External Torx socket question

[hossmwp]

Hello everyone. I did some searching last night and didnt really find what i was looking for.

I am getting ready to take on a project that requires a few sizes of external torx. At this time I have none. I looked at the fastners and I have to be honest they arent great in terms of condition which is why I am going to ask this question -

Who makes a good fitting e-torx line of sockets. I ask this becuase I find on all other tools every manufacture will fit differently. So far I have never been let down by Snap On but wanted to check before spending that kind of money on a set of sockets I dont think I will use often. I have no problem with buying a high quality tool that will last my lifetime. I probably will even require more use now that my Chevy truck which seems to be torx filled has just come out of warranty.

any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[krusty the clown]

i think these will be fine for your use. i have a set of matco's that i bought 20 some years ago that i beleive are rebranded lisle.

http://www.lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=339

 

[hossmwp]

Thanks, I will take a look at them. I actually think I saw them at Sears the other day. I had to kill some time and Sears is the mans daycare when the ladies are shopping.

I had the regular torx from them and I kept rounding one of them off. I also have Matco ones now and they work great. I just havent come across many of the E-torx fastners that I needed to remove. I see them but fortunately I dont need to remove them. On another note I also noticed the newer John Deere equipment is loaded with them.

 

[64merc]

The believe the craftsman brand E-torx socket set is on sale. I have the Lisle set that I got on sale but I actually haven't used any of them yet.

 

[hossmwp]

The believe the craftsman brand E-torx socket set is on sale. I have the Lisle set that I got on sale but I actually haven't used any of them yet.

This is great news. If these are like the majority of torx related stuff I have used they will require some sort of warranty! I havent had many problems with tools but if its torx related I tend to struggle. Its bad luck I guess.

 

[Tool Pants]

I have the male and female (black) Lisle sets for many years. I did not buy them at Sears but Sears does have them.

 

[billymade]

Craftsman just came out with them; I have Lisle set and they seem to be fine. I haven't used them allot; I haven't had any complaints or warranty issues with Craftsman yet, YMMV!

 

[autoace]

Lisle, has no warranty, not really. SO are great, but Craftsman sells a set real reasonable, it just won't have the smallest, or largest sizes,just the most popular ones.

 

[pirana]

I've got the Gearwrench stuff & have no complaints on the quality. My local autuparts (Oreily's) carries the Lisle stuff which I have too.

 

[billymade]

Believe it or not Lisle does have a lifetime warranty on their tools; I emailed them and they told me they did in fact have a lifetime warranty and send them in for replacement. My brother had one of their battery post cleaners; it broke, we sent it in and they sent a revised/improved version back to us, free of charge. That being said, there are better tools out there and easier to warranty as well. Needless to say, I would love to have a Snap-On set but for now I have the Lisle; the Lisle has a limited size range.... this seems a typical problem with non pro brands like Craftsman/Lisle; the sets are not complete and are limited.

 

[vssjim]

Both the Lisle and Craftsman sets are very good and I also have a Proto set

 

[84scrambler]

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200310552_200310552

Can't go wrong with that price. My buddy bought that set and has some light use with it and so far no problems. I borrowed them a few times as well but never put them to the test.

 

[joenero]

If the Matco's are re-branded lisle under professional use I have had a few issues. For one, they don't seen to fit the fastener as tightly as an old mac a co-worker had. There was 1 instance where the matco was starting to round it off and just wouldn't go on all the way. A coworker's old mac seemed to grab more and got it off no problem! There was no damage my socket either. There are some extreme torque/access situations where they aren't the best things out there. Cars where the headbolts are e-torx I have had them strip out with the matcos as well. Now that I remember that it does make me debate just replace the 1 socket I use for those with something like snap on. Both of these weren't error on my part, just a fit that doesn't seem to grab as well as some of the other designs.

 

[Jokeman]

I bought the SK set and have never had a problem with them. They also fit very well on the fastener.

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/SK-19761.html

 

[Merkava_4]

Shop GearWrench for all your Torx socket needs.

..........

 

[JeepsAreBuilt]

This is great news. If these are like the majority of torx related stuff I have used they will require some sort of warranty! I havent had many problems with tools but if its torx related I tend to struggle. Its bad luck I guess.

Lisle torx sockets are too soft. I broke my set pretty quick. Then I got a cornwell set, and I use them everyday with air tools with no problems. They are much harder. Also, some fasteners take "torx plus" where regular torx do work, but fit loose and will start to strip the fasteners after a while.

 

[JeepsAreBuilt]

Shop GearWrench for all your Torx socket needs.

no torx plus !

 

[hossmwp]

Shop GearWrench for all your Torx socket needs.

..........

I gave these some serious thought. I ended up getting the Craftsman ones tonight. I hope they work. I need to do a diff swap on my car and I noticed the E-torx. They arent in great shape either so I am hoping its not a big issue. I went with the Craftsman ones to have them in hand sooner than latter. Plus that price is alot better than the Matco truck tomorrow morning or even the Snap on truck when he decides to show.

Thanks for all the help. I was actually going to get the Snap On ones but it seems many people have suggested the other brands.

 

[Gregster]

If you work on european cars often then I suggest getting the SO set. I used the lisle set but found they could strip the head or the socket would crack. I recently bought the SO set and love how the sockets feel and grab the head.

Pricey yes but when you are working on that 100k Mercedes or 65K M3 you need tools that won't strip fasteners.