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Had a tyre fitter out to replace the rears and the locking nut remover has broken when trying to get it undone - he reckons whoever put them on last overtightened them with a gun. It doesn't look like the garage that did the service/MOT last year had the wheels off from the health check video they sent at the time, I got the car the year before that 2nd hand from a main dealer. Is it likely that they would have removed the wheels as part of any pre-sale checks? I doubt I'd be able to get them to sort it even if they did, but probably worth asking.
Second question is what's my best option for sorting it? Try and source a new removal tool and then take it to a garage (which might then fail in the same way)? Or get one of the services like wheelnutman to remove them all and re-tighten, then get a new removal tool? Local tyre fitting place reckons it's an expensive job and won't give a price without seeing it.
get one of the services like wheelnutman to remove them all and re-tighten, then get a new removal tool?
I got mine removed for £40 after losing the key ..
Just put ordinary nuts back on
If it's just the nut remover I'd go to a main dealer for the manufacturer and ask them to source a replacement then get someone to put a bit of heat through the nut before trying again.
Try and source a new removal tool and then take it to a garage (which might then fail in the same way)?
I sheared the tool on the 4th wheel of a Winter>Summer wheel swapover, but they'd all been alarmingly tight up to that one anyway so I was a bit nervous. I just went round to the garage who had serviced the car the previous week and was surprised how easily he got the locking nut off. He had some sort of cammed socket on an impact wrench that gripped onto the outside of the nut. He's just a guy in a unit on a trading estate, so not any kind of specialist, so I'd say giving a local garage a quick visit is worth a try. That was on a steel wheel though, it'd have been trickier on an alloy because the nuts are recessed.
A new tool isn't as likely to fail in an impact wrench as in a brace so that'd be my fallback. Unless your fitter broke it using a wrench?
Edit - I got a replacement tool off ebay for under a tenner. It looks a lot sturdier than the (BMW) original.
Maybe try a small garage, a mobile tyre fitter split my locking wheel nut key and I couldn't undo a wheel when I had a puncture, i managed to get it to a local garage and he took all four off and charged me £10, I just put the normal studs back on.
I wouldn't even bother chasing up the garage - that'll be a non starter.
As above, least brutal solution is going to be ordering another 'key' from the dealer (if the are OEM supplied) - many may have one on the shelf as there often aren't that many permutations.
In the past I've successfully used these wonderful beasts: Irwin Bolt Extractors - they have a kind of sharpened reversed flute which forces itself onto the bolt as you try and undo it. Bloody marvellous things, they are.
First I'd try something like these
https://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/tools/sockets-accessories/laser-locking-wheel-nut-remover
If that didn't work (or you have spinning collar type bolts) then find a friendly welder and get them to weld another bolt to the top the use that to undo.
Thanks all, I'm going to try and get a code for the lock nut remover and see if I can get one, failing that I'll probably just ask the garage that does the service/MOT to see what they can do as it'll be due a service soon anyway so can do it all at the same time.
Happened to me a last tyre change. Local garage charged £25 to remove by welding on a nut to the rounded locking nut. Replaced the locking nuts with a generic set of locking wheel nuts, no way was it worth getting an official OEM set.
I had this before christmas swapping to my winter wheels, called the rac who sorted it quickly with a hammer on socket type thing.
I had this before christmas swapping to my winter wheels, called the rac who sorted it quickly with a hammer on socket type thing
This. I lost my locking wheel nut somewhere. My local garage removed them by knocking a socket into the splines. Destroyed the nuts, but got them off easily. Only cost to me was a new set of nuts.
I wouldn't have heat applied to a bolt as the heat will spread into the wheel too which could cause paint damage. Chisels and knocking on a socket can cause damage too.
The tool 100inch links to don't fit most modern alloys as the recess is too narrow.
If you use search for a local locking wheel nut remover they will use a tool that looks like an impact drive. It moulds to your locking wheel nut then a couple of taps with the hammer and they can be undo by hand. I had 3 of mine removed this way for £10 each and no damage.
A new tool isn’t as likely to fail in an impact wrench as in a brace so that’d be my fallback. Unless your fitter broke it using a wrench?
Impact wrench is far more likely to fracture a socket that's made out of standard steel. Impact sockets are specially toughened to absorb the force of a few-hundred taps per second from a windy gun. Normal sockets are quite brittle by comparison and may smash, (granted, probably not the first time).