wheel lock nuts
 

I had a blowout on the highway after hitting derbis from a crash a few nights ago. While attempting to remove my wheel I realized that I have two lock nuts on it. I have no key, the guy that sold me the truck never included one when I bought it. Where should I go to buy one. To be completely honest, I have never had to deal with something like this so I'm totally ignorant.

Your local tire store would be a good place to start.

They also make a special tool to take them off if you can't find a key, getting a key depends on the company who made the wheel lugs or the original manufacturer. Have someone zip them off and get a new set if you want them back on, much easier if you can't find the key.

if they are factory wheels you should be able to get them from your dealer. otherwise a tire distributor should have them for ya.

well, I bought my jeep from a mechanic so I dont have a real dealer. Do you think I could just go into a jeep dealership and get one. Also, all of the locknuts look different. Could this be a problem if I wanted to get a key?

That might be tough then, go to a tire place and have them use the special tool to remove them and just buy a new set of locking nuts with the key.

If it was a dealer who sold you that then go after him for the cost, and if he says he didn't have the key then how did he perform a proper safety inspection?

Most tire stores have a kit of masters to take them off and then buy you a new set.

If it was a dealer who sold you the car don't ask the saleperson so straight to the TOP and ask for the GM and ask him if they perform safety inspections on the used cars they sell, if he says "yes" then ask him to foot the bill.

There are special tools to remove locking lugs, but a trick the mechanics use at my place is to pound an old socket onto the lug, and then just plug the wrench into it. When they're done they just drive the lug out of the socket.

If the stud isn't too hard to replace I've put an oversized socket or just the lug nut wrench on and just snapped the stud off. Works as long as you have some wiggle room. Replacement studs and a lug nut are not usually expensive unless you've got ARP extended studs or something. I've mostly done this when I didn't have a compressor around to use my impact gun.

The easiest way i have found is to just use a socked and beat it over them, but that has already been said. Some of the parts stores also sell a socket that is threaded inside for taking locking lugnuts off also.