Stuck Spare Lock Nut.

[Brains Find all posts View Profile Close Brains]

To all of you out there who have not removed your spare or are getting a service.

We have had our Prado since February 2010 and for us has been a wonderful transition from a Jeep to Toyota. During this time we have never had to make use of the spare wheel and as the vehicle is primarily a family car I don't get too much time to tinker and do the things I want to do like remove the wheel cover or mod the reverse camera. I had only had the wheel cover off once when we had to use a bike carrier.

Anyhow to cut to the chase I had to remove the spare wheel and plastic backing of the cover to allow access to the rear window as my wife has decided to advertise her personal training business on the back of the Prado, (I will have to order another Pradopoint sticker and attach to the side rear window). As I believed this was a relatively simple task to complete I didn't worry too much about getting all the tools out. I set about taking the wheel cover off then removed the wheel wrench to loosen the wheel nuts, the two solid nuts loosened but were extremely tight. Now for the lock nut, so I got the key and took the locking cover off to reveal the nut. Then as the book says to use the wheel wrench I placed this all the way down till it seated inside the wrench and tried to loosen the nut, it was tight so I continued to apply pressure using the wheel wrench and just my hands and arms, it felt like it was turning ever so slightly. I took the wrench off to see my progress and what I saw was a twisted lock nut that had been transformed into a warped version of what it previously was, as depicted below...This amazed me as I only used the supplied tyre wrench.


As it was now 9.00pm and my wife had the car booked in for a 8.00am appointment for the rear sticker what was I to do, I thought about going to a mates place with a full workshop but due to the time I decided that I would go into Toyota first thing in the morning to get it sorted as they should be able to get it off with an air wrench.

Morning arrived and off I went to Toyota, great workshop, but obviously when the vehicle came new the spare lock nut was put on way too tight as it took two hours of trying to loosen the nut resulted in failing to loosen the nut. The mechanics had to oxy the nut off and replace it.

So for everyone out there who hasn't had their spare off or just picked their Prado off I urge you to get Toyota to remove the spare or check and loosen the nuts on the spare at your next service or if you are a long way from your service have it checked because I can only imagine the trouble this would have caused us had we acually had a flat tyre and required the spare in a remote area or even on the highway.

Paul

[Guest Close Guest]

Re: Stuck Spare Lock Nut.

Wow! First it was the stiff bolt that held the spare cover on too tight. Now this as well. Someone in Toyota Japan got their torque units the wrong way round or something?

[Capt Crash Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Capt Crash]

Re: Stuck Spare Lock Nut.

I had previously read this post... so with a set of new tyres going on, I wanted to remove the locking/security nut beforehand to prevent the tyre guys from using a rattle gun on the lock nut and destroying the nut and voiding any rights to claims I may have.
I removed the spare wheel cover, unlocked and removed the locknut cover (Still traces of lubrcant in the barrell.) Fitted the wheel brace to the nut and applied gentle pressure. The nut did not turn. I applied a little more pressure in a rocking motion and the nut gave a creak and turned a little. I continued this action for a few more seconds, got a second creak and then the nut turned freely.
I removed the wheel brace to continue unscrewing the nut by hand..... but there was no nut head to bee seen. It was in the head of the wheel brace. Sheared clean off. There was precious little metal wall thickness where the nut had given way, approx 0.5mm or less and no way for me to undo what was left behind. The wheel and rim were still firmly held in place.
So off to Toyota in Vic Park for a fix before the tyres were fitted. Took them all of 30 min to rectify the problem, even though they had never heard of this happening before. (They must have poor hearing). However, they were great. Fitted me in straight away and all's now good.

Now as Brains urges, If you are going bush, check it out before you leave home, or you could be up Poo creek in a barbed wire canoe, without a paddle.

[Fletcher120 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fletcher120]

A good quality "Anti-seize " on all the threads and lock nut firm but not tight takes care of this . I have anti-seize on all my wheel studs as well .

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

A good quality "Anti-seize " on all the threads and lock nut firm but not tight takes care of this . I have anti-seize on all my wheel studs as well .

Hi Fletcher and all
I have been lead to believe that lubricating wheel studs is not good practice as it can allow them to be over tightened.
However so can a tyre monkey with an addiction to the sound of a air impact wrench!
For the spare wheel it would be good advice to anti seize these nuts.
One of the funniest things to witness is two or three grow men trying to remove the nuts of a truck or crane without any luck, then pointing out to them that the "L" stamped on the end of the stud actually stands for left hand thread.
Then watching one man undo the nuts with ease, while the others cringe and hide.

Cheers
Troy

[Badhabit Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Badhabit]

I had the exact same issue after a service. Lucckily I had access to a rattle gun and was able to undo the nut. However as using the wheel brace initially had buckled the nut the locking cover was not able to fitted. Spoke to the service dept and I was able to have it replace with out any hassels.

[butch_75 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close butch_75]

I had a flat tire last week and had not had the need to remove the spare prior. I have come across this problem now myself on a 2011 GXL Prado. When trying to remove the lock nut it didn't feel out of the ordinary I only noticed when putting everything back together that I saw the lock nut shaft had bent out of place, thus not allowing the captive lock to go on. I have taken this to Toyota today to get them to have a look and hopefully get fixed under warranty as I had only used the tool provided by Toyota to change the spare. First of all they want me to pay $150 to replace it as they hadn't seen this happen before. But I am not that strong to warp steel the way this had been done.

[gregbme Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gregbme]

As an apprentice automotive mechanic, my boss always demanded all wheel studs greased. Got in the habit way back then, and continue the practice to this day. It's correct torque that hold wheel nuts on, not friction on the threads. If the stud is greased, it allows torque to be applied more accurately. I've never had a wheel nut loosen, and over the years your threads will be in much better condition. I'm talking a bit of grease, not smothering. And yes, always practice removing your spare before venturing bush. I ditched the coloured mushroom and saved some weight on the door hinges. I also carry a good breaker bar and socket to make the job easier. Never use the toy they supply from the factory. One more thing - those with non genuine wheels make sure they have all the tools required, sometimes an allen key to remove the fancy hub centre.