Wheel lock socket lost — I could post in several forums...but...
 

..a lot of the models use the same locks. I hated them from day one but never did anything about it until 4 years ago. Yes, 4 years ago I ordered 4 standard wheel bolts for the wife's 986. It's raining and a slow day so I think after all this time maybe change those out.

Fock! The last assXXXX that did anything to the wheels obviously thought he'd have his fun and not put the GD thing back in the spare tire cover. I have no idea how long that was but could have been when I put some new Pirelli shoes on. That was a while back. For various reasons, the Box has had only a few hundred miles on it for quite some time. Talking years now. It stands at 60,xxx and I remember that mileage about 5 years ago. You know I don't drive it. But I digress.

So what's the cheap hack? I've seen some removal devices and the prices range. I know I could drill them and I have a big Easy Out... but that's a couple hours and I just don't feel like it.

Advice?

Hey Milt!!

When this happened to me, I took the car to Grand Prix Tires in Costa Mesa. $100 and 5 minutes later, it was off. They wouldn't tell me how they do it.

The locks that take a shaped socket you just drive a tight MM socket on and loosen em right up. My 928 has the keyed bolt covers. I'm lost on those.

Any good tire shop will have a box of 'keys' they've collected over the years. I'm talking mom and pop type tire shops. If they don't have a 'key' that fits they can knock em off with an air chisel. Takes 20 seconds each wheel to get em off.

Maybe, maybe not....


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1521768586.jpg

Sorry, I'll try another in a few.

If you can get an inpact socket over the lock hammer the socket on and then use a high torque impact to remove the locking lug nut. I have used this in the past and it worked for me.

Dave

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1521769302.jpg

It's round with detentes. How is a socket gonna fit over that?

Isn't it a bolt? Mig weld a nut on it? (through the center)

Bolt out deep socket...

Here's a set designed specifically for removing rounded off lug nuts..

http://www.irwin.com/tools/site-search/54125

Yes, I called it a bolt in post #1. Sheesh.

Yeah, down and dirty I'll arc weld a nut on each.

Zeke, I didn't mean it that way. Sorry for the abrupt reply.

Stop a Snap-On truck if you want to do it yourself. It’s where the tire shops get the special hammer on socket.

Welcome back Zeke. Several years ago when I had my Boxster I was faced with the same problem. The special socket to remove the safety nuts was split from overuse removing winter rims/tires to summer rims/tires. I googled it and found replacement sockets but there were more than one shape. So instead I took my Boxster to an indy shop and they removed all the theft proof nuts. I had them replace them with regular nuts. I have no idea how they did it but it was a reasonable price to do it.

I hate that. My last 3 cars have had wheel locks, including my Cayman. I always replace the locks with standard lugs. Nobody around here steals wheels anyway.

I had a 1995 Mustang that had those on it. I either never got the key or lost it, I actually went to the dealer and they had what I needed to remove it.

Welding would work too and is definitely more of a Red Green manly response.

And welcome back.

It's in the center console. It just is.

(based on 2 experiences with Ms. Gogars Panamera.)

:)

My local indie P-Car wrench has a kit with every socket in it. Can you call around?

Good luck

Zeke! You’re over thinking it. Run over to Circle and they will match it up with the Master Set of wheel lock keys and remove them.

I’ve had to do this with both a 993 and a 997 for clients. Newport Porsche was very helpful as was Tony at Callas Rennsport.

Give it a try before going to aftermarket resources.

Nice to see you posting on here. 😄

Cooper

You need a twisty-left-turn socket remover.
It grips the outside of a lug and digs itself deeper to bite and twist it off.

Spend money. Buy quality removers.
You are worth it.

Push hard and fast initially and it should bite enough to get the job done.

see my post above

X2 on going to dealership. They have the master set and can try them until they hit the right one. Then you can order a new key or just have them remove the old ones and install regular lugs (one key would probably be cheaper than 4 lugs). Can't tell you how many times I went out in the service lane and did just that for a customer.

Dealership, it’s an easy answer. That’s an OEM Porsche wheel lock, they will have the key.

Looks like that Gator socket may work.

I had similar on our Land Rover LR4. It had those locks with the wavy center. The wavy center on the key broke loose and became useless. I ended up driving on the smallest socket that would fit with a hammer. Ended up sacrificing a few sockets but it worked.

No more locking lugs for me. That was the biggest waste of time.

As suggested, go to the dealer and they'll pull that right off.

But, I had some cheap lock nuts on a Ford Ranger that I bought many years ago. I worked with a kid that was reformed, but had been a hoodlum when he was <18. He told me the secret for my lock lugs was to get a Craftsman 6 point socket (11/16 maybe?), drive it on with a hammer and then take it off with a breaker bar. It worked like a charm, and being young and poor means that I abused the Sears warranty a little bit and just exchanged the sockets with the nuts wedge in place for new sockets.

https://www.ebay.com/i/111335680742?chn=ps&dispItem=1

Been told to drive a 17 MM 12 point over it and remove.

I have removed those same locks by hammering a 15/16" 12 pt socket over them and then backing off with an impact. Takes a few seconds, nothing to it. Once the wheel is removed, thread the bolt back in and knock the socket off. Learned the trick from a buddy that worked in the Sears tire shop during college, they had a near limitless supply of 12 pt sockets!

