OEM Wheel socket thingy

[GLK]

So, today I had planned to take the wheels off, and splash some paint onto the calipers, as it's been over two years, since I painted them ...

Unlike the last time, when I had it done by the Parkham Garage (so Nick took the wheels off and put them back on for me), I was going to [bravely] remove the wheels myself.

So out comes the brand new (as in never even been out of the cloth wrap) Mercedes gear, and I proceeded to undo the bolts, starting with NSR wheel - that went perfectly (the locking key is basically new as well, been replaced a few months ago, and only used once since, by Tony at WiM).

Onto a OSR wheel, locking bolt, and two other are fine, the remaining two a tad tight, so put some efforts into it ... so glad I have a quality OEM equipment, something you can totally rely on, if say stranded on a hard shoulder with a flat:

I shall admire the craftsmanship of this marvel of engineering, until I get this inferior aftermarket piece delivered tomorrow:

Thanks you Mercedes!

 

[Trickythemerc]

Seen better bike spanners, get a decent breaker bar and a proper alloy wheel deep socket and keep in the boot.

 

[m80]

I carry these in our cars, rarely used as these jobs usually get done on the drive, being telescopic should mean taking any wheels off roadside shouldn't be an issue.
Extendable Wheel Brace Wrench Telescopic Car Van Socket Tyre Nut 17 19 21 & 23mm | eBay

 

[GLK]

I bought a Draper torque wrench 30-210 Nm, so the Sealey socket should work with it.

Incidentally, is it a bad idea to use torque wrench to undo the wheels?
And if not, should the settings remain at zero for that?

 

[GLK]

I carry these in our cars, rarely used as these jobs usually get done on the drive, being telescopic should mean taking any wheels off roadside shouldn't be an issue.
Extendable Wheel Brace Wrench Telescopic Car Van Socket Tyre Nut 17 19 21 & 23mm | eBay

Thanks Martin, I'll order this, as soon as we're back home, but it won't arrive soon enough for this job ...

 

[AltonAnt]

Are they not like this anymore?

 

[m80]

I'm pretty sure my brace isn't so long,
it's all just in a wrap also, nowhere near as tidy as my C class used to be.

It took me a good few years to realise what the screw in wheel locator was for, and what a difference it makes for both ease of removal and replacement. Now I use 2 so it's less important to make sure the pin is at the top, cos' more often it wanted to rotate down.

 

[grober]

I bought a Draper torque wrench 30-210 Nm, so the Sealey socket should work with it.

Incidentally, is it a bad idea to use torque wrench to undo the wheels?
And if not, should the settings remain at zero for that?

Technically setting the torque wrench at a higher torque setting than the wheelbolts should mean they will undo. That's if they haven't been put on by a happy camper with an airgun turned to max of course!

 

[m80]

Thanks Martin, I'll order this, as soon as we're back home, but it won't arrive soon enough for this job ...

As I've said on another thread, but could've been t'other channel, I'm now into this for home use.
Ryobi R18IW3-0 18V ONE+ 3 Speed Impact Wrench Bare Unit 689744937348 | eBay

I'm getting more lazy and happy to. Setting 2 still needs the 'manual' torque wrench to finish tightening. On setting 3 I could probably teach those tyre fitters a lesson.

Oh, and there is no need to crack the bolts prior to jacking.

 

[thebiglad]

So, today I had planned to take the wheels off, and splash some paint onto the calipers, as it's been over two years, since I painted them ...

Unlike the last time, when I had it done by the Parkham Garage (so Nick took the wheels off and put them back on for me), I was going to [bravely] remove the wheels myself.

So out comes the brand new (as in never even been out of the cloth wrap) Mercedes gear, and I proceeded to undo the bolts, starting with NSR wheel - that went perfectly (the locking key is basically new as well, been replaced a few months ago, and only used once since, by Tony at WiM).

Onto a OSR wheel, locking bolt, and two other are fine, the remaining two a tad tight, so put some efforts into it ... so glad I have a quality OEM equipment, something you can totally rely on, if say stranded on a hard shoulder with a flat:

I shall admire the craftsmanship of this marvel of engineering, until I get this inferior aftermarket piece delivered tomorrow:

Thanks you Mercedes!

