lost the key to my locking lugs

Hey all,

I put some 14" rims on my 98 civic, they look nice and all, nuthin too fancy.
The guy who sold them to me also gave me a set of locking lugs. Well the
other night, I had to remove a tire in order to survey some damage to it. In
the process, I think I may have left the key to the locking lugs behind (the
mosquitos were drivin me nuts!). DAMMIT. So I don't know the manufacture,
or the 'code' to the lugs, ruling out the ability to get in touch with the
manufacturer for a replacement.

So, any ideas how I can get these things off? I think I may just go back to
regular lug nuts, in case this happens again someday, but right now i just
want to get this addressed, I am very nervous driving around without the
ability to remove my wheels at will....

t

 

Have you tried a really good pair o vise grips and a maul?

DGB

 

Have not tried anything yet (looking for ideas before I do something stupid
and damage them), whats a maul?

 

Snap-On makes a tool just for this.

In fact, it's quicker than using the key.

And the boyz in the hood know all about it, too, so.....just dump the
locking lugs. You're wasting your time.

 

|
| Hey all,
|
| I put some 14" rims on my 98 civic, they look nice and all, nuthin too
fancy.
| The guy who sold them to me also gave me a set of locking lugs. Well the
| other night, I had to remove a tire in order to survey some damage to it.
In
| the process, I think I may have left the key to the locking lugs behind
(the
| mosquitos were drivin me nuts!). DAMMIT. So I don't know the
manufacture,
| or the 'code' to the lugs, ruling out the ability to get in touch with the
| manufacturer for a replacement.
|
| So, any ideas how I can get these things off? I think I may just go back
to
| regular lug nuts, in case this happens again someday, but right now i just
| want to get this addressed, I am very nervous driving around without the
| ability to remove my wheels at will....
|
| t
|
|
| --
| Message posted via http://www.carkb.com

this happened to me with my acura integra a few years ago. i brought the
car to the acura dealer and they made short work of it. they charged me
$35.

 

Many garages will have a tool to remove lock nuts. It's kind of a
reverse thread socket that grips the nut and turns it. The nut is
ruined in the process, but a new set of nuts can be bought later at
any auto store.
But like one respondent here said, the boyz in the hood can get them
off anyhoo so it doesn't do much good to have lock nuts.

_________________________________

"Take a little 5FU, leucovorin and irenotecan for thy stomach's sake." -- 1 Timothy 5:23 (adapted)

 

I have a sad story about locking lug nuts. I took the old Plymouth Voyager
in for its last set of tires. I wanted to keep it for a couple more years
then get the new Ody...yup had it all planned out.

The guy at the tires shop using a powered wrench reverse rotated TWO of my
locking lugs! It destroyed the key and both of the lugs. The posts with
the lugs had to be cut off. I can still remember the laughter from the
welder.

I did get the Ody, just sooner than I had planned.

Mark

 

----------------------------

Any event (aside from a death or something) that caused you to get rid
of a Plymouth and into a Honda is actually good news

'Curly'

 

Out of one piece of transmission hell, straight into another...

 

I bought my locking lugs at the Acura dealer,and I suspect they all are the
same,use the same key.

 

Automatic transmissions,I presume.
I've owned Honda products since 1975 and never had any troubles with the
manual trannys.

 

I actually had 151k miles on the Plymouth. The Transmission was replaced at
no cost to me at 74k miles.
My Ody is at 87k and is running fine.

"Elmo P. Shagnasty"

 

Absolutely.

Yes, auto trans.

 

True enough!

Mike (former owner of a Plymouth Duster)

 

I had to rescue the son of a friend who faced that problem on the freeway
(d'oh!) so I called my friends at Discount Tire and explained the situation.
Their method (which worked like a charm for me) was to select a six point
socket that wouldn't quite fit over the locking lug and drive it on with a
hammer, then remove it the obvious way. I used a Craftsman socket, but any
decent socket should work. The metal peeled back as I drove it on, so gloves
or great care are a must. The socket was then firmly attached to the locking
lug, and it took a session with a bench vice, hammer and punch to separate
them. The socket was undamaged.

Mike