Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

Hi

Apart from attacking with a chisel has anyone managed to get a seized wheel hub cap lock nut removed? The little bolt like thing with 3 pins in it. I went round each wheel and gave the locking nut a whack with the end of a 1/2" extension flat end and that seemed to "shock" loosen them without significant damage, except the R/N/S one. Can't budge it.

Cavalier1990

I know the ones you mean, I had them on the V6 fanblade alloys, pain in the ass as I didn't have a proper key for it, I had to undo them with needle-nose pliers.. Much swearing involved in that. If one didn't budge, I just did what you did and went round the holes on the head of the bolt with a flat screwdriver and hammer, eventually it should budge.

Cavalier342 wrote:I know the ones you mean, I had them on the V6 fanblade alloys, pain in the ass as I didn't have a proper key for it, I had to undo them with needle-nose pliers.. Much swearing involved in that. If one didn't budge, I just did what you did and went round the holes on the head of the bolt with a flat screwdriver and hammer, eventually it should budge.

I'll probably try that as I have a screwdriver with metal head for hammering.
Cheers

Couple of hits on each hole, and keep going around, that way you have less chance of shredding it.

From a shape point of view...

Suppose you could use " bent nosed" needle nosed pliers

Or

"Bent nosed" circlip pliers.

The fact that the plier tips are bent over means that you have more leverage.

Just watch that you don't take your knuckles off.

Did you manage to succeed with this at all mate?

Hammer and suitably-sized pin punch. Tap the bolt round until it breaks loose, the key can usually take over from there. Much of this problem is down to over-tightening in the first place, you will get a reaction between two different metals (steel bolt and alloy cover plate) pressed against each other and the addition of an acid (rain water) et voila - you have battery effect, the ensuing chemistry will start fusing everything together.

The bolt doesn't need to be super-tight and a lick of copperslip on the thread usually prevents it from happening again.

Cavalier342 wrote:Did you manage to succeed with this at all mate?

No not been back at it, too busy with other car and house stuff just now.

colin1 wrote:Hammer and suitably-sized pin punch. Tap the bolt round until it breaks loose, the key can usually take over from there. Much of this problem is down to over-tightening in the first place, you will get a reaction between two different metals (steel bolt and alloy cover plate) pressed against each other and the addition of an acid (rain water) et voila - you have battery effect, the ensuing chemistry will start fusing everything together.

The bolt doesn't need to be super-tight and a lick of copperslip on the thread usually prevents it from happening again.

Sometimes when you just managed to loosen these you hear it snap when it loosens as if you are breaking glue between the faces. I've always thought they were a flimsy thing, and as you say the alloy and steel weld themselves together. Not a good combination, especially when you get a plastic key with 3 steep pins in it. The plastic just gives up the ghost and pins pop up when you apply any sort of pressure.

Ended up just chiseling through the alloy cover as it was knackered anyway.