Automotive Equipment For The Shop. Automotive tools including 2-post car lifts, floor jacks, mechanics creepers, auto repair tools, truck tool boxes and more help you get the job done with ease. As a top supplier to both consumers and auto shops, Northern Tool carries an extensive selection of automotive lifts, engine hoists, brake repair tools, tire equipment, wheel dollies, jacks, and much more. That is way more impact wrench then you'll ever need on wheels. I own a 1200 ft/lb and it is more then I need, unless you have a lot of rusty bolts. You may need 1000 ft/lbs for removal on some of the more stubborn nuts, but the max torque on the hub piloted nuts are around 450, and 550 or 600 ft/lbs on the earlier budds.
1/2' drive may be more important then 1/4'. The ratchet heads them selves are stronger, the longer handles produce more torque without using a cheater pipe. And the thicker sockets are stronger as well. Do you do alot of your own maint or do you just change oil? I doubt your taking lug nuts off with 3/8' set but if all your doing is pulling a drain plug, 1/2' is probably over kill. I would consider picking up a set of 1/2' sockets and rachet.
The one time you need it, it will pay for its self.I do actually take lug nuts off with my 3/8' haha. Lug nuts are doable with 3/8', but marginal. The biggest 3/8' torque wrench I can recall seeing is 100 ft-lb, which is enough for some cars, but not all (offhand, the cars in my family I've torqued lug nuts on are 88, 100, 112, and 140 ft-lb). Removing torque can even be a bit higher, I'm not sure I'd want to just use a relatively short handled 3/8' ratchet or breaker bar for lug nut duty on the higher torque stuff.I don't find the 7/16', 1/2' or 9/16' to be all that useful in 1/2' drive, but larger than that the extra strenght is nice. Lug nuts are doable with 3/8', but marginal. The biggest 3/8' torque wrench I can recall seeing is 100 ft-lb, which is enough for some cars, but not all (offhand, the cars in my family I've torqued lug nuts on are 88, 100, 112, and 140 ft-lb).
Removing torque can even be a bit higher, I'm not sure I'd want to just use a relatively short handled 3/8' ratchet or breaker bar for lug nut duty on the higher torque stuff.I don't find the 7/16', 1/2' or 9/16' to be all that useful in 1/2' drive, but larger than that the extra strenght is nice.You're right, my torque wrench just goes to 100 ft/lbs. Ok, you've all sold me. Next time I go shopping, I'll pick one up. Since I already own standard and metric impacts (HF versions) I'm just going to get a ratchet for them.From what I've seen, they seem to go for around $10-20 in price. At least the HF version and Home Depot Husky version. I suppose I'd spend as much as $30 if there were some advantages.Any tips on brand/model I should get other than the Husky?IMO, your $20 is better spent picking up a nice used 1/2' here.For the same money as a decent-but-probably-not-great HF, you might find an SK, MAC, Herbrand, Armstrong, etc, etc.I have an 1/2' Herbrand that I got here a while ago and it's my favorite by far.
I also have a bunch of older Craftsman's and some of them are very nice, but the Herbrand is smooth and just feels right in my hand. Lug nuts are doable with 3/8', but marginal.3/8' ratchets won't reliably bust loose lugs.
I broke a Mac XR attempting it a few weeks back. Then remembered I had my SO 3/8' breaker was in the toolbag too and that did bust them loose but I wouldn't recommend it. This was a situation I wasn't expecting where I had nothing else available.My experience with 1/2' drive is that it definitely still has it's uses for higher torque automotive use. For ratchets I can't remember the last time I used my standard length because I can get just as much torque with a long 3/8' long. Still use the 15' ratchet and 18' and 24' breaker bars with a ratchet adaptor. If you think you're going to be doing anything more intensive than lug nuts, I'd start looking for a 1/2' set.
I'd probably look for a used one, it's no rush so you can wait till you find a deal, but if you don't enjoy the search then nothing wrong with buying new.If you're just going to do lug nuts, I'd just use the impact sockets and look for a long 1/2' ratchet, at least 15' long. An older model that even just has 20 or 24 teeth is sufficient. Just look for the longer ratchet - having used a 10' long one this weekend, it was tough on my arm and hands, I went and found the long one for the next bolt. Alternatively, buy a cheap breaker bar and a speeder.
It's old fashioned but great if you're just doing a few bolts and don't want to get out the impact. Or buy all 3 - ratchet, breaker and speeder. Or a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter.The HF breaker barunbeatableJust got that breaker and for under $10 it is unbeatable, are there better bars out there? You bet but for the price its great. I also picked up a this (HF ratchet and it seems to work pretty well for what I use it for.
