It appears that I not only have swollen (wheel) nut syndrome (I thought it had been fixed in about 2012) but, as I did my usual cursory glance over wheel and tyres as I approached it the other day, I noticed that one of them was missing! Had to be a locking one, of course. I blame myself for not rechecking them after my last fiddle with the brakes - the weather was too foul to play with spanners outdoors and now I pay for that tardiness.
I know that the set of new, Ford, ones I bought for Cath's Cmax Grand that we traded in for the Galaxy before fitting will not work. (Mondeo, Focus, Cmax 12mm x1.5, Galaxy and Smax 14mm x 1.5) so it seems likely that I need to buy a whole set. Before I commit to providing a holiday abroad for all the local Ford dealer's staff, is there anywhere that sells equivalent (cosmetic) quality ones for less cost? By equivalent, I mean stainless covers and locking ones that won't shear the first time a shaved ape with a rattle gun assaults it. Not interested in zinc plated ones. Personal experience rather than online recommendation appreciated.
Second thought: does anyone do just the stainless covers?
Do you really need locking wheel nuts? They can be quite a hassle and does anybody really steal alloy wheels these days?
As there's no spare....
I don't think I'll be taking the rsk.
Also have suffered more than my fair share at the hands of tealeaves.
No reason to make it easier for the tealeaves either. And you need to replace it with something, so its probabbly easier to replace it with the locking ones it should have.
I've not had much luck with pattern ones personally, suggest it might be worth seeing if there is someone breaking one on ebay with either a matching lock set to yours, or a complete set of 4 and the key that they are willing to part with for a sensible price?
There are a few sets on ebay. Not expensive, either. But they're all grotty at best and they do start to break up after a while.
I got these for the Mondeo when the Ford ones started to crack.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/HEYNER-STILBLOCK-locking-M12x1-5-FRD-FETA-Mk7/dp/B077GYR9T2/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&keywords=ford+wheel+locking+nuts&qid=1623542259&sr=8-14
They are good. The company does a 14mm set but it doesn't appear anywhere for sale in the UK. I've emailed their UK office to see if I can get a set. Now I'd just like to get a set of the plain nuts to change those as they distort and stick in the socket. Or just a set of the stainless covers, which is what actually dostorts.
Fpund these on ebay but I'm not keen on the locking nut design and not convinced they won't corrode and be a pain in a short time.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324012594351?hash=item4b70a7d4af:g:nPUAAOSwvW9d9O7A
If you need new lockers, I recommend these. The 12mm ones have been on my Mondeo longer than the originals, so I'm hoping that the 14mm ones will last at least as long on the Galaxy.
https://heynershop.co.uk/index.php?controller=partsfilter&type=25&make=29&model=223&body=229&year=223