Now I know why you don't buy cheap tools

[StageLeft]

crap_tool.jpg I was trying to get the wheels off one of the cars and whoever last put them on put them on with so much force that using the standard tire changing equipment was not adequate (even with literally all my weight on the end of it). So I had to get a socket with an extra long wrench handle to provide enough torque to lossen the bolts. Unfortunately the torque required was more than this little extension piece could provide. It came with a $12 set of sockets/wrench handle from walmart and so I had to go and buy a Stanley extension which held up nicely for all 20 bolts. God damn they were on tight!

 

Aren't you supposed to only torque wheel nuts to a certain lb./ft.? It's a good thing that this happened in your driveway instead of happening on the side of the road with a flat.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: jumpr
Aren't you supposed to only torque wheel nuts to a certain lb./ft.? It's a good thing that this happened in your driveway instead of happening on the side of the road with a flat.

I'm quite strong but there was truly no way I could get the damn nuts off with the gear in the trunk. I needed a handle twice as long and still needed a lot of pull on it even then. I ended up loosening all of the nuts in the end just so that if we ever do get a flat I'll be able to take them off without having to call AAA. They're on there strong now but not so strong I couldn't get it off or mrsskoorb if she pulled hard.

 

[T3C]

😉

 

[geno]

An extension like that will bend very easily especially if you get a cheapie one. I had one twist on me and it almost didn't let me take the socket off of it....so I banged the hell out of it until it bent back so I could get my socket back 😀 I didn't even put much force on the sucker...

 

[KingNothing]

Who last torqued your wheels? Might not want to take your car there for service again...I had to take one of my wheels off to replace the windshield washer pump and was happy to find out that the place I take my car to hadn't tightened the wheels so badly that I couldn't get one off.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: KingNothing
Who last torqued your wheels? Might not want to take your car there for service again...I had to take one of my wheels off to replace the windshield washer pump and was happy to find out that the place I take my car to hadn't tightened the wheels so badly that I couldn't get one off.

Well when I bought it last november it had a new set of wheels put on. Also I took it to nissan just before that to get it inspected. The guy checked the brakes and you basically can't do that without taking the wheels off (unless you had a mirror) so it was either him or the people who put the tires on before hand. Damn it was on there though!

 

[ViperMagic]

You'd think the Nissan mechanic would have a torque wrench.

 

[Brutuskend]

<---- Mechanic = snap-on and craftsman tools.

Snap-On are very pretty but over priced. I have broken Snap-On tools AND craftsman tools before, but they DO give you new ones.

Once a long time back I broke three 9/16 3/4 drive craftsman sockets trying to get a set of heads off my old AMC Javilen. The last time I took it in to be replaced they tried to say I used an impact on it, (I didn't) and they said they wouldn't replace it again. WRONG!!!! They DID give me a new one! The first two were 12 point, the last one I got was a 6 point, it worked.

Went I was a jet Mech. in the Marines I was AMAZED that they (the Gov.) bought cheap no name tools. And I'm SURE they paid MORE for them than Snap-On would have cost.

 

[Bulk Beef]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: KingNothing
Who last torqued your wheels? Might not want to take your car there for service again...I had to take one of my wheels off to replace the windshield washer pump and was happy to find out that the place I take my car to hadn't tightened the wheels so badly that I couldn't get one off.

Well when I bought it last november it had a new set of wheels put on. Also I took it to nissan just before that to get it inspected. The guy checked the brakes and you basically can't do that without taking the wheels off (unless you had a mirror) so it was either him or the people who put the tires on before hand. Damn it was on there though!

Nobody uses a torque wrench on those things. The average mechanic will reach for the biggest air impact he has in his toolbox, zap them down to 200 ft/lbs, and never look back.

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: sward666

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: KingNothing
Who last torqued your wheels? Might not want to take your car there for service again...I had to take one of my wheels off to replace the windshield washer pump and was happy to find out that the place I take my car to hadn't tightened the wheels so badly that I couldn't get one off.

Well when I bought it last november it had a new set of wheels put on. Also I took it to nissan just before that to get it inspected. The guy checked the brakes and you basically can't do that without taking the wheels off (unless you had a mirror) so it was either him or the people who put the tires on before hand. Damn it was on there though!

Nobody uses a torque wrench on those things. The average mechanic will reach for the biggest air impact he has in his toolbox, zap them down to 200 ft/lbs, and never look back.

And warp your rotor in the process.