Search youtube. There's a half dozen videos on the subject.

You need a sacrificial deep socket from Harbor Freight the next size smaller than what will go over the nut/bolt. Install with the ubiquitous BFH. I'd use a breaker bar with a cheater pipe over the rattle-gun approach. A little more dainty.

Yeah, Breaker bar, but when I did it with craftsman the deepwell didn't work, but maybe that's because it was a craftsman 6-pt vs a cheapo 12-pt.

Nice to see you stop by now and then Zeke/Milt. I always enjoy your input and hearing about your projects.
That's all I've got. I can't help with your wheel locks (has anyone mentioned explosives)?

5-pc Lugnut Specialty Set - Tools - IRWIN TOOLS

You know everything. You have the answer.

Milt I had the same problem on my 986S , previous owner lost the " special " key/socket . As mentioned by others take a 15/16 socket preferable a 12 point ( more teeth ) and lightly pound it on . Do the security bolt on each wheel FIRST then the others . You only have to break that initial surface tension then they will come right out . The best part of this project is the noise each security bolt makes as you hurl them across the garage into a metal garbage can :D

I bought 24 used wheel bolts , four to replace the four I tossed and twenty as spares . Eventually one set will be painted silver the other set black because I have two sets of wheels . No more security bolt B.S. :mad: If a professional thief wants your wheels he'll get them . If he can't get the wheels off he'll just steal the car ! Good luck getting them off .

Just a quick update for posterity. Thanks to the suggestions I used a 12 point 15/16" socket driven on with a hammer. Might not work if your bolts are over tightened but at the correct torque, the bolts gave up easily. Same socket lasted for a 4 bolts.

You will need a deep socket for the rears or an extension. I used a standard socket that was not a particularly 'known' brand. It's called "Fleet Tools" but it's still intact. FYI Fleet was made under the Proto umbrella of companies so I guess it is better than some import junk. Bear that in mind when selecting a socket and maybe if you have to do this it will go as well as it did for me. 2 minutes a wheel.

Thanks to all that commented except those that would have had me go to a dealer. Too easy for that.

When is the last time any of you have honestly heard of a set of wheels being stolen ?
I gotta say, it has been a really long time for me . These are the thoughts that go through me head, when see wheel locks any run of the mill vehicle .
If I buy a car that has em, I toss em in the trash , and replace with an oem nut. If it is a special car, I will save them, but not use them.
Of course, I live in an area where it would be highly unlikely to have anything stolen like this .
Now that I mention it. The local independent dealer, did have a set of wheels stolen from a Bentley last year. I think they were huge money , and it all stunk of an inside job when I heard the story, but oh well, what do I know ?

Funny, that's a timely thread.

I just took my recently-acquired 958 into my local Indy shop for a brake job. They called me saying they couldn't find the lug nut key anywhere. I told them I thought it was in the glove box but wasn't sure, they assured me they had checked everywhere and couldn't find it.

They ended up driving it across town to the Porsche dealer to get the nuts removed. Rather than order a new key, I asked them to just replace the locks with proper nuts.

Go to pick it up and they toss me the locks in a plastic bag with the corresponding "key" number "just in case you want to order a new key".

When I get home, I toss them in the glovebox...and what do I see but my missing "key". :rolleyes:

Thanks for the update, Milt - glad it worked out....good stuff!

Nice of you to piss on the common sense advice that people were nice enough to offer. Had your wheels been overtightened by the last tire shop to touch them, you'd probably be singing a different tune. There's not much to bite on the outer diameter of the OEM wheel locks, it would be VERY easy to just spin a driven on socket on a tight nut.

Advice to go to a dealer. Well, first of all that would be an OBVIOUS solution. I probably wouldn't have asked the board if I was going to go to the dealer. No, what you really meant was take the easy way out and let your wallet do the work.

Instead, I took 15 minutes of a Sunday and did this myself. Seems to me that the theme of Pelican Parts forums is DIY and is supported by our purchases. Telling members to go to the dealer is a disservice to Pelican.

However, before I clicked 'submit reply' I called a local dealer. Service dept wanted nothing to do with this. The service guy said that I should approach the parts dept about the master keys and then buy one after locating the correct pattern. Why would I buy a replacement if I'm tossing these? What's more is that I wonder if they will let a customer take the set out to the parking lot. I'll never know.

My fault for not checking for the key when I left the tire shop with new shoes but no key. That was a while back in itself, so going back there complaining would be a waste.

I have a buddy that lives in a fairly nice/decent neighborhood. Over the holidays, several trucks in his neighborhood were left on blocks.

Ooops I should have read to the end. I was excited to share my experience / hack.

I had lug locks and no key on a car I purchased years ago.

I spent the big $$ and bought a removal socket and it worked like a dream... once.

After one use it would not work anymore.

Then I took a standard socket that would not quite fit over the lug, in this case it turned out to be a 3/4" socket. I hammered the socket over the lug and with a long breaker bar I was able to gently break the lug loose.

I thought I may be able to knock the lug out in a vice, no joy, I went to the Ace hardware and purchased 2 more sockets (still cheaper than the removal socket) and repeated 2X.

My 2014 i3 has lug locks too and no key and no spare, I will let BMW deal with it if I ever take it in for service.