Breaker bar knuckle

Breaker bar knuckle

Author
Discussion

bertieg

Original Poster:

603 posts

143 months

Monday 18th February 2013
quotequote all
is it possible to buy one that isnt weak as st?

i had a egay special breaker bar that lasted a year of regular use before the knuckle broke. thought i'd replace it with a longer Sealey bar (ak729), and that knuckle has given up after a month

anywhere i can get a decent quality 3/8" breaker knuckle?

AF1

309 posts

204 months

Monday 18th February 2013
quotequote all
My breaker bars are one of the few tools I insist on being snap on now. I find there's more give in the bars, I've had a 6 foot length of pole on my 1/2" bar many times and other than slight bending it was fine. I have had to replace the end occasionally when it's snapped but far less frequently than any of the other brands of bars I've tried.

one eyed mick

1,189 posts

163 months

Tuesday 19th February 2013
quotequote all
What are you using them on? if 3/8 arent man enough go to 1/2 [bit obvious realy ] , buy good brands with warranty and you should be ok note I have 3ft of alloy scaffold pole as part of my kit for seriosly tight things but also a 3/4 breaker bar for really naughty bits , pick the tool to do the job

bertieg

Original Poster:

603 posts

143 months

Tuesday 19th February 2013
quotequote all
i have a 1/2" breaker too for larger stuff. this was only undoing a wheel bolt. one that was tightened using the same breaker bizarrely!

InertialTooth45

2,111 posts

189 months

Tuesday 19th February 2013
quotequote all
bertieg said:
i have a 1/2" breaker too for larger stuff. this was only undoing a wheel bolt. one that was tightened using the same breaker bizarrely!
3/8ths for wheel bolts?? redface

bertieg

Original Poster:

603 posts

143 months

Tuesday 19th February 2013
quotequote all
InertialTooth45 said:
3/8ths for wheel bolts?? redface
3/8 should have no trouble at all with approximately 100-110NM

InertialTooth45

2,111 posts

189 months

Tuesday 19th February 2013
quotequote all
Clearly!

If that's the case I'd hazard a guess that you overtightened them.

Break off loads can often be a fair bit higher than tightening loads. Especially if it's been on a while.

bertieg

Original Poster:

603 posts

143 months

Tuesday 19th February 2013
quotequote all
InertialTooth45 said:
Clearly!

If that's the case I'd hazard a guess that you overtightened them.

Break off loads can often be a fair bit higher than tightening loads. Especially if it's been on a while.
i wasnt hanging off the bar at all. the bolts had only been on a couple of weeks so that certainly wasn't the issue

InertialTooth45

2,111 posts

189 months

Tuesday 19th February 2013
quotequote all
bertieg said:
i wasnt hanging off the bar at all. the bolts had only been on a couple of weeks so that certainly wasn't the issue
Fair enough.

As for recommendations I use a laser one which I great. Have had it for about 5 years, used it for all sorts including hub nuts, subframe mounts as well as a pry bar and literally jumping on it.

Mines a 1/2" though not a 3/8", but would be worth looking at if it's built anywhere near as well. smile

bertieg

Original Poster:

603 posts

143 months

Tuesday 19th February 2013
quotequote all
ive been hanging off my Sealey 1/2 without any worries, but that has a different knuckle style. i have a set of 1/2 drive impact sockets which i might have to start using instead of the 3/8 bar

rash_decision

1,387 posts

179 months

Monday 25th February 2013
quotequote all
I personally would never even contemplate using 3/8" drive on wheel bolts. A 1/2" bar is stronger, and more importantly longer, to give more leverage and reduce strain on the old back! wink

darreni

3,858 posts

272 months

Monday 25th February 2013
quotequote all
I've had a few, but Britool is the only one not to have issues.

3/8 is no good for wheel bolts. I've only ever used 1/2".

wildoliver

8,836 posts

218 months

Tuesday 26th February 2013
quotequote all
I can't imagine why anyone would think 3/8ths was the best choice for any heavy work like a wheel bolt???

I wouldn't even use it on a Mini/Midget wheel nut which are very thin shanks and low torque.

use 1/2" for goodness sake. Next thing you'll be asking why your 1/4" drive rachet keeps breaking doing up crank bolts.

_bryan_

250 posts

181 months

Tuesday 26th February 2013
quotequote all
Snap-on every day of the week. My old man had the knuckle on his replaced free of charge no questions asked over ten years ago (it's now mine). He was using it to undo a wheel nut on a lorry when it broke.

bertieg

Original Poster:

603 posts

143 months

Tuesday 26th February 2013
quotequote all
wildoliver said:
I can't imagine why anyone would think 3/8ths was the best choice for any heavy work like a wheel bolt???

I wouldn't even use it on a Mini/Midget wheel nut which are very thin shanks and low torque.

use 1/2" for goodness sake. Next thing you'll be asking why your 1/4" drive rachet keeps breaking doing up crank bolts.
because undoing wheel bolts isn't heavy use? as said, a 3/8 drive should easily be able to withstand forces in excess of 100nm, so i cant see why it would struggle with a wheel bolt

one eyed mick

1,189 posts

163 months

Wednesday 27th February 2013
quotequote all
Just keep using 3/8 drive mate you will change when you either bust some knuckles or teeth by not using commonsense

bertieg

Original Poster:

603 posts

143 months

Wednesday 27th February 2013
quotequote all
one eyed mick said:
Just keep using 3/8 drive mate you will change when you either bust some knuckles or teeth by not using commonsense
if you'd read the thread, you'd realise i cant keep using 3/8 drive.....

mudster

786 posts

246 months

Wednesday 27th February 2013
quotequote all
I've got a 1/2" Halfords professional breaker bar. I've had a 4ft piece of scaffolding pole on the end to undo a hub nut (and only just managed to get enough force). No signs of it giving up yet.

kev b

2,717 posts

168 months

Wednesday 27th February 2013
quotequote all
I would never use a 3/8 breaker bar on a wheel nut and if I kept snapping tools on the same sort of job I would think it was time to try a larger bar.

I would think the initial shock to crack loose a wheel nut is far more than the torque used to tighten it.

OP Is your torque wrench 3/8 drive as well, if so does it go up to 100Nm?

smartphone hater

3,743 posts

145 months

Thursday 28th February 2013
quotequote all
mudster said:
I've got a 1/2" Halfords professional breaker bar. I've had a 4ft piece of scaffolding pole on the end to undo a hub nut (and only just managed to get enough force). No signs of it giving up yet.
Your scaffold pole wasn't long enough smile I broke one with a ten foot pole once, bought a 3/4 drive one after that which is pretty indestructible.