Hi
I have a Renault Clio with alloy wheels that I bought about 9 months ago. When I took it for a service I discovered I actually have 2 sets of wheel nuts - front and back. I have the key for the front two - but not one for the back - I have tried phoning Renault, and checked for a matching key in Halfords to no avail.
Can anyone suggest a way of getting the nuts off without the key, so I can replace all 4 nuts with new ones?
Wendy
|
Can anyone suggest a way of getting the nuts off without the key, so I can replace all 4 nuts with new ones?
Although you need to know how to get these locks off, you never know who is lurking in this group who may very well use the helpful suggestions made to remove wheels from cars that do not belong to them.
Are they genuine Renault or A.N.Other brand?
What does the key look like? Does it look like any normal key, or is it one of those ones with pegs in the key that locate into holes in the bolts?
Have you approached a local Renault Dealer or Tyre garage for sugggestions?
|
The nut itself is round with 4 circular 'bumps' around the edge of a circle, like petals on a flower, but smaller. The key would have 4 grooved holes around the edge.
My Dads key is almost like an electrical plug - with 3 prongs that fit into the 3 holes on the front of the key.
A couple of people suggest that I have the nuts drilled off but this is quoted at £150!!!. Im really upset now because Ive been driving for 9 months in a car that could have had a flat tyre at any point and I wouldnt have been able to get the wheel off to change the tyre.
|
The nut itself is round with 4 circular 'bumps' around the edge of a circle, like petals on a flower, but smaller. The key would have 4 grooved holes around the edge.
From memory, that sounds like the design Halfords sell/once sold?
My Dads key is almost like an electrical plug - with 3 prongs that fit into the 3 holes on the front of the key.
Vauxhall tend to use this design.
A couple of people suggest that I have the nuts drilled off but this is quoted at £150!!!.
With a job like that its always dificult to quote a price, especially if they charge by the hour. How long is a piece of string? One of my old Vauxhall locks corroded itself to the wheel hub and after serveral attempts all I managed to achieve was rounding off the holes the pins located into. After several quotes ranging from £100 to over £300, I eventually managed to get the offending bolt out myself with brute force and ignorance.
|
>>How long is a piece of string?
Twice the distance between the middle and the end.
Now how long is a piece of elastic?
:-)
Mark.
(sorry to go off topic but couldn't resist)
|
|
|
|
Oh dear.
Hammer and chisel.
Something along the lines of an oil filter remover but meatier would suffice - maybe not small enough.
Surely best thing to do would be to call the previous owner.
If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen.
communities.msn.com/honestjohn
|
|
They moved to New Zealand :( probably with my rear locking nut!
|
|
|
|
|
Wendy from what I have read in the motoring press the criminal fraternity have found ways of overcoming locking wheel nuts. Some members of this forum earn their living in the motor-trade and should be able to help you. With this in mind could you please update your profile on this forum with an email address? It would be inappropriate to reply in a public forum on how to overcome what little security some locking wheel nuts provide.
|
DD and GH,
I appreciate what you say about giving away security secrets but take it from me the bad boys are light years ahead of us on every issue...if they want it they'll find out how.....so...
Wendy,
I would not expect it to take more than 5-20mins to sort this. I've found you can use....
A hammer and chisel if the design of the wheel allows damage-free access.
An ordinary 1/2" drive socket just undersize for the bit you have left hammered on will mostly remove the type with raised bumps. It will ruin the socket but that's nothing.
A large nut can be welded to the top of the locking nut/bolt and then it will come off easily with a normal wheelbrace.
A few minutes looking round the workshop usually finds the best tool.
Failing this a full set of "locking wheel nut removal sockets " only costs £20 from the motor factors.
£150 to sort this and drilling out is daft!
David W
|
|
|
|
|
I had this on my BMW - I took it into the BMW garage and they tried all the combinations (no charge) till they found the right one and sold me the right key. Try the Renault garage.
|
|
|
Hummm....
For odd shaped nuts I have used a special socket not unlike www.alltvstuff.com/g1.html You should be able to get one from Halfords or B&Q. It works surprisingly well but I would not use it on a standard nut just due to lazyness. When you push the socket onto the nut the pins are pushed back into the socket to grip whatever shaped nut / locknut you offer up to it. Good luck I hope you get them off.
|
Argh. I've just had this problem. I bought a car and never thought about the locking nuts - until I got a flat down a green lane a mile from anywhere. The very nice AA man used a lump hammer and an over sized socket. No problemo.
How do I stand about getting the "key" as I only bought the car a few weeks ago?
|
Argh. I've just had this problem. How do I stand about getting the "key" as I only bought the car a few weeks ago?
You haven't specified where you obtained the car from. Private or trade? New or second hand.
|
|
Trade, but not a franchised dealer. I'm begginning to regret this already as there wasn't a hand book and I've no idea about the radio code!
|
Thanks for the help on this page. Having used the oversize socket ruse to release one locking nut on my second hand caravan(!) wheels I used a hex-shafted cold chisel and mole grips as a screwdriver to get the other one off. By the way the 'multipin universal sockets' only come in sizes up to 19mm when most locking bolt heads are a tage bigger than that.
I'm now having problems getting replacement bolts. I don't know the make, Halford's and motor factors don't stock them, the caravan manufacture doesn't reply to my calls and the scrappy says he chucks them into the ex-car for melting down. Next stop is robbing an abandoned vehicle or even a new set of locking nuts because at least I'll have the key this time...
|
To follow up my last - the bolts are known as M12 conicals. I got my replacements from a ditched mk1 Fiesta. A friend gave me some bolts from an Astra but they had a smaller head than the other ones on the wheel. Anyway problem solved and I agree...locking wheel nuts just aren't secure!!
|
|
|
|
There is a product on the market to get Locking Wheelnuts off. It's not dodgy in any way and most good tyre places should already have them.
See: www.difflock.com/buyersguide/tools/locking_wheelnu...l
they come either as a set of 7 different sizes or as double ended sockets with different sizes at each end (very expensive though!)
|
It appears frighteningly easy to remove a set of locking wheel nuts!
For just over £20, any wannabe thief could have the very expensive (if supplied by a UK dealer) alloys off my BMW in a few minutes.
Begs the question, why bother with locking wheels nuts when it seems the only person who'll have difficulty getting them off is the rightful owner!
|
|
|
|
