lock nut removal tool?
 

my wife got tires from Wal-mart about 2 years ago. I went to rotate the tires on her element (I know, needed to do it much earlier). I found that our highly trained mechanics at "THE WAL" decided to keep the key to my safety lock nut on my tires. I have factory alluminum rims so it isn't like I even care about keeping them safe.

I have been told that there is a tool for taking these lock nuts off without having the key. I have also been told that it all but destroys them but at this point, I don't care.

also of note is that these have the pattern on the inside and the outside of the nut is round. also, they are flush with the rim. not really inset but you can't get a set of vise grips around them without damaging the rim.

if any of you know what I am talking about, I would appreciate some direction. my only other option is to call the honda dealership and get another key. I haven't checked but I am sure that it is going to be expensive.

thanks for any help in advance.

the kit is hard to find. napa is the only place i have seen with it. its just called a "wheel lock removal kit".

you could also try the bolt extractors that sears sells. it should be a 19mm nut. some people might say try forcing a socket on, but i have never gotten that to work with a smooth wheel lock.

I'm not familiar with a tool specifically for breaking secure lug nuts, but check this out:
https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=98801
It says the larger one works on nuts up to 7/8".

Also, there's always the dremel, or its big brother the pneumatic die grinder to cut it off...or an angle grinder, for that matter, which could also be used to create wrench flats.

It may also be possible to drill two holes and use a really beefy (pardon the pun) pin spanner, but I doubt you can find one tough enough.

Look for stamped-in printing on it. There may be a number, which you can use to have the manufacturer supply you with a new key. Hopefully there's a manufacturer name there too, else you have to start guessing...

Edit: While googling to find the tool, I came across a better idea: Weld a regular nut to it and use a regular lug wrench.

as far as getting another key, i dont know about honda, but the gm dealer i work for has been down this road and we just take off the old with the removal tool and customer gets a new set or 4 regular nuts installed.

might price the removal tool set vs. having a shop remove them. my guess is having someone with a kit already remove them for you is going to be your best bet

WOW this thread got responses fast. thanks for all the advice.

I went to a local oil change it place (not sure the name) and they said they couldn't do anything with it. also, I went to autozone with no luck. I just searched the web and found this.

https://www.brandsport.com/ctam-a155.html

I don't have an impact wrench but have a friend that does. also shipping is like 12 dollars. that puts it at around 30 for the entire deal and I don't plan on putting locking ones back on. this is twice that locking nuts have burnned me. my wife had issues with some back when we were dating. the shop took care of it back then. that was on a GM product. I think the locking part was on the outside instead of it being round.

*edit* the nut splitter won't work because I can't get around it (flush with the rim) and welding a nut to it may damage the rim. I don't care about the nut but want the rim to stay looking good as it is the wife's car.

i just thought of this. go to a tire shop. i know the one i worked at, we had the tool set.

if you decide to go to the dealership, just give them your vin number. they should have one that will fit it in stock.

just ordered the set from brandsport. I could probably get it done by someone but I am looking at the fact that it may take time for me to find a shop that is able to do it.

I just want it taken care of. next time I will search the net first as I found it pretty easily. I didn't give google enough credit this time. I checked with summit and jcwhitney and didn't find it. google popped it up really easily.

thanks everyone

I removed mine by welding a nut on the end of the lock .... it works. I placed the nut against the end of the lock and welded down through the bore of the nut, filling it with weld ..... once cool, an impact gun zipped them off in no time flat.

Just use care, and some anti-spatter spray to protect your rims.:thumbup:
https://www.welders-direct.com/mercha...%20Spatter.jpg

id just take it to someone who has the tool and have them take them off and hand them 4 lugnuts to put back on....prolly do it for free in the parking lot or a very minimal charge.

the problem is that the few places that I have been have no idea what I am talking about when I mention it. also, I am up in a hospital today because my wife is having surgury. it doesn't give me much time to run around.

I just went ahead and bit the bullet and bought the tool. that way if I ever have a friend that needs it, I have it. also, my buddy moved out this weekend and left his impact wrench behind. he told me to hang on to it until I get all this stuff straightened out.

I've used these tools before, and they are difficult but workable. Good chance you'll mess up the wheels too.

I always advise people to remove wheel locks and go back to regular lug nuts, this stuff happens all the time.

-Bob C.

that is the plan, chuck the lock nuts and go with plain old lug nuts. I did think it was odd that a car with factory wheels had the locking lug nuts on it but I figured whatever. when we bought the thing, it had the key and the original 4 regular lugs with it (the ones the locking ones replaced.

