Wheel Lock Warning

["Matthew Brenengen" <audi@stribmail.com>]

Before you consider wheel locks, consider my story...

At the begining of this winter, with the windchill reaching far below zero, my wife called me with a flat tire on the QSW.  When I got there to change it, I realized that the PO had used wheel locks.  Fortunately, the "key", a small lug nut-looking thing was in the glove box.  Old tire off, new tire on, as fast as I could as my hands were getting frostbitten.  As I followed her home, I noticed something weird looking on the space-saver spare.  I pulled up beside her, but did not really see... the key that I had forgotten to take off.  When we got home, I was going to put a real spare on, and the key was nowhere to be found.  I realized then that it was lost, somewhere on the road in the five miles between where I changed the tire and home.  I called all the tire places, but since I had no idea what kind of key it was, they could not help me.  I had but one choice.  The next day, I trolled slowly along those five miles, and low and behold!  I found it in the gutter.  Unbelievable.

That same day, I went to the junk yard and bought 4 used lug nuts to replace the keyed ones.  Well, last weekend, I finally got around to swapping the lugs.  The first keyed lug I tried snapped the key-shape thing off in the nut.

I now have half a key that doesn't do anything and two wheels that I cannot remove.  I am not sure what to do.  Suggestions anyone?

(p.s.  I know losing the key was my fault, but we all do stupid things from time to time -- just a warning before you get the locks.)



Matthew Brenengen
'87 4kq; '88 QSW; '76 '02 
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