martyp

The first brake caliper bolt was easy, but the second . . . .



Brand new, USA made Lisle 3/8" drive 10MM hex bit socket. Fortunately no collateral damage to the car or me. Now looking for a good 1/2" drive piece - any recommendations?

jon928se

Get a 1/2" sq drive, 10mm impact socket and put the 10mm bit in it.

jpitman2

10mm allen key can get in there? 1/2" drive ought to do the job if not.
jp 83 Euro S AT 53k

blown 87

Get a Snap-On, the shortest one that will fit.

martyp

So, being somewhat of an optimist and thinking that maybe the tool was defective, I took it back for exchange. I now have 3 of the 4 caliper bolts loose and a replacement tool where the hex bit spins freely in the socket body

Worth a try I guess. I'll either order a 1/2" drive piece on-line somewhere or drop by Grainger on Monday. In the mean time, everyone out there have a great, safe weekend!

Thanks for the suggestions and help

dr bob

Marty--

Get one specific to impact wrench duty. Then use an impact driver to break the bolt loose. It goes without saying that a bit of never seize on the bolts and judicious use of a torque wrench is appropriate during reassembly.

martyp

Sage advice indeed which I will be following.

Unfortunately I'm impact tool challenged. I've always relied on my youth, strength, and good looks to overcome. Maybe it's time to conceed that none of those traits are mine

Looks like I'll be spending part of the day researching impact drivers/sockets/sets. Any experiences good/bad anyone has are appreciated.

JHowell37

I'll second Blown 87's recommendation of a snap-on.

dr bob

Marty-

If you don't have an air compressor yet, it's something to consider. It opens the door to some more helpful options in power tools. A good impact wrench is one of those. More important for me is an assortment of air ratchets to speed disassembly of things. My favorite is a cute little Blue Point 3/8-drive unit that's torque limited to about 30 lbs/ft. So it won't break bolts unless you really work at it.

Another important tool for you is a manual impact driver. I have a Snap-On kit that's been in the drawer for a lot of years. 3/8-drive on one end, and a place to hit it with a hammer on the other. Twist it in the direction you want the bolt to turn, and whack it with a hammer. It translates part of the impact to rotate the square drive end. The impact jars the bolt and makes sure that the bit stays fully engaged. The twisting starts to loosen the bolt. The kit comes with screwdrivers bits, Allen drivers, and a set of small impact sockets. The tool is particularly useful for stubborn Phillips-head screws, since it completely avoids washing out the head of the a stubborn screw.

Meanwhile, I bought a set of 3/8-drive impact allen bits at Harbor Freight a year or three ago. I grabbed them for their 3" length as much as anything. It turns out (pun intended...) that they are pretty good for what they are intended for. The tips are actually toughened, and are a lot stronger and more durable than the ones with a hex bit pinned in a standard socket. I seldom if ever reach for a cheap tool when there's a Snap-On piece in the drawer, but these bit see more impact duty now than the ones in the Snap-On kit. I still use the Snap-On impact driver with them.

dr bob

Greg owns a lot of Snap-On stock, and has options on futures contracts with them too. His purchases and recommendations directly affect stock prices. With those futures contracts and his buying habits, he could easily be indicted in New York for insider trading.

martyp

I certainly like to support fellow 'Listers, but draw the line before jail time

Finally got the SO shopping site up - some very nice stuff. Lots of good press on the MG725 - overkill for me but will have to see if I can sell the mama . . .

martyp

I have a cheapo compressor - 30 gallon/5 horse upright - that should work CFM- and pressure-wise. I'm intrigued by the manual driver; do you have the 3/8" or 1/2" version? Looks like it would beat the heck out of hitting my wrench/socket driver on the handle. I've also read good press value-wise on the "Horror-Freight" EarthQuake driver (Garage Journal is an interesting resource). Any thoughts?

Speedtoys

Little baby Jesus, hates weak tools.

blown 87

A hand held impact (hit with a hammer kind) is one tool that is very important to get a really good one.

My hand held impact was the very first Snap-On tool I ever bought, 41 years ago, and I could not tell you how many screws and bolts it has taken out that other hand held impacts would not, even the other Pro ones from Mac and Macto.
Most mechanics use the 3/8th one.

I do want to add, that I have some little used Snap-On air impacts for sale, but to be fair, I never have been very impressed with them.

blown 87

Some days it seems that way, 2-300 a week over 35 years will get a person a lot of tools.