3/4" breaker bar

Author
Discussion

Richyvrlimited

Original Poster:

1,824 posts

162 months

Monday 23rd February 2015
quotequote all
Any recommendations that won't break the bank? I'll also need to factor in the cost of a socket as i have no 3/4" stuff at all.

I snapped my 1/2" bar trying to undo a hub nut....

mighty kitten

431 posts

132 months

Monday 23rd February 2015
quotequote all
Bar doesn't need to be anything special but a quality 3/4 - 1/2 reducer so you can still use 1/2 sockets . I have a snap on reducer that takes an insert so worst case and you snap it its a few quid for a new one . I only use 3/4 sockets on heavy iveco vans and trucks as the reducer and 1/2 drive stuff is fine for cars

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Monday 23rd February 2015
quotequote all
I have a Halfords Pro reducer which came with my breaker bar. I'm on my fourth and they still keep replacing them under the lifetime warranty when I break them. biggrin

The bar itself is a decent enough thing, too.

ETA: Mind you, it doesn't say they come with a reducer on the Halfords website. I wonder if they got fed up with replacing them. biggrin

Edited by kambites on Monday 23 February 19:47

ShiningWit

10,203 posts

127 months

Monday 23rd February 2015
quotequote all
The answer is don't use a breaker bar as they always break when over loaded - pretty easy when you see the length of leverage you can get on it and the weak UJ.
Get a sliding T bar.

MGJohn

10,203 posts

182 months

Monday 23rd February 2015
quotequote all
Yes, agreed. Good quality 3/4" kit can be pricey but, soon pays for itself in both time and money.

The 36mm and 32mm Axle/Driveshaft/Hub Nuts on my MGs and Rovers are always silly tight. Ten years ago I bought a Bergen 3/4" Breaker Bar and 3/4" 36 an 32 mm Hex Sockets. They make light work of those silly tight axle nuts.

I also have a good quality 3/4-1/2" reducer.

There is one nut/bolt on some MGs and Rovers which sometimes even that kit does not easily cope with. That is the 22mm CRANKshaft Pulley Bolt on some K-Series engines. Usually ones which have not been touched since they left the production line are a doddle to undo. Those tightened following subsequent pro-garage work can be near impossible to release they are so silly tight. Here's my son's Rover 25 which was by far the worst example of over tightening of that 22mm CRANKshaft Pulley Bolt I've ever tackled :~



In use there is a length of scaffold, the Bergen 3/4" Breaker Bar, the 3/4~1/2" reducer, a 50cm Extension Bar and a good quality 22mm Hex-Socket. With the car in 5th, my 13 stone son's right foot firmly planted on the brake pedal, and my fifteen stone on the scaffold pole for leverage, the loud CRACK sound as that bolt finally gave way could be heard many yards away. Note also the use of an Axle Stand as support for the set up when the full leverage was applied.

Close up of the arrangement. It works!



There's another always silly tight component on my cars with the PG1 gearbox. The little plug you need to remove when stripping a gearbox for bearing replacement. ALWAYS wise to release this Plug whilst gearbox on the car. Trying to remove it with box off the car can be fun and games for the amateur spannerman with limited resources. This one often with thread lock overload! :~



Finally, sometimes even wheel bolts are over torqued by pros using power tools. First time I needed to remove a wheel on my MG ZT, I had to resort to this. Beyond silly tight. All twenty bolts were that tight! Two months before I bought the car, the previous owner had paid over £300 to have all four Brake Discs and Pads renewed to get through the MoT.



Never any need to tighten them to this extent. Could even weaken the bolts or their location which is definitely a no-no. Simply not necessary.

CoolHands

18,496 posts

194 months

hman

7,487 posts

193 months

Monday 23rd February 2015
quotequote all
ShiningWit said:
The answer is don't use a breaker bar as they always break when over loaded - pretty easy when you see the length of leverage you can get on it and the weak UJ.
Get a sliding T bar.
or a t-bar and slide an scaffold pole over the end - worst case you bend the t- handle but it wont snap.

Richyvrlimited

Original Poster:

1,824 posts

162 months

Tuesday 24th February 2015
quotequote all
Cheers everyone.

That eBay link looks a good idea, though i did try a 1/2" T bar and this happened....


