Panda locking wheel bolts

[Terence Wood]

Hi all, I have recently fitted new tyres to my Fiat Panda Active K plate 2005, and also fitted new wheel locks. The reason for this post is to bring attention to a quite serious problem that I have recently encountered, the Locking Wheel Bolts in question are “Febi Bilstine” No 27052 Reference No B330 with a stated dimension of “M12x1.25x30. On fitting these locking wheel bolts I noticed that there was a discrepancy of thread length, compared to the existing bolts i.e. (M12x1.25x25) that is fitted to the Fiat. Not initially using the car after fitting said locks, I became concerned as to weather the extra length of thread on the locks, could possibly come into contact with the braking system behind, that said, I decided to jack up both the front and rear of one side, and then slowly turned each wheel, to my shock both front and rear wheels locked up after turning a short rotation. This problem I reported to the car parts shop that I had bought them from. The shop then checked their computer system, these “locking wheel bolts” are recommended for my car, please make aware so as to prevent serious damage to a other Fiat owners, cars braking system. In the end, I cut off 6mm and all was ok. Regards to all

 

[varesecrazy]

Ive always bought Genuine FIAT ones.. they are ususlly @£15 and of course fit perfectly.

Well done for spotting the potential problem though..

Are you on Alloys.. ? as steels need less bolt length

 

[Terence Wood]

Thanks for your reply Varesecrazy, and yes! I am on steels.

 

[varesecrazy]

Steels are 'holding' .... on around 3mm thick steel

ALLOYS have @8mm of metal between the tapered section of the bolt and the hubs mounting face

We went into detail about that a while ago on here

 

[A3jeroen]

Why on earth locking bolts on steel wheels?

gr J

 

[jimboy]

I actually got rid of my locking bolts on my daily. I still manage to do certain jobs on the car and could not for the life of me release one of the locking bolts. Had to take the car to a local garage and ask them kindly undo please, no charge So after that fanny about I ditched them.

 

[DaveMcT]

I checked my OEM 100HP wheel bolts against my wife's OEM 13" steel wheels bolts. All were exactly the same.

I now have pepperpot steels on the 100HP with a set of spline drive wheel bolts meant for the Fiat 500. For steels, they are a good 8mm longer than necessary but have not caused any problems. Maybe the disc brakes allow more clearance. I use a smear of anti seize on the pointy end to keep dirt at bay when removing the bolts.
They could be cut shorter but I dont want to find them too short with alloys.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16-x-Chr...174951&hash=item1a5cbf5fc4:g:zGgAAOSwI2xbho5c
PS They are bright zinc finish not chrome.

 

[varesecrazy]

Why on earth locking bolts on steel wheels?

gr J

£400 of flash tyres.. on new rims..?

 

[MaxHeadroom]

Well done for spotting that before a potential disaster Terence!
...And well done for reporting it - hopefully the stockist also reported back to the manufacturer


Some folk seem to be of the opinion that wheel theft has become a thing of the past, and I know of plenty of people that don't bother with locking wheel nuts/bolts any more, even on big expensive cars. But I understand it's not so much the wheels but the expensive/new tyres that can be at risk.


I had my own drama a couple of years back, when removing/refitting wheels to do the king-pin bearings on my Jimny.

I think I must have accidentally left the adapter on one of the locking-nuts and drove off losing the adapter somwhere on the way.

I walked what seemed miles following the route but I never found it. Luckily a clever chap on eBay was able to identify the right adapter from photos of the locking-nut and I got a replacement relatively cheaply, but was dreading a puncture until the replacement arrived.

 

[DaveMcT]

I did the same thing but my locking bolts box had the lock number. A new key was £25.

The set of spline drive bolts now on the car are not totally thief-proof (you can buy the spline tools on eBay) but you can also get wheel lock removal tools on eBay.

 

[MaxHeadroom]

This is true - if the scum-bags want them that much, they'll find a way of getting them

 

[koalar]

£400 of flash tyres.. on new rims..?

on a 05 active ?


I bought an 06 active for £300 3 years ago. Yes it needed work.


Although the information in the original post is very useful

 

[varesecrazy]

Good Winter tyres are expensive..

But nevermind ..the question of long bolts has been answered