The wheels of your car are held in place with the help of lug nuts. Meaning, if you want to work on your car’s suspension or to change the tires, you need to take the lug nuts off. Well, that can be done quite easily if your lug nuts are not the locking type ones since those lug nuts need to be taken off with a key.
Of course, it is easy to take them off with the key, but what if you lost the key like many other people? Well, if you did, then you don’t have to worry too much. Today we will show you how to take off wheel locking lug nuts without the Jeep wheel lock key.
Where is the Jeep Wheel Lock Key Located?
Before we jump into taking off the lug nuts and removing the wheels of your Jeep without the key, we need to learn and understand a few things first. We will start by knowing where the location of the Jeep wheel lock key is.
If you don’t know where the Jeep wheel lock key is, then you might want to look around a bit in your car. You should start by first looking in the box where you get the owner’s manual. If you do not find it there, then look where the factory tools and jack are. It might be secured with those tools.
You could also look for the rear storage unit. If it is not in any of those places, then take a look at the little storage box in the central console or the glove box of your car.
If you bought your Jeep from someone, then try giving them a call if you cannot find your locking key to the wheels of your Jeep anywhere. Maybe even check your toolbox in case you left it there before. It is worth making sure that you do not have the locking key before you continue with the process of removing the wheels of your Jeep without a key.
Can You Remove Jeep Wheel Lock Without a Key?
If you want to change your tires and your wheels, it requires a key to take the lug nuts off, then, of course, you would need the key to get them off.
However, as we mentioned earlier, you do not have to worry a lot if you cannot find the key to your lug nuts. There are other ways you can remove your Jeep wheel lock without having to use a key. Normally, you should call an auto repair shop or a mechanic when you lose your wheel lock key.
This is because most mechanics are equipped with special tools that are required to remove your wheel lock without using a key. If you have the tools with you and you trust your mechanical skills, you can do it yourself as well. Here is how you can do it and the tools you would require.
How to Remove Jeep Wheel Lock without a Key
Finally, now that you have got everything else cleared out, you can move on and start removing your wheel locks, without your key, of course.
Tools Required
This is a list of tools that you would need when you are taking out your wheel locks to do it.
- 12-point variety socket
- Hammer
- Breaker bar
- New lug nut
- Torque wrench
These are the set of tools you would need to get started with. It is better to choose a set of sockets with a warranty if you end up breaking yours in the process. If you do it properly, it will take around 5 minutes to do one wheel.
Step 1
If you cannot find your wheel lock key, you have to prepare yourself to start hammering it down (not your wheels, don’t worry!). You would want to get your set of 12 point variety sockets and find the closest size to your lug nuts.
All you need to do is use your brute force to hammer down the socket into your locking nut. Look through various sizes for the socket till you find one that you think can be hammered down into your locking lug nuts. Most strong-looking lug nuts generally are made with a softer material than the excellent quality sockets, so you should be okay with hammering down a socket on it.
A 12-point socket set works better than a 6 point set of sockets because it will give you a better grip due to the extra “teeth.” The better traction you have, the better your chances are of getting the locking lug nut out of your wheel.
Step 2
Once you have the correct socket selected, it’s time for the fun part. It is not time to hammer the socket down. You should be just fine with any regular hammer from the hardware store. One from the clearance rack would do great as well.
When you are hammering the socket in, you will want to go as straight as possible. Also, make sure that you keep on hammering it down till the socket has a snug and tight fit around the lug nut.
Step 3
It is now time for you to bring in the breaker bar. If you have never used a breaker bar before, don’t worry, they are just rods of metal that can clip on your sockets. Hence they tend to be very cheap. It’s a tool that can help you out in many situations, and you will love using it.
What makes a breaker bar great is just fundamental physics. Sure, you can apply a bit of force with a bit of ratchet, but with a breaker bar that is significantly longer, you can easily use a lot more force and noticeably leverage your strength.
You need to keep in mind with this newfound power of yours that you cannot be hasty and just put a lot of force into finishing it up quickly. Doing this might damage your locking lug nut and grind it down, which you definitely would not want. Just go slow, and you will easily break the nut free with little turns.
Step 4
You should now be done breaking your locking lug nut-free with the breaking bar. Do this for all of the other nuts, and you can finally enjoy your success.
You should also quickly inspect the threads on the studs of your wheels, and they are the things that your locking lug nut just broke loose of. If you damage the wheel studs, you will have to get them replaced, which calls for an even more taxing job and more money, so it is better to be careful.
Once you have confirmed that your wheel studs are completely fine, you are ready to move to put on new lug nuts on your wheels, obviously the non-locking ones. Now you need to go through the instruction manual of your Jeep and torque down the lug nut according to it.
Make sure to remember that after you drive your car for around 10 miles, you need to torque down the lug nuts again to the same spec as you did before.
Step 5
You might have the locking lug nut wedged into your socket quite tightly. Here are several ways you can try to take the lug nut out of your socket so you can use it again:
- Try to stick a chisel, screwdriver, or something similar into the socket’s top, and then try hammering it down to get the lug nut out.
- Take the socket with the lug nut wedged inside and whip it to the ground. It can be a bit dangerous, but it might get the work done.
- Try to reattach the socket with the lug nut inside into the wheel stud. Make sure you do it lightly. Now, tap on its side with a hammer. You could also use your breaking bar to wriggle it down. Just be aware that you don’t hit it too hard since you are likely to damage the threads that way.
Final Words
Removing your locking lug nuts without a key can be a bit of quite some work. This is why it is important to make sure you keep your locking key somewhere safe, such as your glove box or with your car tools, so that you don’t lose it.
If you do end up losing it, following these steps will help you remove the locking lug nuts without needing the Jeep wheel lock key.
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