Drilling out locking whell nuts (nlc)

[skellyjohn]

I posted a few weeks ago that I'd lost my locking wheel nut thingy and was a bit stuck.

I'm no further forward. The AA has had a go at getting the wheels off and various tools and methods have been used to unscrew the locking wheel nuts. The only option left is to drill them out - according to the AA and the garage that it's been sitting in for th last 7 weeks.

Does anybody have any idea of where I'd get a tool to do the job? The guy at the garage is has been helpful but ultimately not successful.

[Rich H]

Can you get the hub off?
If you can get to the back it might be easier to attack it from behind or get it to an engineering firm with a big milling machine to do it for you.
depends ont he design of the hub/brakes/etc of course...

If there is no other option I'd look at making up a collar to centre the drill on the nut (Or it'll wander off) that either located in the nut well ont he wheel or locate don the remains of the locking nut.
Then it'll be a new posh drill, lots of pressure, lots of coolant and as slow as you can get away with without destroying the drill (Hire a powerful one?)
Trouble I had previosuly with stuff like this was doing all the wrong things: fast speeds/light pressure work hardens stuff like mad (Stainless in my case) whereas low speed/heavy pressure cuts hard stuff but needs loads of power to do it. Better still get somewhere to do it for you.

Alternatively can you drill the nut and chisel it off?
A couple of small (3mm?) holes through the nut about 10mm apart and you might be able to knock a chunk out of the nut and relieve the pressure?

[whaleys]

This might been tried waaaaaaay before you got to the point you're at now but I used these...

http://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-5-piece ... -set/96028

to get a large number of the very welded on nuts/bolts that had been rounded on the Defender when restoring the front hubs.

Granted, your locking wheel nut isn't quite the same but it might work? (Although there may be something incorporated (perhaps type of metal used) to stop people doing that for security wise)

Just a thought in case it hadn't been considered.

[Dominic]

This might been tried waaaaaaay before you got to the point you're at now but I used these...

http://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-5-piece ... -set/96028

to get a large number of the very welded on nuts/bolts that had been rounded on the Defender when restoring the front hubs.

Granted, your locking wheel nut isn't quite the same but it might work? (Although there may be something incorporated (perhaps type of metal used) to stop people doing that for security wise)

Just a thought in case it hadn't been considered.

Seen them in action on a lotus - to mixed degrees of success

[whaleys]

while browsing after looking for the link for the Irwin set I found this...

http://www.screwfix.com/p/laser-emergen ... 4-pc/94826

probably better for what you need...

Again sorry if you're way past that point.

[boynerT72]

We removed a set of locking wheel nuts last week where we had lost the nut.. All we did was hammer on a slightly smaller socket on to the wheel nut and then use a ratchet to take it off... quite crude but it worked, all four off in no time at all!

[Rich H]

socket of the right caliber welded to the nut through the hole in the back? Just point the mig gun into the hole and pull the trigger until it sticks...

[BiggestNizzy]

What type of locking wheel nut is it ? (pictures ae good)

[Andy H]

Not sure if you have got the nut off ?

I cut a 12mm Alen key and welded it to the nut, and used a socket on the cut Alen key off it came.