PositronicRay

26,957 posts

182 months

Tuesday 24th February 2015
quotequote all
Might be time to invest in an impact driver.

Alternatively do you have a friendly local garage?
Re-assemble the car get them to loosen the hub nut, nip it back up and drive home to complete the job.

Richyvrlimited

Original Poster:

1,824 posts

162 months

Tuesday 24th February 2015
quotequote all
PositronicRay said:
Might be time to invest in an impact driver.

Alternatively do you have a friendly local garage?
Re-assemble the car get them to loosen the hub nut, nip it back up and drive home to complete the job.
My Air gun didn't touch it. (granted it is an Aldi gun, the air supply is very good however).

I've just hit buy it now on that T-bar, just need to get a socket now.

MGJohn

10,203 posts

182 months

Tuesday 24th February 2015
quotequote all
Richyvrlimited said:
PositronicRay said:
Might be time to invest in an impact driver.

Alternatively do you have a friendly local garage?
Re-assemble the car get them to loosen the hub nut, nip it back up and drive home to complete the job.
My Air gun didn't touch it. (granted it is an Aldi gun, the air supply is very good however).

I've just hit buy it now on that T-bar, just need to get a socket now.
I have a DeWalt 240v mains impact driver. It copes with every difficult nut or bolt bar the one. That 22mm Bolt on my son's Rover 25 Crankshaft Pulley. See earlier post with pics showing the lengths I had to go to to get it undone.

This one usually copes with most things in less than a second :~




By the way, some timing marks are near impossible to actually see on the car. I usually search for them by using my finger nail in the dark and limited access. Then some years ago, I used the dregs in the bottom of Hammerite paint tins and marked up those difficult to observe Timing Indexes after a quick once over with a wire brush. I have prepared a couple of spare Pulleys earlier to save time. It certainly does that too. You can see these a mile off now... sorted at nil cost .. smile My kind of expenditure .. wink



EDIT to add @ 23:10

Here's my 3/4" Bergen Breaker Bar and the 36mm Hex-Socket making easy work of undoing that drive shaft nut.



Edited by MGJohn on Tuesday 24th February 23:10

crossy67

1,570 posts

178 months

Tuesday 24th February 2015
quotequote all
3/4" Ingersol air impact gun is where it's at.

We had two Honda 2.0 engines in Rover 800's to do one after the other. The set up you had for the K series wouldn't touch it, borrowed a 3/4 gun from some tyre fitting friends and it was off like it wasn't even tight.

Richyvrlimited

Original Poster:

1,824 posts

162 months

Wednesday 25th February 2015
quotequote all
That's a neat idea to lock the wheel position. I assume that's what it is, and not a pencil being stored anyway smile

That ingersol impact gun looks nice, but OUCH at the price. that's way out of my league unfortunately.

I hit buy it now on the previously linked eBay T-Bar, going to tap up a roofer than lives locally for a really long scaffold pole to complement it.

MGJohn

10,203 posts

182 months

Wednesday 25th February 2015
quotequote all
Richyvrlimited said:
That's a neat idea to lock the wheel position. I assume that's what it is, and not a pencil being stored anyway smile
It's actually a small cold chisel locking the disc in the ventilation gaps. I use the chisel to open or close the staked Axle Nut so it has a useful dual purpose.... smile There's a grove in the end of the outer Drive Shaft Threads for that stake.

pilbeam_mp62

955 posts

200 months

Wednesday 25th February 2015
quotequote all
Some hub nuts have a left-hand thread............

Richyvrlimited

Original Poster:

1,824 posts

162 months

Wednesday 25th February 2015
quotequote all
I tried both ways wink i find sometimes with some stubborn hardware tightening a smidge can help break the 'lock'

Segway... your username, do you have an Eaton MP62 blower?

Bobrick

161 posts

153 months

Wednesday 25th February 2015
quotequote all
3/4" Machine Mart Breaker Bar £23.98, I've had mine years, not come across a nut she hasn't conquered yet!

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details...

pilbeam_mp62

955 posts

200 months

Wednesday 25th February 2015
quotequote all
Richyvrlimited said:
I tried both ways wink i find sometimes with some stubborn hardware tightening a smidge can help break the 'lock'

Segway... your username, do you have an Eaton MP62 blower?
No - I hillclimbed for many years in a Pilbeam MP62 single-seater.