My RRS is an S model and has the basic 17" wheels which are also found on dicovery's it has suffered the swelling wheel nuts which I have replaced. There also seems to be a problem with the original locking nuts LR supply. The part number is LR043820. I had an issue a couple of years ago when having tyres fitted the garage told me they could not get the offside wheel off, the locking nut was just turning and not undoing. They said the spline in the hub must be turning so a new stud would be needed. When they called their supplier they were told it would be a new hub as studs cannot be replaced. Strange thing was the same wheel bearing (hub) had been replaced 10 months earlier by LR dealer! This week I decided to have new front discs and pads and the near side locking nut was just turning and would not undo. Thinking it was the same problem as suggested before we looked at options to release the nut such as drilling the stud. What we did not notice initially was a hairline crack in the metal of the shaped metal part of the lock nut. We adapted the disc back plate to get at the back of the hub to see if the stud was turning in the spline with a view to tap welding it to allow removal. We found the splines were not an issue. We eventually found that the slotted locking part was turning on the stud itself. The notches for the locking key only go partly onto the actual stud so the bulk of the strain when undoing and tightening the stud is on the separate shaped part of the locking nut cover. Due to the shape of the lock nut cover it does not engage securely on the stud itself. Having already ground off the rusting "tin" cover to get access to drill and having explored the hairline crack we were able to tap weld inside the hollow cover to re-attach it securely to the stud and facilitate removal of the stud. I now think the earlier occasion was the same issue a failed locking nut.

Just having the same problem with the lock nuts. Thnx for the tips on removal.

ken

Best thing to do with the locking nuts is to bin them.  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver