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Busted my locking lug nut key


nurkvinny

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I broke my McGard lug nut key last night. Their website is useless for Customer Service. Besides drilling + some kind of easy-out + hours of my life wasted, does anyone know of a local shop / towtruck / dealer / anyone that might have some kind of master set? Or, some other idea?

 

Update. Second key snapped like hard plastic.

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I know you said their customer service sucks but you can send your broken key in and they will make a duplicate and send it to ya

 

That is good to know. Did you have to do that? Was it pricey?

 

I am leaning towards replacing them with regular lug nuts. My work has a dozen security cameras, and my home is protected in other ways :)

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I replaced mine with regular lugs after getting charged $65 for Ford to take my wheels off 'cause of a lost key. Try a tire place, they may have something that could help.
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I tried the 12-point socket idea at Dad's shop after the key broke. All the 12-points he had were too thick-walled to fit in the rim. I went to Sears just now to buy their 12-point 'fluted' lug nut removal kit. It's an on-line part only :(

 

Maybe I'll go buy a cheap 12-point. If that fails, I'll try the various ebay and amazon lug removal kits. My concern is that they will also be too thick-walled.

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Just take the lug key over to pepboys and sort through the sets till you find one that matches. There are only 6 or 7 different ones I think. Unless they have changed the packaging you can see the configurations. I did this on a nissan for someone when changing brake pads.
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If you don't have time to wait for a replacement key (and especially if you plan to replace the locks with standard lug nuts anyway) the Craftsman (Sears) 3 piece wheel lock remover set worked well for me. It wasn't with the easy-outs, it was over by the air tools and compressors. I think it was about $30 bucks for the set, and it fits several sizes. I found singles at NAPA, but they were about the same cost for each one, so this was a better buy.

 

I'd offer to just let you use mine, but I gave them away not long ago.

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The 3 piece Sears set above is what I tried to buy Saturday because I am impatient and didn't want to wait until Monday. The Newark store doesn't stock it, order-only item.

 

I ended up e-mailing a high resolution picture to McGard late yesterday, and they sent a new key out today. Key + shipping = $14.95 with a 1 year warranty.

 

We'll see how it goes when I get the new key.

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I have the stripped/locking lug nut removal kit if you need to borrow it. I'm on the SE side of Columbus, and work on the NE side. let me know if the new key doesn't work and you want to use my set to get the locking lug nuts off. Send me a PM. :)
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I have the stripped/locking lug nut removal kit if you need to borrow it. I'm on the SE side of Columbus, and work on the NE side. let me know if the new key doesn't work and you want to use my set to get the locking lug nuts off. Send me a PM. :)

 

I appreciate the offer, and I will get back to you if I need them.

 

-Vince

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Dad and I went 50/50 on a full NAPA set. They'll be in Monday, lifetime guaranteed. The local Autozone and Advance Auto both told me, "Sir, parts stores can't sell that type of thing. That would be like trying to sell slim-jims. That's not legal."

 

That folks, is the difference between NAPA and the others.

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vinny, take a 12pt socket closest to the size of the nut and a hammer, smash it on there get a rachet or breaker bar and it will come off. This is what we do at ntb.

 

Or come to the NTB on Holt Rd. where we use locking lugnut removal sockets.

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