Also have the HF composite ratchet that works for me. I've changed a huge number of tires on personal vehicles and farm machinery.
I seldom use 1/2 ratchets and never 3/8 tools. I always use a 1/2 pull handle or an air wrench and now have a cheap 24 volt impact which I haven't tried on wheels yet.I don't like the idea of having wife and daughters on the side of the road with a flat tire and inadequate tools, i.e., factory tool kit. Try to have a breaker bar or specialty kit in cars.
Gave married daughter an old flea market short Snap on 1/2 drive breaker, the correct socket, and a piece of pipe. She never had reason to use it. Came upon a long HF breaker bar and gave it to her so she could eliminate the cheater pipe. The next week they had a flat, she lucked out, hubby was along to change the tire, HF bar worked fine.So what I'm saying about tires is, get your family car equipped for emergencies, never mid the 3/8 stuff for tire changes.Like the other posts said, 1/2 stuff is comforting for suspension work.KEH. I've changed a huge number of tires on personal vehicles and farm machinery. I seldom use 1/2 ratchets and never 3/8 tools.
I always use a 1/2 pull handle or an air wrench and now have a cheap 24 volt impact which I haven't tried on wheels yet.I don't like the idea of having wife and daughters on the side of the road with a flat tire and inadequate tools, i.e., factory tool kit. Try to have a breaker bar or specialty kit in cars. Gave married daughter an old flea market short Snap on 1/2 drive breaker, the correct socket, and a piece of pipe. She never had reason to use it. Came upon a long HF breaker bar and gave it to her so she could eliminate the cheater pipe. The next week they had a flat, she lucked out, hubby was along to change the tire, HF bar worked fine.So what I'm saying about tires is, get your family car equipped for emergencies, never mid the 3/8 stuff for tire changes.Like the other posts said, 1/2 stuff is comforting for suspension work.KEH+1, The wife's car has a HF 1/2' breaker bar with a 6 pt Proto 21mm deep impact socket on it and a HF 1/2' torque wrench with a 6 pt Proto 21 mm deep chrome socket on it (I used a hole saw and cut a hole into the case so the socket stays on the torque wrench). There are labels on them, on the breaker bar says 'Use to loosen lug nuts' and on the torque wrench is says'Set to 76 ft pounds to tighten lug nuts' I've trained the wife how to use them.
So for under $50 she is ready for changing a flat.I also threw in a 2 ton Craftsman jack that is in a case and she knows where to place it when raising the car and she knows to never get under the car or tire being removed/installed.Its important to make sure the ladies know how to do things.TheGrooveking. I'm interested in know how necessary you all think having 1/2' ratchets and sockets are.Essential, for me.I have sockets that go right up to 1', and all my ratchets and sockets are 3/8'. Even my breaker bar is a 3/8'What if you need a 1-1/2' socket for a nut or bolt? And the torque in order to loosen/tighten it? I have breaker bars in 1/4', 3/8', 1/2' and 3/4'. Need them all.I've never felt like I was going to break them.Lots of people feel like that.right up until they break them.From my understanding, 1/2' are for strength, but how much strength are you actually getting?It's mostly more torque (due to length) but the Snap-on Dual-80s are rated at something like 700lb/ft. Quite a lot more of both.Does a 1/2' ratchet give you more torque somehow as well as strength?If it's longer, yes.As a mechanic, i need 1/2' drive stuff.
I use 3/8' most of the time, but i need 1/2' when 3/8' isn't suitable, same goes for 1/4'. It's also the sockets you need, many don't come in 3/8' and an adapter on a 3/8' ratchet or breaker bar doesn't give enough torque.
1/2 was the first i got when i was just doing my own maintenance (excluding the chinese kit my dad gave me for my birthday that i proceeded to break almost every component of)older cars especially youll need it for lots of stuff because some bolts havent been loosesned in 20 years and dont want to come offand if you have impact sockets, dont buy regular just yet, theres only a few places that you need a thinwall over an impact and those you will likely not encounter doing regular maintenance. Go to the pawn shop or somehwere and buy a good used snap on, mac or sk 1/2 ratchet and you should be good. Lug nuts are doable with 3/8', but marginal.
