Agreed. Sometimes you still need to combine extensions, of course.
Or it's a necessity. Torquing the thrust mounts on an F-16 takes almost 6' of extension to get to the bolts. Torque value is several hundred pound-feet....
Ryan: Here's what it looks like without the engine....The thrust pins, aka "coke bottles" are at 3 and 9 o'clock. Whom ever is torquing the 4 bolts on the mounts, has the torque wrench just inboard, about where the speed brakes, aka "duck bills" split. You can see the right pair open a little bit. Now imagine, that the engine fills that bay to the frames, with about 4" max clearance, until the end fairing. That fairing, aka "the do-nut" has less than an inch clearance from the engine when installed. We play in tight holes sometimes!
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That looks uncomfortable and interesting.Ryan: Here's what it looks like without the engine....The thrust pins, aka "coke bottles" are at 3 and 9 o'clock. Whom ever is torquing the 4 bolts on the mounts, has the torque wrench just inboard, about where the speed brakes, aka "duck bills" split. You can see the right pair open a little bit. Now imagine, that the engine fills that bay to the frames, with about 4" max clearance, until the end fairing. That fairing, aka "the do-nut" has less than an inch clearance from the engine when installed. We play in tight holes sometimes!
F-16 Technical Details • afm.jpg • f-16 photography
Empty engine bay of an AMARC stored viper [USAF photo]
Consider a locking extension. If you need to use an extra-long extension, odds are it's because access is minimal. In that scenario, it will be extra annoying when that 10mm socket falls off deep in your engine bay.
This set looks pretty compelling. ~$29 from Home Depot.
I have different ones from Apex and Westward, but I don't think you'll find those easy in the USA (well, the Apex ones I have are Mastercraft-branded and they appear all-but identical to Gearwrench, but they're more expensive under that label; the Westward ones were on clearance so availability is dubious).
If using a bit socket, the wobble makes it harder to align, increases the possibility of cam-out(please forgive me if it is the wrong term) and increases hand fatigue, due to having to fight against the movement generated every quarter turn. Especially noticeable while using a spinner handle. To be fair, I know that I can get a really long screwdriver, or a long hex bit holder, but extending the usability of a tool is a good thing. I will do as you guys said, and get longer extensions.
Ryan: Here's what it looks like without the engine....The thrust pins, aka "coke bottles" are at 3 and 9 o'clock. Whom ever is torquing the 4 bolts on the mounts, has the torque wrench just inboard, about where the speed brakes, aka "duck bills" split. You can see the right pair open a little bit. Now imagine, that the engine fills that bay to the frames, with about 4" max clearance, until the end fairing. That fairing, aka "the do-nut" has less than an inch clearance from the engine when installed. We play in tight holes sometimes!
F-16 Technical Details • afm.jpg • f-16 photography
Empty engine bay of an AMARC stored viper [USAF photo]
