Rock warrior bead lock removal

Today I was all geared up for frustration and lots of broken t-30 bits to get my fake bead locks off of the rock warrior wheels. I had read numerous accounts of people using up to 18/20 plus bits to get the screws out of the wheel. Apparently the loctite Toyota used is a real bugger and just breaks the tips right off of the bits.

So I gathered up all the torx bits I could find around my shop and grabbed the PB Blaster and went to work hoping I had enough bits to get the job done. 3 broken bits later and I had only broken 9 of the total 48 screws loose. So off to lowes I went. I bought a couple of different brands of bits and headed back home. The first pack I opened was the wiha terminator blue impact rated set. 15 minutes later I was done and still using my first bit with not a one more broken.

I used a ratchet to break the screws loose , then my driver to get them out. Not sure if that's why I didn't break more bits or these are just rated correctly?

Anyhow, If you're interested in this diy, I can't recommend these bits enough.

But here's my question to this great community. As I'm waiting for my plastidip coats to cure I'm thinking this may be a few days before I can get the bead locks back on. Should I reattach the screws into the wheels, or just leave them out for a few days?

My other question revolves around using plastidip itself. I've never used it, and was wondering if I should follow the same rattle can procedure I normally do for prep. Clean, sand, clean again and primer. The can doesn't mention any primer needing to be used in the application process.

Appreciate all feedback ahead of time. Thanks

 

You don’t take those off to plastidip. When you put the screws in it’s going to tear the plastidip around the holes. Maybe you could use a small nylon washer or something?

probably be like 100 bucks to get them powder coated.

 

I took mine out and plasti dipped them. You can do the with the screws just be gentle in the last few turns.
I sanded my rings and sprayed. Maybe once every two years I redo them.
The beauty of plasti s you can peel off and respray. Not nice like a powder coat but no tears when I ding them up.

 

thanks for this @surffj62

My thoughts exactly on why I'm following this route. No tears when the powder coat gets dinged. And roughly 10% of the cost.

 

Had good enough weather to get my lock rings installed today. No problems with the screws messing up the plasti dip and am loving how they turned out. Now I'm just waiting on some custom center cap decals I'm having made. Thanks for the pics @surffj62
painting in process, used 2 complete cans which gave me 5 coats.


The final look

 

1/4” impact gun with the impact torx bits gets those off much more effortlessly in my experience. I then chase the threads and they go in smoothly next time around. That was my experience after removing rings on 2 sets.

 

can you tell us more about the custom center caps??

 

Here is what they look like completed with custom stickers on my center caps.

More details here.

 

Nice setup!

 

I really don't know what the hell Toyota was thinking with the bolts on these beadlock rings. I first removed mine about six years ago and had a lot of problems then, as they had never been taken off before as far as I know. Fast forward to now, and I am removing them again to have new tires put on the wheels. I did not use any loctite at all six years ago when I put them back on, and still I had incredible difficulty getting them off this time around. Three of them ended up stripping the bolt head completely so now I will have to drill the bolt heads off and re-tap the holes.

It's absolutely ridiculous to me that these little bolts should be made so impossible to remove.

 

Did you anti seize them? I don't know about fake locks but that's what you do on real beadlocks

 

I did not but I definitely will be when they go back on again.

 

I left the rings off about 10 years ago. No idea if I even have them.

 

If you ever find them @Shanet421 is looking to buy some.

 

I am still interested in parts for these wheels!

https://www.tundras.com/threads/iso…wtb-17”-rock-warrior-center-caps-bead-lock-rings.143394/

 

Any of y'all recall the thread sizing for chasing/potentially re-tapping the holes? I've got maybe 2/3 of the bolts broken loose from a set of 5 and they're giving me hell...going to snag a pack of the Wiha Terminator bits recommended by @OldGuy03 and hopefully will have some better luck. Snapped 2x Milwaukee T30 impact bits, my Sunex T30 impact bit (3/8 drive) and another T30 socket I had in the box. One head is officially stripped, so assuming I'll have to drill that out. Going to try slotting the head first and see if I can get a fat flathead screwdriver on it first.

What a mess...swing a miss by Toyota on the Rock Warrior hardware situation, standard hex head bolts would've been far superior (although maybe not as aesthetically pleasing...).

Thanks for the previous posts and anyone else for any other suggestions!

