flex handle vs breaker bar

[moron88]

i'm finally going to man up and start doing some of the car maintenance myself. first job to be done, the brakes. just for the sake of consistency, i'm replacing rotors and pads at all corners. i know what jack i'm getting (cant recall the make/model, it's a 3 ton at costco if that tells you anything) and i'm getting the parts from rock auto because the radiator and strut i ordered from them are working perfectly and i have no idea who could beat $122 shipped for 4 rotors and 2 sets of pads.

as for why i'm here, i watched a video on youtube that said to use a breaker bar or cheater pipe to break a couple bolts loose. i like tools and this is the perfect excuse to get a big'un. the problem i have encountered is this, when checking the menards website i have come across 2 different items. one is a 17" performax flex handle and the other is a crescent which is labeled as a 1/2" flex handle/ 18' breaker bar.

my question is, is there a practical difference? i have no issue with performax tools and the crescent is nearly 3 times as much money for seemingly the same tool. as a guy who tends to lose tools before breaking, i'm finding it hard to justify the extra $ for the brand name, especially since both are likely Chinese.

slipped my mind, it's a 2005 grand caravan for those wondering.

 

[Schurkey]

The whole point of a breaker bar is to brutalize very tight fasteners.

If a crappy import tool lets you down in that circumstance, you're likely to have a genuine injury from it.

Still think a Chinese tool is a good idea?

For the record, I like long-handle ratchets far more than non-ratcheting breaker bars. The good ones will accept a heap of torque.

 

[moron88]

The whole point of a breaker bar is to brutalize very tight fasteners.

If a crappy import tool lets you down in that circumstance, you're likely to have a genuine injury from it.

Still think a Chinese tool is a good idea?

For the record, I like long-handle ratchets far more than non-ratcheting breaker bars. The good ones will accept a heap of torque.

can you name a single american made breaker bar less than $30? for as often as i'll be using it, that's all i can justify. i honestly doubt i have the strength to break either one i mentioned by hand.

 

[3baygarage]

can you name a single american made breaker bar less than $30? for as often as i'll be using it, that's all i can justify. i honestly doubt i have the strength to break either one i mentioned by hand.

Plenty of used ones on Ebay, there's sure to be one in your price range. Or a flea market nearby? Or are you bent on buying new?

 

[ihateminimumwage]

Flex handle and breaker bar are the same, it's just which term a manufacturer chooses to use.

Cripe has a USA made Allen 18" breaker for $18 plus shipping (request actual shipping, and it comes out much cheaper).
http://www.cripedistributing.com/allen-12821-1-2-inch-drive-18-inch-breaker-bar-handle-usa.html
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Allen-12821...-Handle-USA-/400752938684?hash=item5d4ebc8ebc

 

[moron88]

hadnt really thought about used. i know i dont want to deal with ebay and the only flea market i know of is summer-only. i guess i could check craigslist.

 

[dodge610]

You will find all kinds on craigslist. Just watch the prices some of those craigslist guys want 20.00 for a 10.00 dollar ratchet.

 

[moron88]

Flex handle and breaker bar are the same, it's just which term a manufacturer chooses to use.

Cripe has a USA made Allen 18" breaker for $18 plus shipping (request actual shipping, and it comes out much cheaper).
http://www.cripedistributing.com/allen-12821-1-2-inch-drive-18-inch-breaker-bar-handle-usa.html
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Allen-12821...-Handle-USA-/400752938684?hash=item5d4ebc8ebc

THANK YOU! with shipping it's $32.10. i think i found my breaker bar. thanks again!

 

[pauls_workshop]

While the US made are surely among the best, I have to add that the HF 1/2" super long breaker bar is a champ for around $11 or so with coupon on sale. I'm thinking of getting one of those for each of our cars for lug nut wheel changes when needed. Beats the heck out of the standard auto lug nut wrench. I used it recently to break loose some badly rusted nuts and bolts on my trailer. Nothing else would break them loose, but the big HF would in about 5 seconds. Also, if buget is very tight, spend some time on the HF review thread here and just get the things recommended there you need to start out. You can always upgrade to better US made tools later on when you can afford to. - Paul

 

[ihateminimumwage]

THANK YOU! with shipping it's $32.10. i think i found my breaker bar. thanks again!

Like I said, request actual shipping when ordering, I've bought lots of stuff that added up to around $30+ in shipping and they've dropped down to the $6 range if they could stuff it all into a Flat Rate envelope. Cripe is great to work with (and has a ridiculous amount of random good stuff for sale).

 

[rayh91]

can you name a single american made breaker bar less than $30? for as often as i'll be using it, that's all i can justify. i honestly doubt i have the strength to break either one i mentioned by hand.

Not American but I've abused the **** out of my HF breaker bars. Still have yet to break the 1/2". I've broken a few 3/8" but they all shear off the head so it stays with the socket.

 

[PJNJ]

Ebay -take your pick -

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...=nc&LH_ItemCondition=4&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

Lots of good USA bars starting at around $8 and up.

