Deep e-torx sockets - found at HF

[Squankum]

There I was, at HF the other day, doing some late Christmas shopping for a friend (make your own joke there.) Just stopping by to ****** up one of their "Braun" brand (wink wink, it's like that German company! (it's not)) LED work lights, which are very good, and with the right coupon, great.

I staggered past the ratchet/breaker bar section, just to ogle and fondle things. You know how it is. Thought I'd go peek at the ICON section to see if anything there caught my eye. Found the ratchets were hidden inside boxes. If I can't play with the ratcheting mechanism, how can you expect me to buy a ratchet?!

And that's when I saw the deep e-torx sockets. I have just moved into etorx land. I'm generally a caveman, but Ms. Squankum has brought a high tech nightmare into my life, and now I must be prepared for e-torx situations.

In recent years, I realized, how often do I use a deep socket because there's a stud or bolt sticking out of the nut that far? Maybe 15% of the time? The rest of the time, it seems like I use deep sockets as the shortest "extension" option, sometimes in a cramped place. So after buying a set of GearWrench e-torx normal depth sockets, I started keeping an eye peeled for a deep set. And I didn't see much.

Even when I bought an e10 U-joint socket from America's shiniest toolmaker in Kenosha, I didn't see any deep e-torx sockets, at least in the hand tool section.

Even better, what I found at HF was on sale (yay!) and I learned that the 20% coupons I keep stacked up in my wallet are not allowed for brands like ICON.

#56343 6 pc 1/4" dr. socket set, E4, E5, E6, E7, E8, E10 - $19.99 on sale
#56342 6 pc 3/8" dr. socket set, E10, E11, E12, E14, E16, E18 - $24.99 on sale

Pics and more, up next.



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[Squankum]

Details from the box:
ICON Professional E-Tor Socket St

"Chamfered openings for easy fastener and drive engagement" (duh her)

"Thin wall design to fit even the most difficult fasetners" (does anybody make a thick wall chrome socket?)

"High polished finish resists corrosion and stays clean" (ah, you know what Americans like)

"Easy to read size markings" (sure, if you like your numbers upside down and tiny)

TORX is a registered trademark of Textron Industries,Inc.(ah, so that explains why a company as decent as Bondhus calls their L key/T handle tools "star", making e-torx stuff a little harder to find sometimes.)

Lifetime warranty

Designed by ICON in the USA (yay! A guy or two is employed)
Manufactured in Taiwan (Yay! I can afford it! And Taiwan's quality is always very good, too.)

 

[Squankum]

Links:

https://www.harborfreight.com/14-in-drive-professional-e-torx-socket-set-6-pc-56343.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-professional-e-torx-socket-set-6-pc-56342.html


Hey, maybe these weren't sale prices I paid, but just the prices. Good. Other ICON stuff is surprisingly ambitious in pricing.

 

[Squankum]

Theft-proof packaging merely requires a screwdriver, which is nicer than most plastic theft-proof packaging.

 

[Squankum]

All on a Gear Wrench socket rail now.


3/8" rail, $9.90
Qty (3) 1/4" stubs to put on that rail, $6.55 x 2 = $13.10
________________________________________
= $23

Dangit! I should have bought a 1/4" rail. (2 minutes' amazon search. Oh. That would have cost me about 25 cents more.)

 

[vjquan]

How's it different from the standard Pittsburgh line at half the price?
https://www.harborfreight.com/14-in-drive-e-socket-set-6-pc-68017.html

 

[ChrisLS8]

How's it different from the standard Pittsburgh line at half the price?
https://www.harborfreight.com/14-in-drive-e-socket-set-6-pc-68017.html

TBH I doubt there is a difference, same sizes both made in taiwan

 

[vjquan]

TBH I doubt there is a difference, same sizes both made in taiwan

That was my point.

 

[Yarpo]

I own the Gearwrench ones, cant say I've ever used them and I come across etorx probably everyday. Weird that the GW ones are fully necked down and the icons are not, flip flopped from their traditional sockets.

 

[Squankum]

How's it different from the standard Pittsburgh line at half the price?
https://www.harborfreight.com/14-in-drive-e-socket-set-6-pc-68017.html

That is a very good point!

I'd have to say the difference is, I didn't see those in the store. And I wasn't really fully inspecting the aisle. And I tend to not search the HF website when on a tool hunt.

Yeah, if those are made in Taiwan, then those are the ones to get. Now my thread is very useful to future readers.

Thanks!

 

[619DioFan]

I have the pittsburgh deep etorx. very good sockets that have come in handy many times.

 

[signcrafter]

Even when I bought an e10 U-joint socket from America's shiniest toolmaker in Kenosha, I didn't see any deep e-torx sockets, at least in the hand tool section.
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Curious, where and what vehicle did you have to have a U joint e10 that made you order from snap on? I've been running into more and more etorx lately and need to step up my etorx game. I did a water pump on a 13 sonic and it was pretty much all etorx sockets. My basic gearwrench set got me threw the job but I can see needed some deep and specialty ones, just like needed when doing regular bolts.