 

Here is what I used. It’s the bottoming tap that will allow you to clean out the bottom of the hole best.

$8 Drill America - DWTB8X1 m8 x 1 High Speed Steel 4 Flute Bottoming Tap, (Pack of 1)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DLCTMGC

Size is m8x1.0 for future reference

 

Big thanks for the info on the tap, purchased one last night. Still working my way though the rest of the old bolts. So far only one is stripped - plenty of others still intact that are putting up a fight. The T30 1/4" drill bits seem to be the best approach, so hoping the "Terminators" work their magic. All of the larger 3/8" torx sockets with a T30 tip on it reduce down too far to keep any sort of strength down at the tip. Broke out the IR air hammer and have been pounding on through the center of the bolt head with the spike attachment...seems to have jarred 3-4 of them loose so that the impact could handle the rest of the extraction. Searching deep down for that patience I've never had.

 

Haha I feel your pain. I ended up having to drill out 4 total. I don’t recommend using an extractor unless it’s a really good one. I snapped 2 of them inside the screw. So difficult to drill out an extractor that I wouldn’t hesitate and just drill it out before trying that again!

 

All this said I will be assembling a set here soon. I don’t mind having to check torque a few times just do not want to have to fight them off again in the future.

What is the general consensus as to using anti-seize of some sort?

Any type better for this use than another?

 

Good feedback on the extractor...I'll avoid that route entirely. Assume you just started with small drill bits and stepped up diameter each time you reamed out the center until they came out? Planning to use plenty of drilling oil as well. Hoping to tackle this tomorrow...the Terminator bit in the 1/4" impact successfully pulled 3 bolts last night when I did a quick test run. The neighbors will enjoy the music of the air hammer beating on those bolts tomorrow, luckily 4/5 wheels still have tires on them and somewhat deaden the noise. I'll be rocking some muffs with plugs underneath.

Planning to not run anything in these and pull them off periodically for a quick clean/check. Anti-seize seems like a good option as well...looks like both of us are living salt-free lives, but they still seem to bind up without much help. Interested to hear from others on this. The wheels I'm fighting with were OG's out of SoCal and were mint other than the finish being entirely worn down...they still had some trash in the threads and that damn blue factory loctite is a monster!

 

I am not changing the color drastically and just polishing the rings and caps




Yes start small and slow with lots of lube.

 

I refinished 12 of the wheels and had to drill out about 10 bolts total. Went through every brand of Torx bit I could find and used a large breaker bar. Slotting the bolt is a good idea, I didn’t think of that at the time. It seems like the main issue with the bolts is the different metal types corroding together. The ones I did drill I just ended up making them look like the other holes and put threads back in them.

Anti seize is definitely a good idea for them, plus annual on/off to check.

 

I would agree with different types of metals causing corrosion and seizing the bolts.

Holes that got away from me ended up with one of these.

$21 BestsQ 25pcs Thread Repair Kit M8 x 1.0mm Metric Thread Repair Insert Kit Compatible Hand Tool Set for Auto Repairing (M8-1.0)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C49NLZLL

 

Assume you're also using some sort of penetrant?

 

These look sharp - the OEM look is pretty on the money, I'm not planning to make any drastic changes aside from a full refresh. How'd you go about polishing the rings/caps? Any suggestions/guidance? I've got some pretty wicked corrosion on a few of the rings on the extra-extra set and have considered trying to refresh those myself versus powder.

I'm going to try the large breaker bar and see what happens...the only one that stripped so far was the bolt I did by hand (with a T30 socket vs impact bit), so I've had best luck with the small 1/4" impact not wanting to strip out. Agree with your thoughts on what makes the corrosion so strong with the dissimilar materials. The periodic checks is a must!

Absolutely, but the penetrant really doesn't travel down into the threads from what I've noticed on the ones that were extracted after soaking. The corrosion residue is entirely dry down past the bolt head within the wheel threads, so doubt I'm getting much help from the PB. And no backside access of course...slow and steady today.

 

As polishing went I used 3m stripping pads fine/ultra fine. Then used Mothers mag and aluminum polish. I did use a drill and various pads to speed up the process.

Any extra-extra (extra) rings or caps you won’t be using I’m your guy!

 

Not seeing this mentioned in here - use a torch!!! 90 seconds on the backside of the wheel will loosen it up. The Wiha helps, but on those stuck ones, heat is your friend.