McGard Locking Nuts - A warning!

A while ago I purchased a set of McGard locking nuts for my car, to keep the new alloys safe and sound. Heard good things about them so thought I'd bite the bullet and get a set..

Anyway, today I thought I'd clean up the alloys up inside etc and paint the calipers while I was at it. So off came the front offside, cleaned up aloy, painted caliper, alloy back on.. Come to do up the locking nut, hear a slight crack.. everything seems fine..

Do the offside rear, same again hear a crack doing the locking nut back up. Then come to take off the nearside rear, slip on the locking nut key and try to undo it and HUGE crack and the locking key slips. Take a look at the key and what do you know it's sheared the top of the nut clean off and left it inside the key, which inturn has cracked all around the pattern. (see pic)



So now I'm left with one sheared nut on the rear with no idea of how to get the thing off as it's hardened steel around the nut, a key which is as good as useless and two calipers still to paint.. On top of my light problems I had the other day.. Can things get any worse [:^(]

I'm contacting McGard about it, but in their leaflet with the key it says replacement keys are 12 but surely this is a design fault somewhere or something? But that still won't take off the sheared one..

Anyone got any ideas of how to get the sheared nut off? Cheaply, as I am skint

 

get yourself a nice snug fitting socket and hammer it onto the wheel bolt, if you choose a good fitting one that will have it off

you havent let a tyre fitter use thier wizzy gun on those have you?? i always take mine off before hand

 

smack a socket that is a little 2 small over it and undo!!

 

Thanks guys, I'll give it a go and see if I can get it off. Not gonna touch the other one just in case but at some point it's going to have to come off!

With regards to the Air-Gun thing, garage that did my service had no problems getting them on and off.. but they did seem a lil overly tight I must admit so looks like they might have done. Hence the reason it wouldn't budge and when it did it sheared clean off!

I thouht these were supposed to be hardened steel though, seemed a little too brittle to me.

 

they wont stand up to being used on a wizzy gun, pretty sure the company will say so too

next time....its easier to take em off before a service

 

Ok tried to bang a socket over.. 16mm seems to be best but it's just not getting past the hardened steel top. Just chewing the socket up slowly but surely No matter how much I try bang it in, it'll go in sidewides, and back the other way just makes it slip off. Don't wanna try bang it in TOO hard with fear of damaging the alloy..

Hmm Any other suggestions or see if the garage can get them off somehow not that I have any funds for that mind.

 

see if your dad/mates have any sockets too try, probably some old a/f size will bang on

you will need to hoof it on there though

there are sockets avaible that are just for that job, but that would mean spending money

 

I'll have to see if I can get hold of one, I've tried some others I found lying around but they are just too soft for the job, and would just spin off when banged on..

So I will be alright giving it some welly banging it on then? Just worried about hitting it to hard and damaged the wheel (might crack or something) If all else fails I will just have to wait till pay day to get the things off..

What's next I ask myself lol.. Comes in 3's they say

 

unfortunately you've discovered the difference between hard steel and tough steel.

Impact sockets are different from conventional for a reason - they have to take the sudden impacts of the windy gun. It sounds like a tyre fitter/garage etc has use your locking wheel nut key in his gun - which is a sure fire way to wreck it.

I've had the same problem with dad's car (a year after kwik fit put new tyres on) luckily a local garage had a set of locking wheel nut removal sockets. After seeing how easily they got the locking wheel nuts off i decided that maybe they were more hassle than they were worth.

 

Yeah I'm statrting to think the same way. I'm all for stopping people stealing wheels, but what with the wealth of problems people have when they either lose keys, or keys snap or the theads do it causes a major headache. Guess it's just a peace of a mind of thing having them on.

Looks like it's the local garage/tyre fitting place for me tomorrow to see if they can shift them cheap. Just gonna get them to take them all out while they are at it as a new key from McGard is gonna take it's time coming and I'm not prepared to go through all this again every time I want to take the wheels off.

 

Will be bearing that in mind don't you worry!

Thing is they didn't seem overly tight on the other 2 wheels, turned quite easily to be honest compared to the other bolts. So I don't know why this one was on so damn tight!

Still next time, when I finally get a replacement set from McGard I'll just take them out when it comes to work being done.. That way I know they won't get over tightened.

 

i had a problem with a lack of key for my lock nuts my mate has a set of reverse thread wheel nut extractors so im actually questioning whether the criminaly insane can get these which would make locking nuts useless as mine came off in minutes . scary ......

 

Same thing happened to me - never had a gun used on them, and I was undoing them by hand when it sheared the key. Basically McGard bolts are **** quality - I got a set off ebay that cost a tenner instead, and they're much sturdier and don't rely on a 2mm thickness of metal to take the torque of a wrench.

 

Managed to get them off in the end.. Well I say I did, popped round to National Tyres to see if they could get them off, so with the aid of a decent hammer and socket and an air gun off they came all 4 of them!! Killed 2 sockets mind...

McGard are willing to replace the full set and even offered to send out a drilling kit to get them off, but I wanted them off a.s.a.p so didn't wanna wait. Bit dubiouis about putting the new set on, must be some better designed ones and less brittle locking nuts around.

 

I have them on mine as well so am glad to hear the company was willing to be so helpful

 

Had the same problem with McGards too.

 

try using volkswagon current range of locking wheels these are so much tougher than any others ive came across apart from bmw but they all use the same internal spline design which is much better i should know ive broken so many by hand as i work in a tyre bay where were not aloud to use air guns apart from on comercial stuff

 

sheared nuts are a 'mare.

it helps to make sure they are properly greased so you havent got that to worry about. ive seen a lot of them shear due to people never cleaning/greasing the nuts, and the shear amount of friction being too much to overcome before they snap lol

 

I had the same problem with my McGards - gave them a call in Germany and they replaced it free of charge. Can't find the number now but I got it from my local Halfords.

Even so, I had to wait a couple of weeks which is no good when you need the car and you have a flat tyre so wouldn't buy them again.