1/4 drive epiphany....

[Octarine]

I had some techs trash talking in a shop about their new matco 1/4" ratchets. We did a side by side test on 19mm lugnuts.

Both were 1/4" flex head soft grip ratchets. 1/4>3/8 adapter>3/8 19mm semi deep socket. S-O was 72 tooth THLF72, the Matco was the finest tooth at the time (Spring 2011)

At 90 ft lb both took the nut off fine.

At 100 ft lb both did ok but it was tough to get them off.

At 110 ft lb, the Snap on went first and stripped the pawl so it spun free. There was much mocking till the Matco tried the same nut. The drive head snapped off and hit one of the techs in the cheek, drawing blood.

So per my one non scientific anecodote, Both Matco and S-O will break at ~110 ft lbs but the S-O won't try to blind you!

 

[superautobacs]

Any links? would love to see more.

Here
Sorry, not much. There's more, but I haven't taken any more photos. When I do, I'll load them up there.

 

[tbobbo]

One of the guys at my shop has some really long ratchets in a brand called titan, the 1/4 is like 8 or 9 inches i think........something like this may not get used much so maybe a cheaper line may be the way to go. You have your reasons, im not busting anyones chops on this topic!!!!!!

 

[Al Bundy]

quote the whole post *******, i explained why its a pain in the ***. when i am balancing on the radiator support by my belly, AND NOTHING ELSE, the more convenient the better.

just cuz you got a chip on your shoulder because we got into it on another thread doesn't mean i'm going to listen to your ******* driveby's on other threads.....

I'm not trying to "get into it with you". Your posts don't make sense to me and apparently to others as well.

As far as breaking bolts, I can see that happening on occasion when you're removing them from a 30 year old rustbucket. But how the hell do you break one when you're putting something together? Is your idea to just crank them down as tight as you can possibly get them? And you're calling me a *******?

And instead of balancing on the rad support, why don't you just get something to stand on?

 

[CamarosRus]

How many tooth is that 1/4" Flex WILLIAMS, and what vendor has best price, best shipping ?

Thanks,

 

[srmofo]

jees guys lighten up, I believe he was talking about the weight difference in regards to centrifical force. I use my short corwell ratchet alot because I can spin it faster. 1/4 extensions flex too much to put torque into the bolt.

 

[DrkMtnDew]

i use 1/4'' a lot more now than i did because of my impact driver. plus with so little room in modern engine bays, 1/4'' is all that will fit.

 

[Jawn]

When I picked up some 1/4" SK metric sockets, I was a bit puzzled as to why they went up to 15mm. Now that I have 'em that large, I love 'em! Smaller ratchets and shorter sockets make for easier wrenchin' in modern engine compartments.

 

[buffalobill]

I'm not trying to "get into it with you". Your posts don't make sense to me and apparently to others as well.

As far as breaking bolts, I can see that happening on occasion when you're removing them from a 30 year old rustbucket. But how the hell do you break one when you're putting something together? Is your idea to just crank them down as tight as you can possibly get them? And you're calling me a *******?

And instead of balancing on the rad support, why don't you just get something to stand on?

when i put an egr block off plate on the original intake on the K5, a bolt snapped clean off, forcing my hand to pull the entire intake because the stud was not budging, vise grips or not, and I ended up having to buy another carb gasket for the new intake, as well as an intake gasket set for the weiand i ended up putting on there. the weiand has no egr, and at that point, i was not about to trust any of the other intake bolts, so i bought a new chinese set from advance. I snapped that egr block off plate bolt with a mac xr8p, that is not a long ratchet. so when everything went back together, it all got tightened with my sk 1/4 ratchet, just so i couldn't overtorque anything. on top of that, it was lighter, thus easier to maneuver when i am balancing on the rad support, and possibly, if i am lucky, also supporting myself with a hand on the firewall.

I already have something to stand on, but i am considering buying one of those over the engine truck creepers, as the tire combination and body lift make a truck that should be easy to work on a pain in the ***.

 

[buffalobill]

jees guys lighten up, I believe he was talking about the weight difference in regards to centrifical force. I use my short corwell ratchet alot because I can spin it faster. 1/4 extensions flex too much to put torque into the bolt.

yep, exactly! i can take off lug nuts all day long with a 3/8 ratchet, and thats great for certain rusty stuff. I'd rather trust the 1/4 stuff for tightening things down though that are going back together with new stuff, so i don't have to pay for it twice. I aint breaking much with a 4" ratchet!

 

[buffalobill]

Bill, there is nothing wrong with getting some lighter tools and if it makes it more convenient and productive I am all for it but its no real substitute for figuring out how to tighten a bolt without breaking it. As for removal, in the rust belt especially,,, it would take too long if we snap many rusty bolts, its a rare day I break a bolt off not intentionally. Its part of the skill set, to get it apart without breakage.
I did have another question because its eluded to,, is this Blazer the main thing you are working on?

yep, the K5, and a conglomeration of 2 atc's. the atc's never give me any ****, but every time i work on the blazer, something snaps. none of the hardware looks that bad, right up until it breaks! This last thing, the egr block off plate bolt, i was not putting excessive torque on it. I dunno, it seems like it would be a pain in the *** to buy all new hardware every time, for everything, but i have thought about it. when the new water pump goes on, i think once i get the bolts out, i'm just going to go buy new ones, and lube the **** out of them with anti sieze, so they don't corrode away to nothing.

 

[Rich H.]

snap on 80tooth flex head long ratchet with soft grip handle

Best I have found too.

 

[MattT]

mmmmm, i am talking about installing,

Bad workman blames his tools. The problem is you not the 3/8" drive ratchet. Instead of calling someone else a name mebbe you should think about what you've posted. There's only one ******* in this thread

 

[buffalobill]

i didn't overtorque the bolt, you have never snapped a bolt that you were tightening on installation? also, i didn't blame the tool, if my ratchet snapped, and my hand flew into something painful, i might. i really like my Mac xr8p, its my favorite 3/8 ratchet, even over the dual 80 i bought a little while ago.