[Phenom]

Sorry if this is in completely the wrong section but I wasnt too sure where to put it,

Today I had a chap round to refurbish one of my wheels but when he asked me for the locking wheel nut key and I went to retrieve it, shock horror but the toolkit wasnt where it should be!!

My car went in for an oil and brake fluid change to Sytner at the end of Feb and I had used the screwdriver in the kit just days before and remember putting it back!

Anyway I sent the guy on his way and shot down to Sytner, I said that one of their techs had misplaced my toolkit and my locking wheel nut, the guy assured me that they wouldnt have touched it as they dont need to remove the wheel to access the caliper and change the fluid so I must have lost it!

He then recommended I visit the parts dept and shell out £250 just for the wheelnut!

Can anyone tell me if he was telling the truth? Can the brake fluid be changed without the removal of the wheel and if so what can I do, Just in case I turned my entire house upside down searching for the kit but it really isnt there and im 99.99% certain that Sytner lost my toolkit and locking wheel nut key

Thanks in advance for your replies

Rey

[Eric_Rowland]

You'd have to be pretty damn nimble to bleed brakes without removing the wheels. I've never seen it done, and can't imagine I ever will. Unless of course they just sucked the fluid out of the master cylinder, and left the old stuff in the lines. That would be another matter entirely!

[quicksprint]

It is easy to do the brake fluid change without removing the wheels on a car with 17" wheels,it's a bit fiddly with 16" wheels and i always remove the wheels if they are 15".
£250 for a locking wheel nut is a bit steep.....i have a few spares,if you know what number it is ,let me know and i will have a look to see if i have one.
The dealer workshops should have a set with the complete range for such emergencies and i would hope they would at least help you to find the correct numbered one.

steve

[Phenom]

Eric, My thoughts aswell but im not the most knowledgeable person on the subject! I just dont see where else my toolkit could have gone and I can just imagine some tech finding it at the end of the day and keeping quiet so as not to put his job in jeopardy or something, I really hope I can get a new set off Sytner for free

quicksprint, They did a quick check after the whole thing and told me its a number 20 locking wheel nut and tried to usher me in the direction of the parts dept! , if you have a spare then ill be happy to sort out something if my angry letter to the principle manager yields nothing! Many thanks for the help aswell matey

[quicksprint]

I will have a look tomorrow for a spare number 20 and let you know.

steve

[Phenom]

That would be awesome steve, thank you mate

[quicksprint]

Sorry Rey but had a good look round for a number 20 locking wheel nut key to no avail .
Hope the dealer manages to help out.

steve

[Phenom]

steve, thank you for looking for me! I went back there today and just made a fuss and quoted a little bit of internal BMW knowledge (my brother used to work there) and they have agreed to replace the whole thing minus the cost of the locking wheel nut which is actually just £2.50 as opposed to the £250 I thought originally!

The thing is though, if our locking wheel nuts are so cheap then alloy thieving scum could get their hands on them fairly easily no?

[quicksprint]

Glad you got it sorted in the end.........there are quite a few different numbered locking wheel nuts fitted to the BMW/MINI range and i doubt if any dealer would sell them without asking questions first.
But if the thieving scumbags want your wheels that much they will try all resources to get them.......it may pay to get some aftermarket locking nuts fitted.

steve