Ok, not sure if this goes in Maintenence or not but I was doing maintenence at the time and its a tool so...idk, sorry if it's in the wrong forum.
I have a set of McGards locking spline drive lugnuts and I was changing the brakes on my car. When I finish the first wheel and put the last lugnut on I hear a kind of snapping sound. I look at the key for my lugnuts and it is missing a sliver of metal and cracked all the way from the top of the lugnut end to the middle. So now I have new front brakes on one wheel
Weaksauce.
Is it normal for a key to commit suicide like that? Are you not supposed to use an air gun to tighten and loosen them? I've used one before and it's always seemed fine. If your not supposed to I guess it's my fault, but I can't imagine why you wouldn't be able to.
My other question is, considering I bought these off Ebay I'm thinking I'm pretty much screwed from any warranty right? It's been a year or two since I bought them so I seriously doubt McGards would cover it. So where would I get a replacement? I really want to keep using these because other than the key taking a dump this has been the best purchase I've made for my car.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
it says when you get them not use with an impact.
Dam ok, I saw no such warning when I got mine
Looks like I need a replacement
When I got my spline drives on the 17s the guy at the tire shop actually told me to only torque to 90 ft/lbs since the splines and keys have a habit of breaking.
TheSundownFire (JBO Chat) wrote:When I got my spline drives on the 17s the guy at the tire shop actually told me to only torque to 90 ft/lbs since the splines and keys have a habit of breaking.
Thanks for the heads up! Lesson learned on my part I guess.
My dad says the tool might be fixable...I'm skeptical but I'll see what he can do with it.
Hard way to learn a lifelong lesson.
Lug nuts by and large are torqued at a surprisingly low torque. They generally fall between 80 and 100 ft lbs. Too many people use air impact guns and wrench those suckers on there so tight that they will never come off!
Sometimes, they don't.
Sometimes they rip off the lug bolt
deformed threads are not uncommon
Sometimes they are so tight that they require a 3 foot extension bar on a socket.
Sometimes, like you found out, the special key is destroyed.
Are your wheels really that nice and do you live in such a crappy neighborhood that you even need those stupid keyed lug nuts? The last time I had wheels stolen or even knew someone whose wheels were stolen is....uh.....never! I've been driving around this nation and mostly in the greater NYC area since the 60's.
Spend $80 and get a torque wrench and learn to use it. You'll save yourself a lot of grief in the years to come.
Tighten a lug nut to the proper torque, then just put a wrench on it and see what if feels like, your first impulse will be to make it tighter. Not at all unlike giving a spin on oil filter more than the suggested 1/4 turn after contact!
Tighter is frequently NOT better.
Dave
I keep mine torqued to 100 ft lbs.
david keevil wrote:Hard way to learn a lifelong lesson.
Lug nuts by and large are torqued at a surprisingly low torque. They generally fall between 80 and 100 ft lbs. Too many people use air impact guns and wrench those suckers on there so tight that they will never come off!
Sometimes, they don't.
Sometimes they rip off the lug bolt
deformed threads are not uncommon
Sometimes they are so tight that they require a 3 foot extension bar on a socket.
Sometimes, like you found out, the special key is destroyed.
Are your wheels really that nice and do you live in such a crappy neighborhood that you even need those stupid keyed lug nuts? The last time I had wheels stolen or even knew someone whose wheels were stolen is....uh.....never! I've been driving around this nation and mostly in the greater NYC area since the 60's.
Spend $80 and get a torque wrench and learn to use it. You'll save yourself a lot of grief in the years to come.
Tighten a lug nut to the proper torque, then just put a wrench on it and see what if feels like, your first impulse will be to make it tighter. Not at all unlike giving a spin on oil filter more than the suggested 1/4 turn after contact!
Tighter is frequently NOT better.
Dave
Its not that my wheels are something special, the McGards are just so much nicer. They go on and off very easily plus the seat doesn't turn with the rest of the lugnut so it won't scratch the inside of the wheel where they meet. That and they look nice in black.
And I'd also rather have them for security reasons and not need them then need them and not have them.
I know how to put a wheel on, I just had no idea you couldn't use an impact gun on the key, nowhere in the packaging I got did it say anything about that. Of course, as I said, I got it of Ebay so goodness knows what I didn't get.
And funny you should bring up the oil filter, I actually did that at the same time. Had to explain to my friend why you don't do more then that and then I go and screw up my key tool by using a gun and probably overtightening lol.
Contact McGard they can get you a replacement. i got mine for like 15 bucks i think...
those guys that use the air impact guns and wrench those suckers on good and tight, i'd hate to be the unfortunate victim of a flat tire in a case like that.
lockin pline lugs are a joke my buddy was junkin a car he bought and the wheels had them and i showed him how easy it was to steal them lol.i pounded a socke on and turned them all off with a power handle in 5 mins
well mcgard claims to have a better grip on the stud vs stock lugnuts, so I guess you are paying for better looks, and grip.
