Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Toledodude1973 on 11 March 2018, 17:46:13

Title: wheel bolts
Post by: Toledodude1973 on 11 March 2018, 17:46:13
Help needed please, tried to remove wheels on my omega today and was unable to remove locking bolt. I have the correct adapter but it just rolls off  when given any purchase. I suspect the bolt has seized on and the adapter is a little worn. How am i going to get these off ,obviously if sucessful i will disguard them and replace with ordinary non locking bolts. thanks for any help Paul
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: tunnie on 11 March 2018, 18:06:53
I junked my locking nuts years ago, horrible things.

Could try good soaking in plusgas, plus an impact with hammer or something to shock it.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Migv6 le Frog Fan on 11 March 2018, 18:17:28
I had the same problem with one of mine and spent hours with a small chisel before I got it off.
Take it to a tyre depot and pay them to get them off. Then chuck them in the nearest bin. :y
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Toledodude1973 on 11 March 2018, 18:25:29
Will they be able to do them at a car tyre place,like national tyres? I will try the impact driver method before hand thanks
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Nick W on 11 March 2018, 18:29:38
Some will, others won't touch them. Best to ring them, or your usual garage first. Anyone who works on cars professionally will have their own techniques for removing the damn things. Get all of them removed.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Toledodude1973 on 11 March 2018, 18:37:41
thanks Nick i usually take van to national tyres Ipswich the guy there is quite down to earth so omegas should be on his radar,ill report back thanks again
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Toledodude1973 on 12 March 2018, 18:23:48
Soaked the remaining three locking bolts in plus gas and penetrating oil (the best i could) tried to undo but tool kept rolling off. Went to local national tyres explaining problem , initially told couldn't help but had a go when i produced special adapter. He tried but no go,he then tried with nut gun in an attempt to thump it off and managed to shock all three off :D
I was so chuffed i gave the bloke £20 not bad for 10minutes but worth every penny to me, as could have been very expensive
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: STEMO on 12 March 2018, 18:36:31
The incidence of wheels being nicked seems to have reduced a hell of a lot these days. Either theives have realised that they all have locking wheels nuts or they don't see a need any more.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Kevin Wood on 12 March 2018, 18:45:35
I think alloy wheels are now so common that they aren't desirable on the black market unless something special. Especially if they're on a 15 year old omega.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Toledodude1973 on 12 March 2018, 19:01:18
yep my locking nuts have met their end 8)
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Migv6 le Frog Fan on 12 March 2018, 19:14:07
I think alloy wheels are now so common that they aren't desirable on the black market unless something special. Especially if they're on a 15 year old omega.

Although four new Micheilns (other expensive brands are also available) might make it worth while, as they are more than likely worth more than the car.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Toledodude1973 on 12 March 2018, 19:49:50
Cheers for original advice Albs
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Migv6 le Frog Fan on 12 March 2018, 20:08:15
Happy to help mate. Have you got replacement wheel nuts ? If not, I might have a few spare.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: flyer 0712 on 12 March 2018, 20:08:54
There is a special impact 1/2 sq dr, socket  that can be purchased in several different sizes specially made to fit a breaker bar or an air gun which has a left hand thread inside the socket so when the air gun tries to undo the wheel nut it automatically grips the nut and removes it from the hub... that is the easy bit, the hard bit is removing the nut from the socket afterwards  :D.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: omegod on 13 March 2018, 16:17:09
Soaked the remaining three locking bolts in plus gas and penetrating oil (the best i could) tried to undo but tool kept rolling off. Went to local national tyres explaining problem , initially told couldn't help but had a go when i produced special adapter. He tried but no go,he then tried with nut gun in an attempt to thump it off and managed to shock all three off :D
I was so chuffed i gave the bloke £20 not bad for 10minutes but worth every penny to me, as could have been very expensive

