The wire wheel covers on the rear wheels of my '89 Coupe de Ville are absolutely froze. :mad: I must have about 9 of those garbage plastic keys from the dealer and they're not worth squat. I have one new one left and it will strip or deform and may or may not loosen the wheel cover. Guaranteed.

I even had a 300lb, all muscles friend try to generate enough torque to get the things off. He couldn't do it! The problem is the plastic keys do not stay sold and move around in the wheel cover lock and just deform. For the life of me I can't understand why GM stopped making the original metal ones! :banghead:

I found out Snap-On and I believe Malco make metal wire wheel cover tools but they are quite expensive and I'm still unsure of they are compatible with my car even from exchanging e-mails from them. :(

Has anyone had this problem? Should I try to find an original metal key at a junkyard? Ebay seems absolutely worthless. Does it have a part number? Thanks!

i thought those came with a metal one. i got one with my 86 when i bought it and i may still have it. are the covers the same for 86 and 89 though.

The '89 covers 15" wheels while I think the '85-'87 cover 14" wheels. The key may still be the same but I'm not sure. Hopefully someone who definitely knows will chime in. When I got the car, ( 10+ years ago) ther key was missing. The plastic worked OK but the last few times I had the wheel covers off they've become more and more difficult to remove. A metal one ought to do it with no problem because you can generate good torque without slippage.

I had problems with my 89 Eldo and was able to get some needle nose vise grips on and remove it. I was always careful to grease the threads and not thghten too much when re installing.

Thanks. I'll try that but will probably nick or deform my wheel cover locks. These are on there solid! Even religious lubrication of all the threads beforehand hasn't helped. :(

Hello...
You are correct...the plastic chucks don't work very well.

Check with your local "Hub Cap Daddy" (or whatever it is called where you are).
I have always had good luck finding odd/rare wheel-lock chucks there
...like the metal one you need. They are color coded...I may have an extra green one...what color is the one you need?

Post back what you find out.

Thanks,

I have no idea what the color code is for an '89 but I'll try to find out.

Hello, I'm Having The Same Problem. Can't Get The Wheel Covers Off MY 93 SEDAN DEVILLE With The Plastic Tool. They Were Asking Me At The Dealer What Color My Plastic One Was & It's Black. Any & All Help Would Be Appreciated. Thanks.

From everything I read and encountered, one cannot buy a new metal wire wheel cover key from a dealer. They only sell those blasted plastic pieces of junk, of which I have 9!

I'm still on the quest for metal key. I did go to a salvage yard, and located one from the glove box of a wrecked '89 Coupe. I had an extra locking nut with me and it appeared to fit. However, upon further inspection, when I got it home, I learned it does not :( :mad:

I wish I had known/ seen the two letters that apparently designate this type of nut/key. For those in same bolt as me, be sure to look for a metal key that has the letters "P" and "B" engraved inside the part of the key that fits into the nut.

I anticipate long searching in salvage yards and on Ebay. :( :banghead:

From everything I read and encountered, one cannot buy a new metal wire wheel cover key from a dealer. They only sell those blasted plastic pieces of junk, of which I have 9!

I'm still on the quest for metal key. I did go to a salvage yard, and located one from the glove box of a wrecked '89 Coupe. I had an extra locking nut with me and it appeared to fit. However, upon further inspection, when I got it home, I learned it does not :( :mad:

I wish I had known/ seen the two letters that apparently designate this type of nut/key. For those in same bolt as me, be sure to look for a metal key that has the letters "P" and "B" engraved inside the part of the key that fits into the nut.

I anticipate long searching in salvage yards and on Ebay. :( :banghead:

Good luck on Ebay. I just lost out on a new set of 4 replacement wheel locks/w key. I gave up on them at $35.00:thepan: (hope that wasn't you) :)

When I got mine it had the steel key but two of the locks were buggered on there but good.
What worked well for me was drilling two small holes on opposing sides of the lock in the center area, and using the tips of a strong pair of needle-nose pliers and a little persuasion in the form of a large adjustable wrench slipped over the pliers.
Both of them gave up without much of a fight. Though I can imagine that some are on there pretty good and won't just start turning like mine did.
The locks are pretty stout in that area though, so you can exert lots of force without too much worry of the tips of the pliers slipping out.
I think.

Paul

Oh, and the key for my '89 is silver-zinc plated with a red plastic cap on the end. Letters in the socket are R and P and the locks are red too if that matters.

Paul