Working on cars is so much fun!

Hey, I've owned my 2000 911 Cab for about 2.5 years and 11K miles. When I bought it in 2009 it had new tires. Since then about the only work I've done on the car has been to change the battery, change the oil a few times, and drive it. I knew to expect the rear tires to wear out at about 10k miles. Last week, driving home, I felt the right rear tire go flat. I was about 1 mile from home, so I slowly limped the car home. In the garage I went to check the tire, and found the tire down to the cords on both rears, with the right side down through the cords and the tire flat because it was just plain worn out (my bad for not checking). Now the fun begins. I do a bunch of checking, and it seems the best deal is to get new tires at a local tire place (about $800 for a new set of Kumho Escta SPT). Anyway, I go to put the car on jackstands and take the wheels off. What a PITA! I'm relatively skilled at working on cars, having owned a 944 turbo for a number of years and doing things like clutch changes, timing belt changes, brake jobs, etc. The 911 is lowered, and too low to fit on my lift. It's also too low to fit my jack under. So I get some wood blocks and drive the car up on them. Then I work on raising one side and then the other until I finally have the car up safe and sound. Then I use my air gun to remove wheel bolts. This works great until I find one bolt is a locking type. Great. I check the factory tool kit - no lock. So now I'm stuck. I assume I can get a replacement at the dealer, but I'm not sure. What fun! One last point, if anyone has a set of 996 wheels with tires that they want to sell, I'm interested. I like the 2002 type wheels, but I'm open to others as well. Thanks, Barry

You need a low profile jack.....now can anybody close by help this guy by stopping by with a key for the wheel lock? And....

Barry, If you have a spare tire in the front trunk: did you look in the pocket in the tire cover. My wheel lock key was in there.

Hi, I did look in the spare tire pocket. The tool kit was there with most things. The wheel lock key was not I took the spare out and the jack is there, but still no key. The car had new tires (and clutch, and RMS and a few other things) installed right before I bought it, so I'm guessing the key got left behind. My mistake in not checking for it. Barry

It is surprising to hear that you've been driving a car for 2.5 years and yet you are just now discovering that it has wheel locks. I would think that you would have noticed this while cleaning your wheels. I wonder how your service provider did a brake check during the PPI without the wheel lock keys?

Quotes source post: 8859504

Plus annual safety inspections...According to New York State inspection requirements, at least one wheel per axle must be removed to inspect brakes!

OP, The wheel lock issue happened to me when I first bought the car, I bought 4 regular bolts for about $60 total from the Porsche dealership and they kindly removed the locking bolts with their master set of keys and installed the regular bolts for free. Then I found the key at the end of the factory lug wrench in the tool kit after I got home ..........., nothing lost though since I am not terribly concerned about these wheels being stolen as the car will either be locked in the garage or out in high traffic area for someone to attempt stealing the wheels without arousing suspecion, so I'd rather have regular bolts that won't break 'cause then I will be stuck!

Yeah, first thing I did when I got my car was buy 4 normal bolts and lose the wheel locks. Odds are higher I would lose the key then get my 11 year old rims stolen!

Try borrowing from your INDY or Dealer until you either change the lug OR buy a new key

I have OEM 18" turbo twists that came with my '01 Carrera. Continental Contisport Contact 2 N-rated tires. Rears will need replacing soon but fronts should last another set of rear tires. Wheels are not bent and have come with color crests. I'm in South Florida. Need them out of my garage and will let them go for a nominal fee. I had Kumhos and didn't like the way they wore.

I didnt read all this but if the lock is still on and you have a Porsche dealer near you, drive over and they will remove it free of charge...drive minus one bolt till you can replace it or buy 4 ahead of time...as long as you are just commuting missing one for a few days wont be a huge issue....or buy the key for $50 from them...or or or

Hi Guys, The wheels are off. I was laying in bed last night thinking about this and then I remembered the old rule for working with car - when you have a problem, get a bigger hammer. So I took an old socket that was a little too small for the wheel bolt and bashed it on with a big hammer. The air gun easily removed the bolt. The other locking bolts came off just as easily. I'll buy 4 regular bolts to replace the locking bolts. Barry

Good going! Of course, you can't drive your car until you get the replacement bolts.

I really don't see what the big deal is here; wheel changes are easy. Shoot, I've done 16 wheel changes on my p-car in the last 7 days, swapping my street wheels for racing rubber and back for two events. With the right tools - and key - it's super-easy. And I know the thread topic was sarcastic, but working on cars is fun, I really enjoy it.