Up the hill from the Black Country Living Museum to Sedgley and the Gornals, a locking nut that has lost its key, or whose pattern has rounded, keeps the wheel on the car. We take that nut off where the car is parked and put the right nut back on.
Dudley is about 102 miles in a straight line from our only base at Brent Cross, NW2 (further by road). We have no base or van stationed nearby. Call and we will tell you straight away whether we can take the job; if we can, the arrival time is given on the call.
Wheel nuts and bolts are not all alike. The replacement has to match the car's thread and seat, so a standard nut or a new locking set of the right type goes on, and every nut is tightened to the maker's setting. Tell us the make, model and year when you ring so the right ones come with the fitter.
A description or photo of the nut pattern helps too, particularly if the nut is already damaged or seized. If there is any risk to the wheel finish, you hear about it before work starts.
A drive or a legal space on a residential street in Netherton, Kates Hill, Priory, Russells Hall, Woodside, Holly Hall, Eve Hill, Dudley Wood, Sedgley, Upper Gornal, Lower Gornal or Gornal Wood is the simplest place for the fitter to work.
The Castle Gate leisure park, Russells Hall Hospital, Port West Retail Park and the trading and industrial estates such as Pensnett, Woodside and Castle Mill Works have their own car parks. Their owners decide whether work can be done there.
We never work on the carriageway of a motorway or main road, on a hard shoulder, in a smart motorway emergency area or on a slip road. The A4123 Birmingham New Road, the A461 and the M5 near junction 2 are out while the car is on them.
This is one of the furthest towns we are asked about. A job here goes in only when the diary allows, and you get a clear yes or no on the call.
The price depends on how many locking nuts need removing and whether you want standard nuts or a new locking set, plus any tyre work. It is confirmed on the call before anyone sets off, and it does not change in the evening or at the weekend.
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Postcode districts | DY1, DY2, DY3 |
| Main roads | A4123 Birmingham New Road, A461 Stourbridge Road and Birmingham Road, A459, A4036 Pedmore Road, M5 J2 |
| Distance from our base | About 102 miles |
Most cars with locking wheel nuts have one on each wheel, with a patterned head that only its matching key will turn. The key is a small socket that fits between the nut and the wheel brace. Without it the wheel cannot come off, so a lost or broken key turns a simple puncture into a bigger job.
Each key has a code, usually on a small card that came with the car or stamped on the key itself. With the code, a replacement key can often be ordered from a dealer or the lock maker, which is worth doing if the wheel does not need to come off urgently.
A nut can also be damaged: the pattern rounds off when the wrong tool or an impact gun is used, or the key snaps inside the nut. In those cases the key would not help even if it turned up, and the nut has to be removed.
Every wheel nut is tightened to the maker's setting with a torque wrench. It is good practice to have the nuts checked again after the first short drive following any wheel work, as alloy wheels can settle slightly.
If you want locking nuts again, a new set can be fitted later. Keep the new key in the glovebox and note the key code somewhere outside the car, such as on your phone, so a replacement key can be ordered if it goes missing.
Tell us whether the key is lost, broken or rounded off. A clear photo of one of the nuts helps.
You hear what the job involves and the options for your car. Nothing is booked until you say yes.
The fitter comes to your home, your workplace or a safe place to park, raises the car on a jack and does the job beside it.
Before the fitter leaves, the wheel is checked for security and the tyre pressure is set to the maker's figure.
If the key turns up but does not fit, or it slips on the nut, stop rather than force it: a rounded nut is harder to remove.
The previous owner, or the dealer that sold the car, may still have the key or its code, so a call to them can be worth it if the wheel can wait.
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“Good and reliable service in all conditions.”
These are the neighbourhoods, postcode districts and main roads on record for this area. Whether we can take a particular job depends on the diary and the distance from our base, so the call always decides.
Yes, if the site allows it. Supermarket, retail park and station car parks are private ground, so the owner's permission comes first. Places of this kind in this area include:
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Tell us the make, model and registration, and whether you have the key code card. The price is given on the call.
