No tool to take locking wheel nuts off? Help!

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buel

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Hi,
My girlfriend's A3 has a slow puncture but unfortunately the car has a locking wheel nut (the correct phrase?) on each wheel and we do not have the tool to un do it.
Pictures are here:

130220141690.jpg


130220141692.jpg


'Normal' wheel nut:
130220141693.jpg


Please can I ask what I can do? Aren't all Audi A3s different?

Please help if you can,
Thank you.
 
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Where about's are ya mate? . . We got a locking wheel nut removal kit at the garage (Basingstoke), if you're not at all local it'd be worth ringing around a few garages tomorrow and have an ask.

Other than that it's hard to get them out without causing too much damage to the wheel and possibly hub, but not impossible!
 
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Or you could go to the main dealer. They will have a set containing all locking wheel bolts, which they can then match to your bolts and order you a replacement.
 
Some people get a nice big hammer then smash a socket onto the nut, will probably ruin the socket and bolt but will get the damn thing off
 
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Lewis583 said:
Or you could go to the main dealer. They will have a set containing all locking wheel bolts, which they can then match to your bolts and order you a replacement.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I just assumed that they would probably charge a small fortune and thought there might be another way.
 
My mates Leon Cupra (180) has the same locking wheel nut tool as my 2000 S3 - both OEM items.

Maybe worth asking a few VAG friends if you can try theirs IF the locking wheel bolt is not aftermarket.
 
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Looks like my oem ones.
Have you tried taking it to a garage that sells tyres/repairs punctures? They may have a technique.
Dave
 
A slightly smaller socket hammered over and an impact gun is usually the easiest and most successful method but you might struggle with clearance with it being a female spline type so could damage the paint on the wheel hole. Failing that weld a nut/bolt/socket to it, but again going by the access you might struggle with a MIG so might need an arc welder. I always remove locking bolts on my cars now, fed up of having to remove them either for losing the socket or stripped threads on these spline type.
 
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I've lost my locking wheel nut as well.
Today I went to my local Audi dealer and they told me that Audi don't make/supply the locking wheel nut for "older" Audis made before 2004 anymore :( you might be lucky and a dealer might have one that fits hidden in a parts bin but I wasn't so lucky! Haha

I have ordered a new set of locking wheel bolts with the new type of locking nut just so I have my own one to keep rather than borrow other peoples. It cost me £58 all in though!

Nick
 
Ouch!
How about one of those sockets with the needles in, then when you put it over a rounded nut the needles move out the way to grip what's left? Can't think what they are called!
Dave
 
On eBay - laser 2856 multi-fit socket.
?
They designed for male heads, but might work on a female locking wheel nut........might.
Dave
 
Jesus...

It's a standard Audi locking wheel nut, find a neighbour with an Audi, knock on his door, job done.
 
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16Klappe said:
Jesus...

It's a standard Audi locking wheel nut, find a neighbour with an Audi, knock on his door, job done.
Click to expand...

Surely there must be a range of different patterns, otherwise thieving scum back in the day would get hold of one and pinch your wheels.

Dave
 
david7m said:
Surely there must be a range of different patterns, otherwise thieving scum back in the day would get hold of one and pinch your wheels.

Dave
Click to expand...

There were only about 8, and there are 2 really common ones.

I have 3 VAG cars in the family, they all have the same locking wheel bolts!
 
We had a late Audi 80 coupe in the other week (no locking nut) and between my mk4 golf, my 8l, my bosses 8p and a couple random VAG locking nuts we had knocking about none of them fit...

Thinking about it tho we ended up hammering in a large allen socket, worked a treat. Didn't even damage the nut much!
 
All you need to do is count the splines and search google you will find the part number i promise you. Ihad the same scenareo recently. And i managed to buy a new locking wheelnut key from audi only 6 months ago for 13 quid!!
Like the others are saying there really are only a few varients.
 
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1392407478039365

I got mine off using cutting socket of course this would mean buying new set
 
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16Klappe said:
Jesus...

It's a standard Audi locking wheel nut, find a neighbour with an Audi, knock on his door, job done.
Click to expand...

This.



How did it take 16 posts to get to the right answer??! Did nobody actually look at the pictures?
 
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CazzaVR said:
Irwin bolt grippers would have these off in seconds. A must have in every tool kit!
Click to expand...