Didn't think you'd get alloys on a Reliant Robin !
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Migv6 le Frog Fan on 13 March 2018, 17:22:41
They were available on the SPORT model in the mid 70,s. I know this because I drove one that was 3 days old, and found out that the sporty alloys with slightly wider tyres meant that it tipped up and tried to roll onto its roof easier than the one with really skinny tyres.
The owner was a mate of mine, until he gave me a drive in it.  ;D
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: terry paget on 13 March 2018, 17:39:30
Soaked the remaining three locking bolts in plus gas and penetrating oil (the best i could) tried to undo but tool kept rolling off. Went to local national tyres explaining problem , initially told couldn't help but had a go when i produced special adapter. He tried but no go,he then tried with nut gun in an attempt to thump it off and managed to shock all three off : I was so chuffed i gave the bloke £20 not bad for 10minutes but worth every penny to me, as could have been very expensive
Pleased you got it sorted. Much too late to help you now, it has dawned on me exactly what you said; you had the correct removal tool, but it was rolling off the nut and not undoing it This is what would happen if you put the tool on the nut and heaved on one end of a long breaker bar. With a high torque nut gun applying an even torque there is no tendency for the tool to roll off the nut, so off it came.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: zirk on 13 March 2018, 19:10:57
You can actually buy Wheel Nut Caps that look like the Locking Wheel Bolts to the passing eye now, i assume there a lot easier to remove.  ;)
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Toledodude1973 on 13 March 2018, 20:04:42
Thanks Albs for offer but luckily i'd kept original bolts. Yep Terry the even pressure impact seemed to do the trick
Omegod i managed to get one off by myself,which was a result on the day  :) seriously thanks to all for help and concern ,my omega now has fresh oil and filter
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: BazaJT on 14 March 2018, 07:39:52
Still fairly common round here.We must obviously have a lower class of pikey ;D
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: terry paget on 14 March 2018, 10:49:50
Thanks Albs for offer but luckily i'd kept original bolts. Yep Terry the even pressure impact seemed to do the trick
Omegod i managed to get one off by myself,which was a result on the day  :) seriously thanks to all for help and concern ,my omega now has fresh oil and filter
Of course. with a puncture at the roadside you would have no chance of getting off that self locking nut and changing the wheel. As said earler in this thread, self locking nuts are horrible things, best discarded and replaced with normal nuts on purchase of a used car.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Toledodude1973 on 14 March 2018, 19:21:36
yes Terry, a simple puncture would have been a nightmare  ;)
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Lazydocker on 18 March 2018, 12:03:36
Soaked the remaining three locking bolts in plus gas and penetrating oil (the best i could) tried to undo but tool kept rolling off. Went to local national tyres explaining problem , initially told couldn't help but had a go when i produced special adapter. He tried but no go,he then tried with nut gun in an attempt to thump it off and managed to shock all three off : I was so chuffed i gave the bloke £20 not bad for 10minutes but worth every penny to me, as could have been very expensive
Pleased you got it sorted. Much too late to help you now, it has dawned on me exactly what you said; you had the correct removal tool, but it was rolling off the nut and not undoing it This is what would happen if you put the tool on the nut and heaved on one end of a long breaker bar. With a high torque nut gun applying an even torque there is no tendency for the tool to roll off the nut, so off it came.

The issue being that it can shear the “key” out of the nut :-X ::)
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: New POD on 18 March 2018, 15:07:36
One trick with locking wheel nuts is to OVERtighten the other 4 bolts meaning that the other one is slightly less tight.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Andy B on 19 March 2018, 22:31:59
Soaked the remaining three locking bolts in plus gas and penetrating oil (the best i could) tried to undo but tool kept rolling off. Went to local national tyres explaining problem , initially told couldn't help but had a go when i produced special adapter. He tried but no go,he then tried with nut gun in an attempt to thump it off and managed to shock all three off : I was so chuffed i gave the bloke £20 not bad for 10minutes but worth every penny to me, as could have been very expensive
Pleased you got it sorted. Much too late to help you now, it has dawned on me exactly what you said; you had the correct removal tool, but it was rolling off the nut and not undoing it This is what would happen if you put the tool on the nut and heaved on one end of a long breaker bar. With a high torque nut gun applying an even torque there is no tendency for the tool to roll off the nut, so off it came.

The issue being that it can shear the “key” out of the nut :-X ::)

Does this not depend on what type of locking bolt is used? Halfwits at a high street tyre bay managed to shear the 3 peg design of lock nut originally fitted to my Omega, but that was due to using a windy gun. I then fitted the later type cake cutter bolts , similar to those fitted to my Merc. Problem (more or less) solved.
Title: Re: wheel bolts
Post by: Nick W on 19 March 2018, 23:15:22
Locking wheel nuts are like Phillips screws, there's only so much torque you can apply before the tool cams out/breaks/rounds off/damages the nut. NONE of them are any good unless they are installed in the bin.