At work, people torque those muf@!#$in oil filters on tight. sometimes we get the occasional do it yourselfer who brings his car in, and he had torqued the oil filter on so tight, he ripped the gasket, and was leaking oil.
we also dont have anything to take off lugnuts other than an air impact gun, and our torque wrenches are one way.
but most people have stripped out locking lugs anyway, hahha.
***Rogue*** wrote:Contact McGard they can get you a replacement. i got mine for like 15 bucks i think...
Do you know if the spline drive keys are all the same?
I put anti seize on my lug nuts sometimes LOL
I use an electric impact gun on them.... doesnt get them tight enough that I cant get them off by hand.... but always put the "lock" nut on by hand.
IF your thinking about buying another set to get a new key..... that might work.... they only make so many variations (might get spendy trying though)
Although it wouldn't surprise me if they are all the same (for that model by that manufacturer).... I really dont know though...
WHat I would do it this....
Take it to a few tire shops.... its only a matter of time before you find one that has a key for it in a drawer or can get it off somehow (they run into this a lot), and when you find one... just have them replace all of them with a regular nut (wont cost much)... then go get a new set..
that is if you need it fixed right away... otherwise contacting the company that makes it sould work... you'll just have to wait for the mail.
Rahjee [rkm1989 wrote:]Do you know if the spline drive keys are all the same?
I think they might b different, the lady i spoke with asked me to take a pic of the key so they could identify which one i had. just go on their website and get their number and give them a call
david keevil wrote:Hard way to learn a lifelong lesson.
Lug nuts by and large are torqued at a surprisingly low torque. They generally fall between 80 and 100 ft lbs. Too many people use air impact guns and wrench those suckers on there so tight that they will never come off!
Sometimes, they don't.
Sometimes they rip off the lug bolt
deformed threads are not uncommon
Sometimes they are so tight that they require a 3 foot extension bar on a socket.
Sometimes, like you found out, the special key is destroyed.
Are your wheels really that nice and do you live in such a crappy neighborhood that you even need those stupid keyed lug nuts? The last time I had wheels stolen or even knew someone whose wheels were stolen is....uh.....never! I've been driving around this nation and mostly in the greater NYC area since the 60's.
Spend $80 and get a torque wrench and learn to use it. You'll save yourself a lot of grief in the years to come.
Tighten a lug nut to the proper torque, then just put a wrench on it and see what if feels like, your first impulse will be to make it tighter. Not at all unlike giving a spin on oil filter more than the suggested 1/4 turn after contact!
Tighter is frequently NOT better.
Dave
Happens all the time though...maybe not to you but it does happen. One of my old professors had his stock Chromies stolen in a busy mall parking lot
Weebel wrote:I put anti seize on my lug nuts sometimes LOL
I use an electric impact gun on them.... doesnt get them tight enough that I cant get them off by hand.... but always put the "lock" nut on by hand.
IF your thinking about buying another set to get a new key..... that might work.... they only make so many variations (might get spendy trying though)
Although it wouldn't surprise me if they are all the same (for that model by that manufacturer).... I really dont know though...
WHat I would do it this....
Take it to a few tire shops.... its only a matter of time before you find one that has a key for it in a drawer or can get it off somehow (they run into this a lot), and when you find one... just have them replace all of them with a regular nut (wont cost much)... then go get a new set..
that is if you need it fixed right away... otherwise contacting the company that makes it sould work... you'll just have to wait for the mail.
Nah I don't need it right away, besides, buying a new set just for the key would be kind of ridiculous lol
***Rogue*** wrote:
I think they might b different, the lady i spoke with asked me to take a pic of the key so they could identify which one i had. just go on their website and get their number and give them a call
Thanks man! I'm still gonna try and fix my existing one but that seems like the best course of action if that fails
When I bought my car it had splines, and I didn't realize it until the first time I tried to get them off. Couldn't find a key anywhere, so I thought I was SOL.
A 14mm socket took 18 of the 20 lugs off, and the other two I just put a roller pin in one of the slots. Locking lugs are pretty much a joke.
Paying someone to install parts and bragging about it being fast, is like watching someone bang your wife and being proud to raise their kids.
Wow, lots of hate for locking lugs in this thread, I don't see why. Other than this they have been the best money spent on my car thus far IMO.
Only reason I have specialty "locking" lugs is because traditional style lugs wont work with my wheels.
But I also never impact them on very bad practice as you have learned.
JGM T-SHIRTS!!!!
In Loving Memory of Phil Martin December 14 2005
Alexis: Dustin, you're ghey, lol. I am better. I have tits, and tits rule all.
Just an update, my dad had a go at the key with his welder and it looks pretty good, doesn't seem to have lost its shape or anything.
Gonna try it out once I get over this %^#$ flu
