How to Remove Broken Locking Lug Nuts

B1Toad said:
Amazon has them but the reviews are overwhelmingly horrible. I have found that a short, round point shovel with a "D" shaped handle works great, I use that method on heavy motorhome tires. Fix the jack so the tire is barely 1/2" or so off the ground, put your shovel in there and lever it into place. You can twist the D handle a bit and move the shovel handle fore and aft for stud alignment. Even the little 18" shovels work.
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Like with a lot of things you're going to see mixed reviews. My experience has been overwhelming positive. There are much better and more costly versions of these and they get good reviews. Personally, I'd build my own before I paid $300 (CDN) or so before I bought one though.

As for the cheap ones like mine, Some of the reviews I read said that they were too big for 20" tires or for some car tires in general. No kidding. You could tell that by looking at it so I have no idea why anyone would even consider one of these. For my 31" and 33" tires they work great. It's not something you would take on a trail with you but for around they're good for around the garage.
 
PCO6 said:
Like with a lot of things you're going to see mixed reviews. My experience has been overwhelming positive. There are much better and more costly versions of these and they get good reviews. Personally, I'd build my own before I paid $300 (CDN) or so before I bought one though.

As for the cheap ones like mine, Some of the reviews I read said that they were too big for 20" tires or for some car tires in general. No kidding. You could tell that by looking at it so I have no idea why anyone would even consider one of these. For my 31" and 33" tires they work great. It's not something you would take on a trail with you but for around they're good for around the garage.
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My Grand Cherokee has stock 20s which are back breakers…some of these dollys say up to 19” so wondering if they’ll handle the extra inch?
 
Offpiste said:
My Grand Cherokee has stock 20s which are back breakers…some of these dollys say up to 19” so wondering if they’ll handle the extra inch?
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You should be fine. I think by saying 19" they mean from the centre of one roller to the centre of the other. Mine measures 21.5" and the tires I use it for all work great (from 28" outer tire diameter on one of my trailers up to 33"tires on my LJ (32.6" actually). I have a grand Cherokee WK with stock 30" tires and have no problem.
 
B1Toad said:
One could easily copy this one and it has adjustability. What makes the reviews for the cheap one so confusing is some say it is too big for most cars and one guy even said it is too big for semi tires! Then people mix up tire size with wheel size.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0851YDNPR/?tag=wranglerorg-20
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That's a nice one! Most of the better ones like this are adjustable. I think if you had a shop and were dealing with a lot of tire sizes this would be good. As said, I'd build one and it wouldn't be $600 hard! (the price I'm seeing in CDN $s).

I see the the point of the white vertical roller which is probably nylon but for mine which isn't used a lot it's not necessary. I usually lay the wheel & tire down on the handle and take them to my Jeeps or trailers. It's a lot easier than rolling them or certainly carrying them!
 
PCO6 said:
That's a nice one! Most of the better ones like this are adjustable. I think if you had a shop and were dealing with a lot of tire sizes this would be good. As said, I'd build one and it wouldn't be $600 hard! (the price I'm seeing in CDN $s).

I see the the point of the white vertical roller which is probably nylon but for mine which isn't used a lot it's not necessary. I usually lay the wheel & tire down on the handle and take them to my Jeeps or trailers. It's a lot easier than rolling them or certainly carrying them!
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Has anyone tried this? Made in Canada. https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/thre...ack-and-jill-of-all-tires-jack-trolley.18357/
 
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lovemachine said:
I run the MT sidebiter wheels. And the lug nuts are the skinny type, and all are the locking type.

I carry 2 "key" sockets inside the jeep. One in the glove department, the other in a tool bag in the trunk.

I hate them. I haven't been able to find the skinny "non" locking lug nuts anywhere though.
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I'm not sure what dimensions a "skinny" lug nut has but I ordered custom coated lug nuts from Venom Wheels for my LJ to match my new wheels. Venom's gun metal gray seems to match the Gun Metal Gray Moab wheels from Quadratec really well.

I have only rotated once so I can't speak to the longevity of the finish but they seemed to be holding up well.

I'd give Venom a look and see if they have what you need: https://venumwheel.com/pages/all-lug-nut-series
 
MikeE024 said:
I may have that socket I can look this afternoon and send it to u if I find it. Lmk if that’s worthwhile sorry for not seeing this sooner
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Sorry, forgot to respond to this. Thanks for the offer but I went ahead and picked up a set of 4 different sizes of wheel lock removal sockets, figure it's not a bad thing to have in the toolbox.
 
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Not sure how you guys lift the tires manually, but I can throw 35s on by sitting almost under the tire with my legs straddled (so I don't further destroy my trashed back).

Most of the lifting is with my legs and that leaves my hands free to adjust and loosely throw on the lugs. Just mentioning that in case you don't find a tire jack that works well for you.
 
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While we're on the topic of lug nuts, I always ditch the oem style lugs with the soft caps on the end and go capless, then buy cheap Chinese plastic lug nut covers that pop over the top to prevent corrosion. That way you never have to worry about the cap failing and also you have a second point to spray oil directly into the threads, instead of under the lugs. With this setup I don't even bother with antiseizing the threads because the lug nut is guaranteed to come off.
 
97' 4 Popper said:
While we're on the topic of lug nuts, I always ditch the oem style lugs with the soft caps on the end and go capless, then buy cheap Chinese plastic lug nut covers that pop over the top to prevent corrosion. That way you never have to worry about the cap failing and also you have a second point to spray oil directly into the threads, instead of under the lugs. With this setup I don't even bother with antiseizing the threads because the lug nut is guaranteed to come off.
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The ones I use are closed on the ends but they're one piece so they don't have the soft cap to come off the nut. But that's not a bad idea to have the end accessible for penetrating oil. My wheels are off so often though that seizing is unlikely ever to happen.
 
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I ended up using the $40 Harbor Freight pack of sockets with sharp edges that bite into the nut as you apply loosening torque. It was shockingly easy and without drama. The nuts are even probably usable if I had the key.

The experience really cemented my newly formed opinion that wheel locks are pointless. If someone is gonna show up with a jack and blocks and a vehicle to carry a set of tires, it's not a stretch to think they've been to harbor freight and bought (or stole) the same set of tools.
 
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