That tool you used that broke, looks to me more like a spark plug spanner?? If I'm right, spark plug spanners usually only need to work up to roughly 40 n/mtr; instead of the 120-150 n/mtrs for a wheel bolt.

 

[GLK]

Yep, made a silly mistake, assuming that socket was for the wheel removal ... didn't realised the brace size is also 17mm, I thought it's smaller for the little tool to fit in between ha-ha-ha. Oh well - it's never too late to learn something

 

[coneybiller]

Torque wrench should be fine undoing them. Although I’m not actually sure how it will affect the indicating mechanism inside in the long run. I use a cheap but solid telescopic bar that has a 1/2” adaptor on the end with a 17 and 19mm reversible socket on the end which is the perfect solution! Got me out of a jam once or twice, that’s for sure!

 

[DSM10000]

Torque wrench should be fine undoing them. Although I’m not actually sure how it will affect the indicating mechanism inside in the long run. I use a cheap but solid telescopic bar that has a 1/2” adaptor on the end with a 17 and 19mm reversible socket on the end which is the perfect solution! Got me out of a jam once or twice, that’s for sure!

^+1

 

[GLK]

Ordered a telescopic one, not going to experiment with a nice new torque wrench.

Thanks everyone - great stuff, and lesson learnt

 

[Trickythemerc]

When not in use a torque wrench should be stored with the torque set pretty much at zero.

 

[markjay]

For many years I used to keep in the boot a piece of tubing that can fit over the original wheel brace handle.

These days I keep in the boot an extendable (telescopic) wheel brace, something similar to this:

And it hasn't let me down yet.

It comes complete with decent socket (reversible 17mm/19mm) so no worries about the socket splitting. Said that the original wheel brace seems sturdy enough and I am surprised that yours split.

There's something else I wanted to say, but I'll do that in a separate post....:

 

[markjay]

Am I the only one who keeps spare bits in the boot so as to keep the original MB toolkit in pristine never-before-used condition? I.e., is it a done thing, or am I slowly going mad?

 

[toolman1954]

My 2p worth is that a Torque Wrench is a precision tool for tightening up bolts and you should not really abuse it by undoing wheel nuts with it. I know you can do so, I even have an old torque wrench past its sell by date for undoing tight nuts, which I paid £2 for at the car boot, but unless I had it tested for accuracy I would not use it for torquing up bolts.
So get yourself a proper extending wheel brace for on the roadside repairs, I can never understand why manufacturers always supply such cheap wheel braces in the tool kit. With such a short handle a woman generally has no chance of using it to undo a set of wheel nuts. Buying in bulk quantities an extending wheel brace would probably cost an extra £2 and be far more useful.
Even using a long breaker bar with a socket is not a perfect solution. I have seen many a broken ( cheap ) breaker bar with the 1/2" drive part sheared off, usually it had been used for getting over tightened wheel nuts off and often as not, another piece of steel tubing was slipped over the handle. Some folks think they are indestructible ! I have seen some 24" breaker bars and just know that they will not last long. A 1/2" joint just can not take the force exerted on it at the end of a 24" bar. There is some sort of formula for calculating this, but am not even going there, my brain will explode. Even on a Snap On breaker bar, there used to be a max loading spec on the handle.Who ever takes notice of the small print.?
My solution to the broken breaker bar when I was on the market was either to sell the customer a new replacement head unit, Laser Tools used to stock a nice replacement, though not very cheap or I would take home their breaker bar and weld a nice 19 mm deep hex impact socket onto their head unit, a cheaper solution which would not break.! There must be many of these still laying about in the backs of cars or someones garage.
Use the right tool for the job and stay safe.

Steve.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Am I the only one who keeps spare bits in the boot so as to keep the original MB toolkit in pristine never-before-used condition? I.e., is it a done thing, or am I slowly going mad?

I knew a guy (lived overseas) who had restored an e type jag and was desperate to find an unmolested origional tool wrap and jack for it to complete the build. Despite e types being built in massive numbers this part eluded him, I have not seen him in years so he might still be searching! One day your tool bag might be worth something

 

[GLK]

I agree Steve, not going to even try that - both the MB brace, and the new telescopic one, which is on its way, are more than sufficient to undo the correctly torqued wheel nuts.

Markjay, you're definitely not alone! I'll just stop at that, before it gets embarrassing ...