Breaker bar knuckle

[bertieg]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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??

[bertieg]

InertialTooth45 said:

3/8ths for wheel bolts??

3/8 should have no trouble at all with approximately 100-110NM

[InertialTooth45]

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]

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]

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.

[bertieg]

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]

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!

[darreni]

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]

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_]

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]

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]

Just keep using 3/8 drive mate you will change when you either bust some knuckles or teeth by not using commonsense

[bertieg]

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]

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]

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]

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 I broke one with a ten foot pole once, bought a 3/4 drive one after that which is pretty indestructible.