 

[GasX]

that is why Craftsman hand tools are the best for the average Joe.

Sears are everywhere
Guaranteed forEVER
large selection
relatively cheap

Yes, you can buy better tools, but the average Joe doesn't need them often enough to justify the expense.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Yep, bought a torque wrench just so I wouldn't warp the rotors, you only have to have one set warped before you start paying attention to how your wheels are put on. I like to put a dab of grease on my lug nuts too...

You should only use a 1/2 inch socket set or larger on lug nuts, is that a 3/8's?

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: sward666

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: KingNothing
Who last torqued your wheels? Might not want to take your car there for service again...I had to take one of my wheels off to replace the windshield washer pump and was happy to find out that the place I take my car to hadn't tightened the wheels so badly that I couldn't get one off.

Well when I bought it last november it had a new set of wheels put on. Also I took it to nissan just before that to get it inspected. The guy checked the brakes and you basically can't do that without taking the wheels off (unless you had a mirror) so it was either him or the people who put the tires on before hand. Damn it was on there though!

Nobody uses a torque wrench on those things. The average mechanic will reach for the biggest air impact he has in his toolbox, zap them down to 200 ft/lbs, and never look back.

I always specify "HAND TIGHTEN THE LUG NUTS" when I take my car into the shop.

I realize that the mechanic probably totally ignores that instruction, but it at least makes me feel better to see that written up on the work order.

 

[StageLeft]

mooseIt is a 3/8. If I had to buy a new socket set I'd buy 1/2 next time but I just wanted something cheap. I've used them for everything without problem (until yesterday!) I have the walmart handle with it which is fine in most cases but the extension bar I have is stanley and so are the new extensions. It's much pricier but seems to have decent quality.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

I know what you mean when it comes to having weak tools. I broke a small socket wrench a few days ago. However taht socket wrench is probably as old as me. It's one of those German tools my dad bought from way back when in Africa.

Also, wats worse than having weak tools, is not having the right set of tools. That's the hardest part about working on cars, if you don't have the right set of tools...the job takes much longer to do.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
I know what you mean when it comes to having weak tools. I broke a small socket wrench a few days ago. However taht socket wrench is probably as old as me. It's one of those German tools my dad bought from way back when in Africa.

Also, wats worse than having weak tools, is not having the right set of tools. That's the hardest part about working on cars, if you don't have the right set of tools...the job takes much longer to do.

Hell yes. Brakes on sentra needed changing and I simply could not undo a nut. I couldn't get my socket in (no clearance) so I realized the only way would be with one of those handles with the pre-set socket size built in but then I was worried about lack of torque. Then i realized I had a lot of crap to do yesterday and the car was undrivable (brakes just totally shot on the front) so in the end I had to pay a hundred bucks to get them done. Grr.

I'm collecting a bunch of tools over time. Seems every time I try and do anything I don't have the right tool so the toolbox is getting heavier all the time 🙂

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
I know what you mean when it comes to having weak tools. I broke a small socket wrench a few days ago. However taht socket wrench is probably as old as me. It's one of those German tools my dad bought from way back when in Africa.

Also, wats worse than having weak tools, is not having the right set of tools. That's the hardest part about working on cars, if you don't have the right set of tools...the job takes much longer to do.

Hell yes. Brakes on sentra needed changing and I simply could not undo a nut. I couldn't get my socket in (no clearance) so I realized the only way would be with one of those handles with the pre-set socket size built in but then I was worried about lack of torque. Then i realized I had a lot of crap to do yesterday and the car was undrivable (brakes just totally shot on the front) so in the end I had to pay a hundred bucks to get them done. Grr.

I'm collecting a bunch of tools over time. Seems every time I try and do anything I don't have the right tool so the toolbox is getting heavier all the time 🙂

For limited use, I bought a Harbor Freight 1/2 inch set, just for lug nuts etc...

 

[Ausm]

I use Snap-on tools they are the best IMHO.

Ausm

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
I know what you mean when it comes to having weak tools. I broke a small socket wrench a few days ago. However taht socket wrench is probably as old as me. It's one of those German tools my dad bought from way back when in Africa.

Also, wats worse than having weak tools, is not having the right set of tools. That's the hardest part about working on cars, if you don't have the right set of tools...the job takes much longer to do.

Hell yes. Brakes on sentra needed changing and I simply could not undo a nut. I couldn't get my socket in (no clearance) so I realized the only way would be with one of those handles with the pre-set socket size built in but then I was worried about lack of torque. Then i realized I had a lot of crap to do yesterday and the car was undrivable (brakes just totally shot on the front) so in the end I had to pay a hundred bucks to get them done. Grr.