I plan on getting just regular lugs to go back on it.

might as well since one locknut is useless in preventing theft. 3 is best.

hope your wife is okay!

i got the best of both worlds w/ my lug nuts...

they have such tight clearance, a standard tire iron will not fit to loosen them. kinda like a no-lock lock. i use a socket and breaker bar.

wonder how many thieves carry a socket set w/ them?

the wife is doing fine. she came through it better than last time and the dr said it went very well.

another think about the safety issue is that I rarely even lock my doors in my car so to be concerned with the rims is a little crazy. especially factory ones on top of that. I know it only takes once to change my mind on that one. but I have always said that I don't really have anything to steal. In my car I have a very...very...bottom of the line CD player that was around $100 over 4 years ago and that is it. on top of that, my car stays pretty dirty so I would think that my car wouldn't be a target. my wife's vehicle is completely stock with nothing aftermarket (maybe a water bottle in the back seat) so there again not really a target.

my main concern is that she will get a flat and have no way to change the tire. she does have a cell phone but still that is just a bad situation to be in. I hope to get this tool before the end of the week and take care of this issue.

thanks for all the advice from everyone

*edit* I figure that thieves (if they are any good) would have quite an arsenal of tools but also be after the 20+ inch rims that go for several times what my car is worth. there again trying not to be a target. funny story, with gas so expensive, someone ask me if I was worried about someone stealing my gas. I was parked between two SUVs that held about double what my car does. I said nope, they'd hit all of y'all first.

Around Charlotte thieves have been targeting Honda's that are for sale and sitting near the road and stealing the tires and rims. They showed one on the news a few weeks ago where the thieves left the car sitting on empty milk crates. I have a locking lug nut remover that I would sell cheap if it would work, but it is for aftermarket locks. If you could get a close up picture of the lug locks you have and post it I could see if it looked like the same shape as the one I have. I could get it in the mail and it would probably only take 2-3 days to get to you. I just wouldn't want to see you damage your wheels in the process of trying to remove them using the incorrect tool. You said in one of your previous posts that you didn't have an impact wrench. Harbor Freight had an electric impact (1/2" drive) on sale when I was in there Saturday for $39.99, but I think the sale ended either yesterday or today. I have one just like it that I bought several years ago and it has a lot of torque, but isn't adjustable. You could always check and see if it is still on sale or not.

I once ordered a wheel key for my Buick - it didn't cost much. Under $10 I'm sure. Other than that, check the gloveboxes of similar cars in a scrapyard. You just might find one.

-Jay

An almost-fit could probably do the job with a little bit of creative grinding, as long as you don't intend to use it too many times.

I know you already ordered the tool, but now we're all just taking the topic and running with it so we can make and collect these ideas...

I'm not sure what style of lock you have, but the trick that has worked for me twice now on two different types is to sacrifice a socket that won't quite fit over it. Hammer it on. Turn it off. No welding. No special tools. Just one slightly hosed socket and ruined locking lugnut, unless your aim with the hammer sucks. ;)

I actually already ordered the tool and it comes in a kit with two sizes and according to my measuremetns, one of the two should fit. My buddy that just moved out this weekend, left his impact wrench behind. I don't use impact wrenches very often so there is really no need in getting one just to remove these lugs. also, he only lives about 30 minutes away anyway so he can help me tear it up.

as far as continuing the discussion, discus away. i have my solution but there may be others out there with this same problem. if there weren't then they wouldn't make this handy dandy tool to take care of it.

Well the other thing is that one or the other methods simply may not work on your type of lugnuts. So all options should be worth consideration for anybody else facing this in the future.

mine are completely round on the outside which makes these with the reverse threads seem like the best way. I have seen other lock nuts with the pattern on the outside edge but mine aren't that way. if the pattern was on the outside, I would SOOO beat a socket on it and go that route.

with the pattern on the inside and a smoothe outside, I feel like it would take more force than I could give it or it would just ream it even worse making it even harder to remove.

I have the tracking number and it should be here next monday. I will update how it goes. hopefully it will be succesful

Actually inside or outside pattern doesn't matter so much as clearance between the nut and the lug holes in the wheel. A nice 2 lb hammer will set a socket on there either way. Use an impact socket when in doubt. ;)

piece of cake...kind of
 

I got in the tool and went to autozone and got some replacement lug nuts. unfortunately the lug nuts didn't fit the factory wrench with the kit. the nuts fit the lugs but not the wrench.

the tool worked well. the reverse threads zipped the nuts off with no problem. getting the nuts out of the tool was another story. it said to grind down the sides of the nut and put it in a vice and zip it off with the impact wrench. I don't have a grinder or a vice. the friend that I rely on for his huge selection of tools moved out last weekend. I was left with a standard wrench set and a bastard file. I filed down the sides until it fit in a 3/4 inch wrench, put the wrench on it, placed a piece of wood on the ground, placed the socket on the wood (which I stood on), and pulled the trigger. I held on to the first one until it finally came lose. I repeated the process two more times. that leaves one in the tool. I will worry about that one tomorrow. this isn't the best way to do it but I was excited to get it done.

I plan to go and get the correct lug nuts tomorrow and hopefully rotate the tires soon. that was all I wanted to do to her car to begin with. I have some pics of the stuff I used below.