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Removing Anti-Theft Lug Nut?

7K views 22 replies 7 participants last post by  Urlik 
#1 ·
I'm having trouble getting out of the starting block on my brake rotor replacement. The other nuts came out -- although I had to stand on the wrench end.
It seems that the ribbed adapter doesn't seat far enough into the lug nut to transfer all the force effectively.
The anti-theft lug nuts are stuck on. I can feel that the lug nut grooves are deforming. I gave it a shot of PB Blaster, but that's not helping.

Is there a trick to this? I'm concerned that I'm going to ruin my lug nut.

It's never easy.
 
#5 ·
there are secial tools that take care of nuts that are deformed, but i assume you might not want to spend extra money on that. i personally think it's good to have though
its something like this:
Sears.com
this is just a cheap set that i found on a first click on google, u could get a better one

OR

as others said before, you could take it to a shop for them to help you out, which they might charge you for anyway so...

i just had this problem like a week ago, these idiots from Pep Boys tightened my bolts so hard that i literally had to stand on the wrench and jump several times (im not that light - 200lbs). i f-ed up 2 bolts and scratched one of my wheels. i was furious... thank god i had this removal set otherwise i would have given pep boys a visit and give them hell. i'll def make a complain when i go there again though
 
#7 ·
If you're talking about the factory security wheel bolt then you can take it to the nearest VW dealer and have them remove it for you. They should have a universal set of bolt keys on hand. I swapped mine out for regular wheel bolts the first chance I had to avoid dealing with any issues.
 
#11 ·
Lug bolts seizing is not uncommon on these cars even when properly torqued. VW even puts antisieze on the lug bolts at the factory. I will also put some on the hub/rotor facing when installing new rotors.
 
#14 ·
I guess it mostly depends on how often you remove the bolts, although environmental conditions, such as excess salt on the roads, certainly comes into play. I got in the habit of rotating my tires every time I do an oil change at 5,000 miles. That doesn't even include the number of times I pull the wheels to do any sort of maintenance under the car (i.e., brakes and suspension). If yours are seizing then you might want to decrease your maintenance intervals. Mine do tighten up once in a while, but not usually to the point where I can't break them free with a standard 4-way lug wrench. The only time I've needed excess force to remove them is when someone else has worked on the car, which doesn't happen very often. I sometimes spray a little WD-40 on the bolts before reinstalling them, but I've never used anti-seize compound. I think I read somewhere that using anti-seize compound on a torqued fastener is not recommended as it changes the actual torque requirement. Then again, I'm getting old and senile and my memory ain't what it used to be.
 
#15 ·
I did too Captain Video but only put anti-seize on about every third time. There is talk about the anti-seize screwing up torquing online but then again torquing bolts has more variables than just that that are never taken into account either. Anti-seize would be better than WD-40 I would think though.
 
#18 ·
I periodically use a wire brush to thoroughly clean the threads of the bolts and only tighten to 90 ft. lbs. I've never had a problem except the one time my wife took the car to a tire shop to have the summer/winter tires swapped. The shop used an impact wrench with the torque set entirely too high. After the practical exercise with her trying to loosen a lug nut torqued too much she understood the difficulty she would have experienced with a flat.
 
#22 ·
My language skills are not the issue, your insinuation and lack of respect are. Note that posting any messages that are of the nature you posted could lead to being banned. Keep your nasty comments in Dearborn.

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And as a veteran I am intimately aware of the saying; "Fire when fired upon." Watch your language when you speak about someone's family.
 
#23 ·
Doubling down when your joke attempt falls on its face is an epic fail. The correct answer would have been "sorry I offended you I was trying to make a lame joke." Nothing else to see in this thread so it's closed now.
 
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