Here is another option I have in my amazon wish list, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VUR6CO/?tag=atomicindus08-20. It's a VIM 1/4 and 3/8" set that has all the sockets the two HF sets do minus the e10 in 3/8" drive, only has e10 in 1/4" drive. I've had really good luck with VIM specialty bit sets. And it's about 6 bucks cheaper then buying the two HF sets.

 

[DFB]

I have owned E-Torx shallow sockets for a long time but never much thought about "deep" style before as it normally is just an external bolt head. But the idea using a long socket vs adding an extension appeals. Also might be a time or two side clearance might be an issue with the width of the drive end. Those sockets are out there though and VIM has combination set 1/4" and 3/8" drive includes E4, E5, E6, E7, E8, E10, E11, E12, E14, E16 and E18.

$39

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VUR6CO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Curious, where and what vehicle did you have to have a U joint e10 that made you order from snap on? I've been running into more and more etorx lately and need to step up my etorx game. I did a water pump on a 13 sonic and it was pretty much all etorx sockets. My basic gearwrench set got me threw the job but I can see needed some deep and specialty ones, just like needed when doing regular bolts.

Here is another option I have in my amazon wish list, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VUR6CO/?tag=atomicindus08-20. It's a VIM 1/4 and 3/8" set that has all the sockets the two HF sets do minus the e10 in 3/8" drive, only has e10 in 1/4" drive. I've had really good luck with VIM specialty bit sets. And it's about 6 bucks cheaper then buying the two HF sets.

I’m not the OP, but a BMW E92 clutch job. Access to one of the top transmission bolts is very limited. I used a 1/4-drive E10 universal torx socket. Snap On was the only one I could find.

 

[Squankum]

Curious, where and what vehicle did you have to have a U joint e10 that made you order from snap on? I've been running into more and more etorx lately and need to step up my etorx game. I did a water pump on a 13 sonic and it was pretty much all etorx sockets. My basic gearwrench set got me threw the job but I can see needed some deep and specialty ones, just like needed when doing regular bolts.

I am the OP, and I had heard on the internet that on the BMW I was working on, to get at the ankle bone (oil filter housing) I would not need to remove the shin bone (intake manifold) by using a U-jointed 1/4" dr. E10 socket from Snap On. It turned out to not be true, best I could tell, and I had to remove the shin bone/intake manifold.

So that bit of internet wisdom didn't pan out, but I did learn this neat bit of advice: own more than one E10 socket! One fumbly moment and your socket falls into a Zone of Inaccessibilty, never to be seen again, and you are dead in the water. I found this socket by Proto on amazon:

Stanley Proto J6910TX 1/4" Drive Torx Impact Socket, E10
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004USO7WK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

So now I have various E10 sockets, just in case.

 

[Squankum]

I have owned E-Torx shallow sockets for a long time but never much thought about "deep" style before as it normally is just an external bolt head. But the idea using a long socket vs adding an extension appeals. Also might be a time or two side clearance might be an issue with the width of the drive end. Those sockets are out there though and VIM has combination set 1/4" and 3/8" drive includes E4, E5, E6, E7, E8, E10, E11, E12, E14, E16 and E18.

$39

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VUR6CO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Thanks for the Vim tip! I've like Vim in the past, and bought their e-torx box wrench set. (I guess box is the only kind of e-torx wrench...)

I should have asked around here before buying. My search attempts were apparently lame. Then again, I wasn't finding anything by googling for GJ results, I'm sure, so now we definitely have a thread about deep e-torx sockets.

 

[Parrothead]

but I did learn this neat bit of advice: own more than one E10 socket! One fumbly moment and your socket falls into a Zone of Inaccessibilty, never to be seen again, and you are dead in the water.

...So now I have various E10 sockets, just in case.

So basically you’ve ID’d the 10mm socket of E-Torx! Thank you!

 

[Squankum]

And here's a 1/2" dr. set. Jenley, a name you've never heard of, but might trust.

JENLEY DEEP E-TORX (Star) Socket Set,1/2-Inch Drvie E8 - E24, 10-Piece

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DM6Z282/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Jtels85]

Hopefully you don’t need any extension bars with those sockets. Harbor Freight may not be able to help you...

 

[Squankum]

Hrnh? I'm a huge fan of their locking extensions.

 

[Squankum]

P.S. Ah, now I see what you're talking about. I've got regular ol' extension from my Craftsman purchases in the 80's, and in the past 7 years or so, 98% of the time, I'm using HF locking extensions. The only time I don't is if the locking slide-barrel knurling is going to rub on something... that i care about.

(Or if I need a wobble extension, of course.)