BMW Locking wheel bolt!!##

So I got three wheels off and changed over to summer.  The fourth wheel is not cooperating.  There is a splined head locking bolt that was torqued on there but good by the monkey who installed my new winter wheels.  All of the bolts were over torqued but this one is special.  I sheared off the splined key, was able to extract the broken piece from inside the bolt head, went to the friendly dealer and got a new one for $19 and guess what...it sheared off too.  I am using a 2 foot johnson bar, not an impact wrench.

So what now?  Anyone have a tip or suggestion to break this bolt loose?

Heat and/or penetrating fluid.

Sometimes the impact will break the bolt loose when just steady force like your doing results is something breaking.

Put the other bolts on finger tight and drive in slow circles until the problematic one breaks loose.

jimbbski said:

Heat and/or penetrating fluid.

Sometimes the impact will break the bolt loose when just steady force like your doing results is something breaking.

 

I thought it was the impact that weakened the key, but maybe not cause the new one broke with no impact.  So I guess I will buy another and take it to a shop to zip it off.

Buy a GatorGrip socket and hammer it on there, remove bolt, throw them all in the trash and use regular bolts because wheel thiefs aren't stopped by that junk.

Stefan said:

Buy a GatorGrip socket and hammer it on there, remove bolt, throw them all in the trash and use regular bolts because wheel thiefs aren't stopped by that junk.

i'm with you on the new regular bolts.  I don't think there is enough room between the wheel and bolt to get a gatorgrip on.  The wheel has deep recesses for the bolts.

Was changing tires on a car and all the keyed lugs were on one wheel. When we asked we were told that they matched. 

In reply to dean1484 :

That statement is very true they're at least being honest

Weld a 1/2" socket onto the head of the bolt?

pilotbraden said:

In reply to dean1484 :

That statement is very true they're at least being honest

Agreed. Just one of those things you remember. 

You could try this.

And this why my 3 previous BMWs were converted to studs, and why I have a set of studs to convert the 135i as well.

If you buy extended studs, you'll need an extra long socket to get to the wheel nut. Theft prevention remains intact.

Yeah, so broke a 3rd key. 

Large air impact gun wouldn't budge it but did stretch the key splines.  Tried penetrating oil.  Tried loosening all the bolts and driving around to loosen the stuck one.  Tried over torquing the 4 bolts to take pressure off the locking one.  Gatorgrip won't fit in the wheel hole.

Can't drill it out because of the security peg in the middle.  Doubt you could weld anything in there.  Heat may heat up the wheel too much?  

Booked a 2 hour appointment with the stealership for May the 4th,  may it be with me.  Fun.  I have visions of them needing to cut the wheel off.

Maybe a torx socket hammered into the stupid bolt?  Ugh.

$60 in keys so far, 2 hours will cost $325, new bolts for another $50.  The deal I got on the winter wheel package is not looking as good now.

$160/hr in labor at the dealer? Yikes.

Certainly there is a trustworthy indie shop that can take care of this for you. It doesn't even need to be a BMW shop. 

Who put the damn thing on in the first place? I'd be driving back there and raising holy hell with them until they fixed it gratis.

In reply to 02Pilot :

Well.... I got a killer deal on some new alloy rims and Toyo winter tires from a shop that normally does auto window tinting.  Seems they dabble in tires in the winter.  Anyway they installed the wheels.  So I doubt they are real licensed mechanics hence the use of an impact set to max.  I tried to call them twice to set up a time to change over to summers because the guy said he would re-do the front window tinting that was berked up and tires for $60 cash.  No answer and the voice message box is full.  I drove by and the place is still in business...

Do I really want these guys trying to extract this bolt? 

My normal indy shop is out of ideas.  The dealer has done these several times (go figure) and I am hoping they have the magic recipe and maybe a titanium unbreakable key.

On the bright side, the car gods were kind to me this morning because my 21 year old JDM engine swapped Impreza passed the emissions test with flying colours.    Much relief there.

Hammer a socket over it?  Preferably one you don't like.

Yeah, not the best set of circumstances. Probably best to keep your cars away from those guys.

Seems to me I have a kit somewhere in the garage purchased to remove a wheel lock on a car I was working on. Set of impact sockets that cut into the outside of the lock and spin it off. Worked well the one time I had to use it. Maybe look for something like that?

Is the bolt head down in a cavity with no access from the side? If so that makes it tough. If you do have side access I would try an air hammer with a chisel attachment to break it loose.

Way Way Down, about an inch from the face of the wheel.

This is why the first thing  I do to any of my cars is remove the "locking" wheel bolts/nuts and throw them in the garbage.  If someone wants my wheels that badly, they can take them.  I have insurance....

I had McGard locks on my mr2 spyder parts car and no key. After much drama I bought two 12-point 19mm Husky brand sockets from Home Depot for $5 and drove one onto the lug with a mini sledge.  They bit hard and the impact drove the lug nut right off. You might need a different size socket but the general idea would probably work. Make sure it’s really on there before hitting it with the impact. 12 point is important too as it has those sharp little points to bite into the lug. 

Aspen said:

Stefan said:

Buy a GatorGrip socket and hammer it on there, remove bolt, throw them all in the trash and use regular bolts because wheel thiefs aren't stopped by that junk.

i'm with you on the new regular bolts.  I don't think there is enough room between the wheel and bolt to get a gatorgrip on.  The wheel has deep recesses for the bolts.

I ran into this with my mercedes...

Basically, what it came down to was me driving through an industrial area and pulling into a shop with an acetalyne torch out front.  The kids and I got McDonalds, magic happened in between, and i now have normal lug studs where locking lug studs used to reside.

good luck, man.  It cant be tight if it's a liquid

dean1484 said:

Was changing tires on a car and all the keyed lugs were on one wheel. When we asked we were told that they matched. 

Actually there is some brilliance to this. I nearly always lose the keys whenever I've had them (actually, the dealership lost them twice). I thought about doing it this way the last time I had a car with them because I figured that if I got a flat, I'd have a 3/4 chance of being able to actually change the tire in the event I lost the key. Obviously I didn't do it and just had the damn things taken off and replaced, but still and interesting idea.

Well it is off, and so are the rest of them.

BMW tech did it and charged me only 20 minutes.  I didn't get a chance to ask what manner of trickery was used to get it off.  The bill including 4 new bolts was only a C-note, so lowest BMW bill ever.

I stopped by the shop that over tightened them in the first place and he was all "I would have gotten that off, do it all the time".  Anyway he is going to retint my front side windows for a $20.  I am content.