986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - Anyone tried this? Everyone might/could use one.

MNBoxster · 09-11-2006, 07:17 AM

Hi,

I doubt this thing has much staying power, looks like a cheaply made Asian tool. You'd still have to break the lug by hand @ 90ft.lbs., so I'm not sure how useful you'd find it and it's profile is so large that it doesn't look too useful for any other wrenching.

About 10 years ago I did buy a short-lived cordless tool from Black & Decker which has been great, it's a 3/8" Cordless Ratchet. Makes working on a car so much simpler, and there's no cord to run to an outlet or battery. You still need to break a nut or bolt by hand, but then switch the socket to this ratchet to spin it off (or on), faster and often easier, especially in areas where you cannot rotate a full turn with a wrench. It has a pretty low profile and fits into some pretty tight areas. It sits in it's own recharger base.

I noticed that shortly after I bought mine ($19.95), B&D seems to have discontinued it, why I don't know because I have had over a decade's use from mine and it's never skipped a beat. I'd think there would be a good market for this type of tool so I'm surprised I've never seen another from a competing brand.

But back to wheel lugs, be sure that you always hand-tighten them. Impact tools are not very precise in setting torque and you can very easily warp a Brake Rotor from over-torque using them.

If you have your car serviced, be sure to insist that the Mechanic NEVER use an impact tool to reinstall a wheel lug. Many promise not to, but I've seen several do it anyway.

I always stand and watch them to be sure. It's also a good idea to re-check wheel lugs after getting a service as a shop's torque wrenches see a lot of service and is rarely very accurate.

I was once able to hand-rotate a wheel lug on my wife's Jag after a Brake service where they removed the wheels. I raised bloody hell, telling them they didn't have enough liability insurance to cover the loss had my wife's wheel come off when she was driving. The Service Manager now calls me over to watch as he replaces and torques the wheel lugs himself...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

09-11-2006, 07:17 AM	#3
MNBoxster Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Posts: 3,308	Hi, I doubt this thing has much staying power, looks like a cheaply made Asian tool. You'd still have to break the lug by hand @ 90ft.lbs., so I'm not sure how useful you'd find it and it's profile is so large that it doesn't look too useful for any other wrenching. About 10 years ago I did buy a short-lived cordless tool from Black & Decker which has been great, it's a 3/8" Cordless Ratchet. Makes working on a car so much simpler, and there's no cord to run to an outlet or battery. You still need to break a nut or bolt by hand, but then switch the socket to this ratchet to spin it off (or on), faster and often easier, especially in areas where you cannot rotate a full turn with a wrench. It has a pretty low profile and fits into some pretty tight areas. It sits in it's own recharger base. I noticed that shortly after I bought mine ($19.95), B&D seems to have discontinued it, why I don't know because I have had over a decade's use from mine and it's never skipped a beat. I'd think there would be a good market for this type of tool so I'm surprised I've never seen another from a competing brand. But back to wheel lugs, be sure that you always hand-tighten them. Impact tools are not very precise in setting torque and you can very easily warp a Brake Rotor from over-torque using them. If you have your car serviced, be sure to insist that the Mechanic NEVER use an impact tool to reinstall a wheel lug. Many promise not to, but I've seen several do it anyway. I always stand and watch them to be sure. It's also a good idea to re-check wheel lugs after getting a service as a shop's torque wrenches see a lot of service and is rarely very accurate. I was once able to hand-rotate a wheel lug on my wife's Jag after a Brake service where they removed the wheels. I raised bloody hell, telling them they didn't have enough liability insurance to cover the loss had my wife's wheel come off when she was driving. The Service Manager now calls me over to watch as he replaces and torques the wheel lugs himself... Happy Motoring!... Jim'99