OEM Wheel socket thingy

[190]

Also agree that a torque wrench is not the best tool to undo wheel bolts. Even if they were torqued to spec, after a period of time it will often need a fair bit more torque to break them loose and if someone has over tightened them, well then it's really abusing the torque wrench.

I have no trouble at all using the original supplied wrench to undo wheel bolts however tight as you can safely stand on it if necessary. But you can't so easily do that for the locking bolts as if they are tight you have to push the tool into the bolt and apply torque at the same time.

 

[Wolfie1]

The issue with them extendable braces is when your slackening they put torque against the head of the bolt at a weird angle and sometimes if your locking nut is tight they have a habit of twisting off and destroying/damaging the locking key and head of the bolt. I am in agreeance that a breaker bar is the tool you should keep in your boot (i always keep 1 in my boot) and never use the oem 1

 

[Stratman]

Do they make separate torque wrenches for left hand threads?

 

[coneybiller]

Do they make separate torque wrenches for left hand threads?

Most torque wrenches have a ratchet mechanism that has a switchable direction selector or even the square drive pushes through the middle to change the direction of tightening.

If this even makes sense to anyone else trying to read this I’m not sure...

 

[Stratman]

Mine has the L/R toggle too, which is why I was wondering in a round about way if using one to undo actually matters. I can't see that it does given they're symmetrically simple inside, a spring with adjustable preload and a ball bearing in a detent.

For undoing wheel bolts I set it to maximum torque, if it works all well and good, if it clicks I look for the BFO breaker bar.

 

[coneybiller]

Yea that’s probably a good idea, to wind it right up to near max to undo perhaps.

Not sure how accurate the cheaper wrenches actually are anyway, I work on trains and we have to set the torque required via a calibrated wall mounted torque analyser, even though the wrenches have the torque figures on them as per normal. Although, this is more than likely due to “predicted negligence” where people never bother to wind the wrench off when finished, which over time affects the spring and therefore the actual torque setting.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Do they make separate torque wrenches for left hand threads?

Very ‘high end’ tourque wrenches only work in one direction (not the boy band) but these are normally limited to life and death situations in the auto/aviation industry

 

[coneybiller]

We have 1000nm torque wrenches at work, they’re 3/4” drive. The 3/4” drive piece pushes through the centre of the ratchet mechanism so that it can be used in the opposite direction

 

[GLK]

Got the socket delivered today:

 

[Major774]

I run one of those with my impact gun, good quality.

 

[coneybiller]

Yep they’re decent, if ever it becomes “well used” the plastic sleeve may have a tendency to slip off so keep an eye out for that happening when you’ve finished undoing 1 bolt and onto the next, if the sleeve stays in the wheel, there’s the possibility to scuff the next bolt hole!

 

[Wolfie1]

If the sleeve comes off wrap some black tape around the socket and push the sleeve back on

 

[GLK]

I measured the sleeve diameter, and determined there's a space to wrap a little bit of silicone tape around the OEM brace - so I can use that too without scuffing the wheel.

 

[paul73mt]

I got stranded on the motorway some years ago, Hit a pit hole and tyre went down pulled over get the spare out etc went to undo the wheel nuts using the provided generic wrench (this was a ford) and the socket wouldn't fit snug on the bolts so it just slipped off. Tried for a good 20mins but no joy. In the end had to call out the breakdown people. After 3 hrs he turns up, 17mm socket on an impact gun and off they come. Spare on and straight to work (only 4hrs late ). Straight on eBay and bought an extendable wrench

 

[zipdip]

Lots of years ago on holiday I hired a old mini from the maltese version of Arthur Daly,in a remote coastal area I had a puncture there was a spare and it had air in it, the wrench supplied with the car was worn out,I wandered along this coastal road and found a very rusted flattened sardine can and slowly managed to get a strip of metal from it and managed to change the wheel,my finest hour in getting out of the crap with a broken down car.