The biggest 3/8' torque wrench I can recall seeing is 100 ft-lb, which is enough for some cars, but not all (offhand, the cars in my family I've torqued lug nuts on are 88, 100, 112, and 140 ft-lb). Removing torque can even be a bit higher, I'm not sure I'd want to just use a relatively short handled 3/8' ratchet or breaker bar for lug nut duty on the higher torque stuff.I don't find the 7/16', 1/2' or 9/16' to be all that useful in 1/2' drive, but larger than that the extra strenght is nice.1/2' and 9/16' sockets are useful for head bolts on some domestic stuff.I use 1/2 in drive stuff daily but I do a lot of suspension/driveline work and 4wd work. I'm not a mechanic but a hobbyist. I think you need 1/2 inch drive. I mostly use 3/8 drive for automotive but once I get to 3/4 inch bolts or nuts than the 1/2 inch comes out.Generally, I do the same thing. Unless it's a suspension part then it's 1/2 dr at 5/8. I'd get a 1/2 dr ratchet, a slightly longer than normal one and a 1/2 dr short socket set to start out.
Follow up with a 1/2 dr deep and then a long handled 1/2 dr flex head ratchet.Get a nice breaker bar. A lot of guys buy the HF, sorry but not me. When you pull out the breaker bar it's for some serious pulling and I feel more confident with a big old beefy US branded breaker bar. I have an older long Craftsman and a Proto I like to use and also an SK with a nice comfort grip.Post up a WTB ad in the classifieds.
With as many ratchets that guy's here have you'll be sure to get a good deal on some quality tools. I live in the rust belt.
Somebody said he did not find small 1/2' sockets useful. I had to use 3/8 to 1/2 adapter to put a 14mm in my 1/2' ratchet because i couldn't break something loose and my new I/2'Eastwood socket set didn't go that low. I don't use 1/2 that much but i have plenty of ratchets and was using impact sockets. Sometimes they just can't squeeze in there soI got the Easrwood chrome set which is probably equivalent to HF with a better selection of sizes.
I worked in a shop and we had a system for torque adjustments. Tighten until it breaks and back off a 1/2 a turn. I will never forget one morning at another job when a a co worker had a flat and several guys were trying to get the tire off her car. It took a half inch ratchet, a cheater bar and my jumping on the cheater pipe before it creaked loose. 3/8, you've got to be kidding.
My truck lug nuts are 135 ft-lbs. And somebody mentioned tire shops that go nuts with their impact wrenches. After buying tires you should set torque anyway. Few shops use a torque wrench and uneven torque can warp a rotor and if you have one way over tightened, better to deal with it at home than on the road if you get a flat. I turn wrenches for a living. 3/8' drive 95% of the time.
I have my standard length 1/2' ratchet with a long extension on my tool cart. I am a fleet mechanic and 85% of my fleet is MB sprinters. I have the oil filter remover sitting on the cart with the 1/2' drive socket on it and grab my 1/2' ratchet for doing the oil filters.
Lug nuts are removed 99% of the time with my Mac battery impact (1/2') and I run them up with that and torque with my 1/2' torque wrench. Pretty much everything else I use 3/8' drive on. Just last week I pulled the front differential out of my GMC all wheel drive van to put a ring and pinion and new bearings in. The entire job was done with 3/8' drive with the exception of the bolt that holds the spider gear pin in. This I used a 1/4' drive and the pinion nut (1/2' drive)I have 6 ford econolines and when doing suspension work (rear springs, front radius brackets, bushings) I use 1/2' drive. All of this is done with impact tho and I almost never reach for a 1/2' ratchet.
I have my standard length 1/2' ratchet and in the box I have a 22' 1/2' drive ratchet. When I need it, its here. They all have their purpose and it's good to have all of them. 1/2 drive is stiffer and takes 2-3x the ultimate strength (note its 5-600+ft pounds vs 2-300 in 3/8)The estensions, ratchet handles, and breaker bars are all stiffer-transmits more torque without losses from 'spring' actionThere are times also on headbolts and what not wher 10, 12mm etc is useful in 1/2 drive for these reasons (or even in 8 or 10mm hex bit).Also, standard handle ratchets are nice when you are breaking with a bar and torquing to spec, they let you use a lighter set of tools in the field if not working out of a huge box.Just my $0.02 cents. I turn wrenches for a living. 3/8' drive 95% of the time. I have my standard length 1/2' ratchet with a long extension on my tool cart.
I am a fleet mechanic and 85% of my fleet is MB sprinters. I have the oil filter remover sitting on the cart with the 1/2' drive socket on it and grab my 1/2' ratchet for doing the oil filters. Lug nuts are removed 99% of the time with my Mac battery impact (1/2') and I run them up with that and torque with my 1/2' torque wrench. Pretty much everything else I use 3/8' drive on. Just last week I pulled the front differential out of my GMC all wheel drive van to put a ring and pinion and new bearings in. The entire job was done with 3/8' drive with the exception of the bolt that holds the spider gear pin in.