I'm collecting a bunch of tools over time. Seems every time I try and do anything I don't have the right tool so the toolbox is getting heavier all the time 🙂

That's another thing that pisses me off about cars...bolts. Why the hell are they soo hard to get off?? I wanted to install my front strut bar, so I went to work removing all the bolts from the front strut towers (3 per side). I had removed 5 bolts, and was on my last one. However that last one proved to be difficult. I jsut could not get it to come off. It kept on turning and turning, but wouldn't come off. So I had to pay $20 to a mechanic to install the FSTB for me.

IT's pretty sad when its that last peice of bolt that won't come off. I need airtools.

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: ausm
I use Snap-on tools they are the best IMHO. Ausm

you and three other mechanics i know. two ASEs and one FAA A/P mechanic. too bad i can't afford $20k snap-on toolboxes :frown:

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
That's another thing that pisses me off about cars...bolts. Why the hell are they soo hard to get off?? I wanted to install my front strut bar, so I went to work removing all the bolts from the front strut towers (3 per side). I had removed 5 bolts, and was on my last one. However that last one proved to be difficult. I jsut could not get it to come off. It kept on turning and turning, but wouldn't come off. So I had to pay $20 to a mechanic to install the FSTB for me.

IT's pretty sad when its that last peice of bolt that won't come off. I need airtools.

Also sad? Even with my long handle I _cannot_ unscrew the bolt to check the transmission fluid (manual) on the sentra. When I was getting the brakes done I asked the guy to do it. He broke a tool. He said it absolutely will not come out. There is a leak under the car (always has been) and he said he can't tell if it's oil or tranny. It's been there for over $20k miles and I KNOW the engine is leaking so hopefully it's only that. The only way to check to be sure is to fix the engine leak ($500 or so) and then see if it's still leaking. On a 93 sentra with 168k miles I'm not paying $500 to get that done so I'll continue to top it up as needed (burns like a quart every 2500 miles or less anyway so nothing major). Hopefully the tranny won't die on me!

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
That's another thing that pisses me off about cars...bolts. Why the hell are they soo hard to get off?? I wanted to install my front strut bar, so I went to work removing all the bolts from the front strut towers (3 per side). I had removed 5 bolts, and was on my last one. However that last one proved to be difficult. I jsut could not get it to come off. It kept on turning and turning, but wouldn't come off. So I had to pay $20 to a mechanic to install the FSTB for me.

IT's pretty sad when its that last peice of bolt that won't come off. I need airtools.

Also sad? Even with my long handle I _cannot_ unscrew the bolt to check the transmission fluid (manual) on the sentra. When I was getting the brakes done I asked the guy to do it. He broke a tool. He said it absolutely will not come out. There is a leak under the car (always has been) and he said he can't tell if it's oil or tranny. It's been there for over $20k miles and I KNOW the engine is leaking so hopefully it's only that. The only way to check to be sure is to fix the engine leak ($500 or so) and then see if it's still leaking. On a 93 sentra with 168k miles I'm not paying $500 to get that done so I'll continue to top it up as needed (burns like a quart every 2500 miles or less anyway so nothing major). Hopefully the tranny won't die on me!

It's kinda ironic that something is leaking in your car, yet the bolts are so tight that they can't come out. Did you try air tools? They can pretty much take anything off.

 

[Chaotic42]

Yup. My uncle was removing the valve cover on my car with my Walmart tool kit. It bent the ratchet.

Now I have a Craftsman tool kit from Sears.

 

[syberscott]

Originally posted by: sward666

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: KingNothing
Who last torqued your wheels? Might not want to take your car there for service again...I had to take one of my wheels off to replace the windshield washer pump and was happy to find out that the place I take my car to hadn't tightened the wheels so badly that I couldn't get one off.

Well when I bought it last november it had a new set of wheels put on. Also I took it to nissan just before that to get it inspected. The guy checked the brakes and you basically can't do that without taking the wheels off (unless you had a mirror) so it was either him or the people who put the tires on before hand. Damn it was on there though!

Nobody uses a torque wrench on those things. The average mechanic will reach for the biggest air impact he has in his toolbox, zap them down to 200 ft/lbs, and never look back.

Snap-On has impact extentions that allow the use of an impact for wheel tightening without the risk of over-torque.