Broken Mcgard Wheel Lock Help
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 13,281
Likes: 2,509
From: Bluffton SC via Canton Oh
Broken Mcgard Wheel Lock Help
So the next chapter in my new wheels and tires results in a broken McGard wheel lock. Put them on last week and all was well, torquued them to 90 lbs.. Pulled the car out this afrernoon and the top of the lock, where the key goes in is laying on the floor.
So now I have to somehow get the barrel of the lock off of the tire stud. The barrel is completely round and there is not too much room to work in the wheel hole.
I have 2 ideas so far: Plan 1 is to hammer a socket drive onto the barrel, and hope I can just twist it off.
Option 2 is to drill out the wheel stud itself, only thing I can think of if option #1 fails.
Anyone have any other ideas?
If I do need to drill out the stud any idea on what it takes to put in a new wheel stud? Do I need to pull the axle?
So now I have to somehow get the barrel of the lock off of the tire stud. The barrel is completely round and there is not too much room to work in the wheel hole.
I have 2 ideas so far: Plan 1 is to hammer a socket drive onto the barrel, and hope I can just twist it off.
Option 2 is to drill out the wheel stud itself, only thing I can think of if option #1 fails.
Anyone have any other ideas?
If I do need to drill out the stud any idea on what it takes to put in a new wheel stud? Do I need to pull the axle?
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 78
Likes: 0
From: Vancouver B.C
Re: Broken Mcgard Wheel Lock Help (Greg00Coupe)
To do this properly you shoul;d have a wheel lock remouval tool (looks like a tapered socket). But this is the theory, using a air gun spin the socket or remouval tool in reverse long and hard enough to heat up the tool, remouve air gun leaving the socket/ tool on the lock nut, take a hammer and pound the socket/ tool over the lock nut then useing an air blower cool the socket/ tool down thus shrinking it over the lock. It should be wedged onto the lock enough to remouve. Tip : don't tighten the locks as much as you do the regular nuts, those little %$#@ers can be a real pain. I have remouved tons of the (smart customers that leave the lock art home and bring in for service or repair). Good luck
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 920
Likes: 2
From: Rogers, AR, USA
Re: Broken Mcgard Wheel Lock Help (Greg00Coupe)
The Sears tool catalog has easy outs (offs) just for your job. The common easy out everyone has seen goes in a hole drilled in the center of the stud and tightens in the hole as you put torque on it to remove the stud.
They also have an item that looks like a socket on the outside, but has spiral groves on the inside and in varous sizes that go on the outside of a nut and tighten down as you put torque on them to get to get rounded off nuts off a stud. Should be just as easy as putting a socket on the other nuts. I've seen the samller ones in the store many times but I think you will need the larger set for wheel nuts, you may ahve to order them.
[Modified by alanh, 9:52 PM 5/9/2004]
They also have an item that looks like a socket on the outside, but has spiral groves on the inside and in varous sizes that go on the outside of a nut and tighten down as you put torque on them to get to get rounded off nuts off a stud. Should be just as easy as putting a socket on the other nuts. I've seen the samller ones in the store many times but I think you will need the larger set for wheel nuts, you may ahve to order them.
[Modified by alanh, 9:52 PM 5/9/2004]
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 22,025
Likes: 192
From: At the beach in little Rhody
Re: Broken Mcgard Wheel Lock Help (alanh)
If it comes to #2, one of the "how to" sites has a rotor installation or something like that where they change the wheel studs. They pulled it into position using the wheel lug nut.
