3-pc...p-00947392000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

I had this exact problem and fixed it this way, except I used my 3/4" craftsman 12 point. I'm not sure why I picked the 3/4 over my 19mm

 

[#1SomeGuy]

I had the head on a couple mine break once, sheered right off when I was tightening them with a torque wrench

No you didnt! they broke because of 2 things..
1....you bought cheap cast iron **** lock nuts!

2...Look at the pics... you can see that the wheel stud has bottomed out into the end of the nut ... you kept on tightening them and "ping"

1. They came with the car when I bought it, I didn't choose what kind they were, $50 on my invoice for them too which was fine, whatever, right up until the time they broke and the dealer refused to replace them.
2. That seems quite possible, although they were tight on the wheel too so it probably just barely bottomed out which helped pop them off.

And don't be so accusatory, it makes you come across as a ****.

 

[keithwvd]

I'd rather have wheels stolen than run that style of locking nut.

Thieves have remover tools. Slow them down, but run this type:

I will never run any style of lug locks

I had the socket crack down the side with those on a set of wheels that require "tuner lugs" so there was about 2mm of clearance around the entire lug. Didn't have a welder at the time so that was a nightmare

 

[MystralHawk]

I lost my key at one point and since my car was used I didn't have the key code. What I did was email McGard customer service and they had me follow some instructions to help identify the key. They were able to identify which key it was within a day and sent a replacement. If it didn't fit, you had a week to ask them for an alternate key that may work free of charge.

But since you have a key with the code engraved in it, you can just call them and order a new one. They're super fast with shipping.

A dealer may also have the master key for them as well. If you want to bring it to the dealer for the make of the car. Usually the dealer has a master key for people that forget to leave their key in the car.

Just in case some of you guys have problems in the future.

 

[619DioFan]

Those are the easiest to remove. Get a 19mm 12 point 1/2 socket and hammer it on as hard as you can. Then get your impact or breaker bar and remove. To get the wheel lock out of you socket, put it in a vise and hammer thru the socket with a punch. If 19mm is to big or small substitute with what ever size fits. Sears also sells a wheel lock removal kit. I have it it works good/

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-3-pc...p-00947392000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

I also have this set. works just great.

 

[G-Ram]

smash a socket on there with a hammer and buzz that sucker off, works everytime! and if it doesn't, grab the next size smaller socket and smash it on there!

 

[928'er]

The only person locking lug nuts deter is the owner.

When you get them off, go out in the back yard and throw them as far as you can.

 

[Kracin]

The only person locking lug nuts deter is the owner.

When you get them off, go out in the back yard and throw them as far as you can.

hearing someone beat on something with a hammer for half an hour outside in your garage, driveway or parking lot, makes it much easier to catch a thief than hearing a little click from a lug nut breaking loose and having a missing wheel or two after 1 minute....

when you have a set of wheels worth 3-4000 you will take any precaution you can if you ever park it anywhere besides home

 

[71goldss]

smash a socket on there with a hammer and buzz that sucker off, works everytime! and if it doesn't, grab the next size smaller socket and smash it on there!

This! ^ Did it with all four wheels on my son's truck when the key was lost, and it didn't take a half hour to beat them on either. One good smack on each was all it took! McGard style locks give a BIG false sense of security. I've used these locks on all of my wheels for years, but after removing my son's so easily, I stopped using them. Big waste of money!!!

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

toyota dealers have full key sets for shop use
may charge you 0.3 to remove 4

 

[pendragon1998]

Okay, thanks for all the input, guys. Here's what I ended up buying:

This is the Performance Tool Lug Nut Remover Socket Set #M980 - two made in Taiwan impact sockets (13/16" and 1") made of Cr-Mo. I payed about $16 at O'Reilly Auto. These are supposedly made for the express purpose of removing locking lug nuts without a key socket. The 13/16 fit my 21 mm lug nuts, so I figured I'd go with the right tool for the job.

Unfortunately, I do not recommend them. By the time I got the first two lug nuts off, the socket had stripped out the internal threads and just spun when I tried to tighten it (I was hammering it on hard with a 3 lb hammer and turning with a breaker bar). I drove back to O'Reilly and exchanged it (no problem).

Operating on the assumption that maybe I shouldn't have hammered on the first socket - which doesn't seem like it should be a problem, given it's an impact socket - this time I played more gently and hand threaded on the socket until it bit, then turned it with a 1/2" ratchet until snug, then applied my breaker bar. The next lug nut came off fairly easily. However, when I started on the fourth lug nut, it was clear that the new socket had once again stripped off about half of the internal threads (they were sitting in the bottom of the socket well).

O'Reilly was closed at that point, so I kept leaning on the socket. It was catching on only about half of each turn, but it was putting a little torque on the socket each time before popping free. Eventually, all the weak tugs on the socket added up enough to break it free and I got number 4 off. I'm going to return the useless socket set to O'Reilly tomorrow, hopefully for a refund. It's a real piece of ****.

So anyway, I wanted to update y'all and thank you for the input.

 

[Avgas]

I'm going to return the useless socket set to O'Reilly tomorrow, hopefully for a refund. It's a real piece of ****.

So anyway, I wanted to update y'all and thank you for the input.

Seems like you had a use for them...

 

[AV tinker er]

Those are the easiest to remove. Get a 19mm 12 point 1/2 socket and hammer it on as hard as you can. Then get your impact or breaker bar and remove. To get the wheel lock out of you socket, put it in a vise and hammer thru the socket with a punch. If 19mm is to big or small substitute with what ever size fits. Sears also sells a wheel lock removal kit. I have it it works good/

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-3-pc...p-00947392000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

I have done this before, get a socket that is one size smaller than what should be used. A socket you don't care about ruining. (Harbor freight would be great for this)

Didn't realize this thread was a few months old.

 

[kamesama980]

Glad you got it off. Either the steep angle fluted nut removes or the spiral one like you got work, I've used both.

Don't EVER EVER use an impact on locking lugs. Putting them on or taking them off. I've watched people's look of dismay as they found that out. You (op) might not have done it but the PO probably did.

I had to drill a 14mm stud on a tahoe because the fluted "tuner lugs" were put on too tight and the fluted part broke off from the base holding the wheel on. I was pissed cuz it took 2hrs with the crappy tools in the shop but not as pissed as the customer since I was paid hourly (for a measly $25 charge to him thanks to store politics) and he was stuck there for 3+ hrs for what should have been a 20 minute wheel change. I did tell him exactly what he could do with his uncle that put the nuts on.

 

[Monte]

try these ones next time:

 

[Wakefield]

try these ones next time:

Are those Ko-Ken?
Lugs too big for the Attack Driver?

 

[Monte]

Are those Ko-Ken?
Lugs too big for the Attack Driver?

yes, Koken. I dunno if the Attack driver will work since they don´t say how much torque it produce but i guess it´s too weak. The walls of the Koken sockets are also thinner than 2mm at the thinnest spot so i would try them with hand tools first...

 

[Sloasszx3]

I've had the most luck with the Craftsman lug outs. You tap them on with a hammer or sledge and screw them off. Then place the nut on a vice and twist off. Super simple. And I'm sure they have lifetime warranty.