This I used a 1/4' drive and the pinion nut (1/2' drive)I have 6 ford econolines and when doing suspension work (rear springs, front radius brackets, bushings) I use 1/2' drive. All of this is done with impact tho and I almost never reach for a 1/2' ratchet. I have my standard length 1/2' ratchet and in the box I have a 22' 1/2' drive ratchet. When I need it, its here. They all have their purpose and it's good to have all of them.On rear wheel drives, I recall that the pinion nut is torqued to some hellacious high number.Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk. On rear wheel drives, I recall that the pinion nut is torqued to some hellacious high number.Sent from my SM-G900V using TapatalkIt is not really torqued but tightened to set the pinion preload. What you are doing is tightening the inner race of the outer bearing against a crush collar.
On 1/2 ton trucks I would use a 1/2' impact (ya, I know this should not be done as it can cause brinelling on the bearing races, I've done hundreds without issues:dunno:). On 3/4 and 1 ton trucks I would use a 3x torque multiplier with a 24' breaker bar and still have a hell of a time crushing that thing. It is not really torqued but tightened to set the pinion preload. What you are doing is tightening the inner race of the outer bearing against a crush collar. On 1/2 ton trucks I would use a 1/2' impact (ya, I know this should not be done as it can cause brinelling on the bearing races, I've done hundreds without issues:dunno:).
On 3/4 and 1 ton trucks I would use a 3x torque multiplier with a 24' breaker bar and still have a hell of a time crushing that thing.Yes. It's getting the preload by crushing the crush sleeve.
Most times you are looking at a spec of turning torque on the yoke (typically in inch lbs). I do actually take lug nuts off with my 3/8' haha.You couldn't take of a single lug but on my vehicle with your 3/8 ratchet I bet you'd brake them all lol. I always get them too tight using just a 4 way. I've had to use Jack handle with it to take them off specially after it's been awhile. I remember I had to change a neighbors rear shocks when I was younger and didnt have a 1/2 and broke 3 of my 3/8 ratchets which were good usa ratchets before I got just the back ones off. I worked at a junk yard as well and I had to use mostly 1/2 because most bolts we're so rusted.
1/2 is very important if you are a mechanic you couldn't do much without them. I would bet you 100 bucks for you to try to use 3/8 on some of the stuff I've had to do. You'd be out more than 100 bucks. Get yourself a set and your future self would thank you.
I'm an 'avid enthusiast' and at my level for ratchets, I use my 3/8' set about 70% of the time, the 1/4' set about 20% of the time.I don't have a 1/2' drive ratchet set, but do have 1/2' deep socket impacts, a 1/2' air impact wrench, and a 1/2' breaker bar. Between all that and my combination wrenches, I have not yet come across a scenario where I needed a 1/2' ratchet set.but if the case comes along, I'll probably start with the ratchet and a couple extensions before dropping coin on sockets with thinner walls. A thread from 2010 necro'd in 2016 and dug up again 9 years almost to the day after the first post.Dates, people. Read them.We walk a fine line. If someone starts a new thread about a topic that has been discussed before they get hammered with 'don't you know how to use the search function' and when someone searches and brings up an old thread they get grief for bringing zombie threads back to life.I forget which comedian said it, but it reminds of the line: did you ever notice anyone driving slower than you is an idiot and anyone driving faster is an a.hole?Its all about your perspective.
I have thought about this a lot. My dad reaches for a 1/2' before anything else.
My assumption is that its a generational thing. He grew up and working on big old land yachts. Tons of space to move around so the size of the tool was never much of a concern to him. Now, though, he ends up walking back to the tool box when it won't fit where he needs it to.I use a 3/8' 85% of the time. My metric set goes from 8mm to 22mm.
There's very little that doesn't cover that doesn't require a breaker bar or impact. With an 11' flexhead ratchet, I don't even have a problem doing a brake jobs here in PA.I use my 1/4 stuff for things that are small and not very tight, or if there is a lot of repetition - like pulling off covers and shields. When I do use 1/2' its because I want to use the 15' ratchet. For me, it just depends where my favorite ratchet of the moment is.For quite a long time, all I had was 3/8', so I got used to doing everything (and I mean everything) with 3/8 drive. Eventually I expanded, and started using 1/2' more.
When I got my Zyklop in 1/2' drive, I used it everywhere I could, because it's just a fantastic ratchet.These days it's dependent on what I can find the right socket for most rapidly; generally that's 3/8', for anything 10mm to 18mm. Smaller than 10mm I'll opt for 1/4' or larger than 18mm I'll look for the 1/2', but 3/8 is still pretty darn versatile for automotive stuff.
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