Agreed they work great if there's the space to get them in, some VAG wheels don't have enough space around the locking bolt though.
 
I've removed plenty of snapped bolts with Irwin multi spline extractors. You drill a hole in the middle and turn them in anti clockwise as if undoing, and because the tapered thread is opposite it should eventually grip and come out.
Dave
 
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Take a few pictures of the nuts and a mold with something like blue tak. Ring or email someone like wheel whores to find you a match. They have loads of locking wheel nut adapters. Help me out in the past and saves smashing/destroying anything.
 
I got loads of lock nuts off with a socket and a hammer,top 2 pics are same as mine multi spline female but if I lost mine be a socket an big hammer ftw!!!!
 
If you can't find a matching wheel bolt key then a similar sized Allen key, torx or double hex spline SOCKET, a six inch extension bar (1/2" drive pref) a breaker bar and finally a dirty big hammer. Beat the socket into the wheel bolt and then when happy it's secure crack it lose with the breaker bar.

This type isn't a major problem, some Peugeots and Volvos are a nightmare!
 
This has already been answered in one of the above . It's the most common wheel locking nut going . Just ask the local pikey and he will have one or failing that a neighbor with a audi .
 
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Why do people keep insisting that all OEM Audi locking wheel nuts are the same, they aren't, as has already been said above!

Granted, there aren't many variations, but they do differ and if your kindly neighbour doesn't have the right one all you'll do is damage the bolt and probably your neighbours key as well.

Do it properly and try to get the correct replacement key or use one of the methods described.
 
No they are not all the same but that one is the most common . I have three audis h reg 80 Quattro , n reg b5 1.8t and a x reg s3 and quite a few of my friends have them aswell all different ages and we all share the same locking nut . ? What I'm saying is ask someone before he buys one . Can't be that hard can it . Or just ignore the opinions of most of us .
 
I'm not disagreeing that another Audi locking wheel nut key MAY fit, but it's not GUARANTEED to fit as some are insisting.

All the keys are splined that I've seen, but the number of splines differ. I've got three of these keys in my toolbox, all look similar, but only one fits my car (not that I use the OEM locks anyway).

Of course it's worth a try borrowing one, but if it doesn't fit exactly right you run the risk of rounding the bolt splines and/or ruining the borrowed key which your mate/neighbour won't thank you for.
 
Had the same problem on a new-to-me 1996 Audi S6 a few years ago. Got a puncture and then discovered that the key in the toolkit didn't fit the bolt (it did fit the bolt on one of the four wheels, but not the other three - thanks PO!). Got trailered home and then discovered that the keys from my other two S6s didn't fit either. They all looked superficially similar but differed in the number of splines. So I had three similar-aged cars, each with a different pattern.

I spent an hour or two looking them up on the Internet and discovered that they were no longer available.

I have a box full of old A/F and WW sockets. I found one that was slightly smaller than the lock-bolt, hammered it on, and it turned pretty easily (the hammering does a got job of breaking the bond). I don't recall it being difficult to fit down the recess, and I did no damage to the wheel, and almost none to the lock-bolt.

Like others in the thread, I have now removed all the lock-bolts and replaced them with standard. Who steals 10-year old alloy wheels these days?
 
I'd have had this problem fixed by now, as would any other logical person.

OP's gotta have sorted this out by now?
 
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If this hasn't been sorted yet . Sell the car and buy one with a locking nut that fits . That's my opinion but you don't have to listen to me because my wife doesn't .
 
If the length of the socket with the red arrow on was longer then the socket would have gripped the outside of the locking nut, as it is supposed to but it wouldn't quite grip as the alloy surround was stopping it gripping properly. This was just a cheap set from Halfords which I will take back as it isn't fit for purpose but I wonder if any of you kind fellas can recommend a shop that may sell one with a longer part of the socket?
 
I think you'll struggle to get the deeper type for a reasonable price, when I was looking they were easily over £50. I still stand by the welding method if you know anybody with a welder. If not, if you know anyone with RAC cover they carry a Dynomec tool, it'll remove any kind of locking nut/bolt basically. They're like £250 to buy so it might be worth a Google for people in your area who have one that do removal if the RAC is a no go. Locking Wheel Nut Remover, Removes 100% of Locknuts with No Damage to the Wheel
 
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