TOOL TO REMOVE 'MCGARD WHEEL LOCK - BOLT STYLE' WHEEL LUGS/BOLTS






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Here is a cheap way to remove a 'McGard Wheel Lock - Bolt Style' security wheel lug/bolt.

Someone stole the wheel bolt security kit from my mates Renault. He could not remove any of the road wheels. We spent a few hours fabricating a couple of tools to tackle this problem.


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Tool to remove 'McGard Wheel Lock - Bolt Style' wheel lugs/bolts.

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The heads of the McGard security bolts on this Renault are primarily a raised star that is contained within a raised rim. The raised star on this set is similar to the star end of a T Torx tool. I measured the point to point distance of the raised star on the McGuard bolt heads to be around 11mm. It looks as though an E14 Torx female socket would 'nearly' fit it (the E denotes female, rather than T for Torx male). The star is not symetrical; it appears to be a symmetrical star that has been twisted out of shape.

↓ Here's how to make and use the tool:

[1] Purchase a 1/2 inch drive 10mm socket. The Hex type worked better than the Splined type on this job. The socket was a quality socket. We were going to try this using an E14 socket but no one stocked them round here.
[2] Secure the 10mm socket in the lathe chuck and turn down the business end of the socket to exactly 14mm diameter for a length of around 8mm.
[3] Using the lathe topslide, put a chamfer on the outside of the business end of the socket, about 30 degrees. Don't make the end too thin for any great distance.
[4] Mount the socket on an extension bar, 5 inch long, 1/2 inch drive.
[5] Hold the extension bar with Molegrips.
[6] Working by the car, heat the socket until it is orange/red. I used a 9kw propane burner for this.
[7] Offer the socket up to the security bolt on the car and firmly and gently tap the end of the extension bar, to drive the socket into the security bolt head. Use a heavy club hammer. Use the writing, that is stamped into the socket, to align the socket to the bolt head each time. The inside of the socket will deform and take on the star shape in the security bolt head. Metal will shear off the outside of the socket. Take your time and don't bash the hell out of it else you will end up bellowing and squashing the socket, rather than shearing metal off. Tap it in a little, reheat, tap it in a little, reheat etc. After the socket is driven into the security bolt head by a few millimetre you will see metal being sheared off on the outside of the socket. Cool the socket, mount it in the lathe chuck and turn off the sheared metal that is sticking out; then continue with the 'reheat-tap in-reheat' process. Take your time and don't rush it.
[8] Continue with [7] until the socket has been driven into the head a far as possible, which is not very far at all (less than 5mm).
[9] Harden the socket - Heat the socket to red/orange and quench it quickly in water. This will leave it hard but brittle.
[10] Temper the socket - Polish it brightly. Gradually heat the socket to brown-purple-blue and remove from the flame. You can quench the socket, or leave it to cool in the air, it does not matter. This will leave it hard and not too brittle.
[11] To remove a security bolt. Mount the socket on the end of a 5 inch long extension bar. Support the extension bar with a jack. We used the Clarke CEW1000 Electric Impact Wrench (from Machine Mart) to drive the socket. Press hard to ensure the socket remains engaged in the security bolt head. Use a face shield in case the socket shatters. The bolts came out after a few short bursts with the Impact Wrench. I just love this Clarke Electric Impact Wrench. We easily removed all four bolts and the socket remained in good shape to be used again. The Impact Wrench, rather than a long breaker bar, seems to be the better choice of driver here.
[12] Throw away the security bolts and use normal ones.

↓ This is one of the McGard wheel bolts still located in the wheel hub.
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↓ A close up picture showing the shape of this particular set of McGard wheel bolts.
Note the raised star in the centre, the raised rim, and the sunken land in between. The end of the socket is moulded so that it fills the sunken land and firmly grips the bolt head.
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↓ Here is the end of the socket, shaped to fit the McGard bolt head.
When the red hot socket was placed on the bolt head it was not placed in the exact same position each time, hence the extra gouge marks.
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↓ Here you can see the outside of the 10mm shaped socket.
Note the short chamfer on the end.
Note the end turned down to 14mm diameter, for a length of about 8mm.
Note the sheared metal.
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Tool to fit the security bolt that secures the plastic wheel cover on a Renault alloy wheel.

↓ A three pin tool had to be made to remove the plastic cover that goes over the wheel nuts. The plastic cover is held in place by a security bolt, and needs to be removed to gain access to the road wheel bolts.

This tool was made quickly. It does not look pretty, but it does the job.
The three pins are 3mm silver steel and are silver brazed into a scrap piece of 18mm diameter mild steel.
The tommy bar is made from an 8mm diameter rod salvaged from a printer.
The cover bolts on the Reanult were not done up too tightly (maybe around 20Nm) and came off very easily without any fuss at all.
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↓ I got the pitch circle diameter for the pins wrong, and had to bend out the pins a little (rushing again).
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↓ This is the head of the security bolt securing the plastic wheel cover.
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