Tech tip - In a JY and wheel locks got you down? How to remove them the easy way....

[ktm]

Make sure you have a 10 mm deep socket with you and a sledge hammer. Pound the 10mm deep socket onto the wheel lock. Yes, it will fit. Remove the wheel lock like a normal lug nut.

 

To remove the socket from the wheel lock, thread the socket/wheel lock back onto the stud and whack the socket with the sledge. It will break free easily and repeat.

 

Found this out yesterday when going after some 300zxt hubs, rotors and calipers (I was really hoping it was a 1988-1989, but turned out to be a 1984).

[Six_Shooter]

10mm? I could believe 18 or 19mm. There are also tools for doing this, in a very similar fashion, available from Snap-On and Mac, and probably other tool trucks as well.

[mannyvig]

I have had to charge the dealership for several sockets because of this. You can split or actually round out the socket.

[ktm]

10mm? I could believe 18 or 19mm. There are also tools for doing this, in a very similar fashion, available from Snap-On and Mac, and probably other tool trucks as well.

 

Yes, 10 mm. The 10 mm socket fits INSIDE of the wheel lock much like the wheel lock itself. This works for when you are in a pinch and absolutely need to get that lock off.

[Guest TeamNissan]

I've always welded a nut/lug onto said lock but this is a good idea too.

[Six_Shooter]

Yes, 10 mm. The 10 mm socket fits INSIDE of the wheel lock much like the wheel lock itself. This works for when you are in a pinch and absolutely need to get that lock off.

 

 

Ok, but that won't work on every lock, since they have different shapes to the "keyed" part. Also different manufacturers create that keyed part differently.

 

Best to use the tool for the job, or at least use a socket that will fit on the outside of the lock, but as said the socket can split easily.

[Guest TeamNissan]

The outside of a lock lug is round hence it being a lock.

[Six_Shooter]

The outside of a lock lug is round hence it being a lock.

 

 

And that's why you find one that is snug and hammer it on, just like the lock removal tolls that are available to do this very samething.

[ktm]

Then you take a different diameter socket. I said JY = junkyard tech tip. It is not a perfect fit. You have to hammer the socket onto the lock. The idea is that if you need to remove the lock in a pinch, you can hammer a socket onto it and remove.

[Stealth-Z]

1/2 inch impact grade sockets work best for me.

[Tony D]

I've always used a chisel to knock the lock in a loosening direction till I can grip it with a vicegrips and spin it off. It doesn't take but a few whacks to get the thing set and moving, and in about 1/4 turn it spins off easily.

 

I will have to try this 'new technique'...

 

I 'learned' the other technique by transferring it from VW's. Poor Teenagers using the "Idiot Manual" got used to removing the 46mm axle nuts on VW Busses using a chisel to drive the nuts off in similar fashion. You can take it off and 'retorque it' three times before needing to find another nut using this technique....

[Six_Shooter]

Then you take a different diameter socket. I said JY = junkyard tech tip. It is not a perfect fit. You have to hammer the socket onto the lock. The idea is that if you need to remove the lock in a pinch, you can hammer a socket onto it and remove.

 

 

I was looking at a set of locks at the Toyota dealership yesterday that no socket would fit into the lock, the keyed part was a square (pretty much), with an addition couple "bumps" in two of the sides of the square. I actually thought back to this thread when I was looking at them.

This is why I still believe it's best to find a socket that will fit the outside of the lock nut, or easier in a lock of the cases of lock nuts I've had to deal with.

 

The chisel technique works as long as the lugnuts haven't been on too long, I hate wheel locks. I used to have them, but after loosing my key a couple times decided that it just wasn't worth the aggrivation.

 

I've had to use the chisel technique with a few nuts, can be a life saver.

 

Wiat a second.....

 

They leave the wheels on at the JYs near you guys? Around here the JYs remove all wheels, along with the gas tanks, alternators, and batteries, before they are put out in the yard. It just hit me, that I've never needed to worry about this, at the JY.