Here's a Proto -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Proto-Profe...:g:HnwAAOSw--1Wr~4q&item=231832999514&vxp=mtr

and another -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-PRO...a42ca1a&pid=100005&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=231832999514

I have a used Proto 3/4 bar I bought on Ebay and I doubt I could ever snap it even with a really loooong cheater.

12 inch Armstrong for those tight locations -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Armstrong-A...a42ca1a&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=231832999514

Blackhawk -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blackhawk-4...:g:~3UAAOSw5dNWsqEi&item=231834970838&vxp=mtr

Another Blackhawk -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Bla...136077?hash=item5681660c0d:g:XqoAAOSwKtlWoY0h

SK -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/S-K-41653-1...917794?hash=item1eab2db322:g:sFcAAOSwzhVWtPgQ

And there are more SK also reasonable.

There are a lot of reasonably priced, good condition used breaker bars on Ebay that will probably outlast you and your descendants.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Ebay. there are boatloads of 'em on there.

seller just listed these earlier this evening. take your pick on brand.
$25 incl. shipping;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MECHANICS-1...168692?hash=item4af8e26db4:g:kQcAAOSw~OdVZ5bc

(he's also got a mess of 1/2" dr. 10" extensions, 3/8" dr. 10" extensions, and a mess of 1/2" speeders he's trying to unload.)

15" Craftsman 1/2" dr breaker bar last week: $12 (clean =V= , not hammered)

15" Indestro 1/2" dr breaker bar today: $10 (like new)

"Breaker Bar" - "Flex Handle" - same/same 6 of 1/half a dozen the other.

primo: S-K, Proto, Armstrong, Wright, Indestro, Duro-Chrome, others
good US made: KAL, Proamerica, JS Tool (military), others

just pick through 'em and find a good one. no problem!

 

[finn]

I'd get the Crescent brand from Menards. I think it goes for about $15, and should be more than adequate for your use.

I've broken two 1/2" drive flex handles in 50years, one Chinese made cheapie special and one USA made. Both had 5' cheater bars on them and both yielded rather than snapped.

I'm pretty much done with buying junk from ebay. It seems that most of it is sold by bottom feeders and other assorted low-life types lately. I really don't like dealing with scavengers anymore for some reason.


I keep a HF breaker in the trunk of the car and use it twice a year to install and remove the snow tires. It seems sturdy enough too.

 

[bczygan]

Yeah, HF 1/2" is the answer. One in each vehicle and one in the box. About $10.39 (After 20% coupon) plus tax.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-25-in-breaker-bar-67933.html

Bill

 

[mrjaw14]

another vote for the harbor freight breaker bar, even if you get the other one. I keep one in the car all the time with a lug nut socket for changing tires. it's served me well already when a standard tire tool wouldn't budge the lug nut.

 

[nh_yota]

I picked up a 24" Tekton 1/2" breaker bar for about $25 on Amazon a few months ago to use when I replaced the wheel bearings on my truck. It works great and I have no complaints. I think Tekton tools are the best bang for your buck.

 

[DBendr]

Not American but I've abused the **** out of my HF breaker bars. Still have yet to break the 1/2". I've broken a few 3/8" but they all shear off the head so it stays with the socket.

And that bodes true for ratchets too. NO COO involvement what-so-ever. A 3/8 square piece of tool steel will only stand so much twist. Much less if the inside is butchered because "peaches" isn't strong enough to pull a socket off and needs QR.
Now if the mechanism blows up we got us something to ***** about !

 

[bcradio]

i'm finally going to man up and start doing some of the car maintenance myself. first job to be done, the brakes. just for the sake of consistency, i'm replacing rotors and pads at all corners. i know what jack i'm getting (cant recall the make/model, it's a 3 ton at costco if that tells you anything) and i'm getting the parts from rock auto because the radiator and strut i ordered from them are working perfectly and i have no idea who could beat $122 shipped for 4 rotors and 2 sets of pads.

as for why i'm here, i watched a video on youtube that said to use a breaker bar or cheater pipe to break a couple bolts loose. i like tools and this is the perfect excuse to get a big'un. the problem i have encountered is this, when checking the menards website i have come across 2 different items. one is a 17" performax flex handle and the other is a crescent which is labeled as a 1/2" flex handle/ 18' breaker bar.

my question is, is there a practical difference? i have no issue with performax tools and the crescent is nearly 3 times as much money for seemingly the same tool. as a guy who tends to lose tools before breaking, i'm finding it hard to justify the extra $ for the brand name, especially since both are likely Chinese.

slipped my mind, it's a 2005 grand caravan for those wondering.

Somebodies gotta tell ya... Here is your first problem right here. Don't buy bottom barrel parts for your repairs unless you are repairing just to sell. Otherwise you'll be back here in a year complaining that you need to do all your brakes again. Buy decent quality parts to begin with not the cheapest you can find.

Second:
Keep track of your stuff. Do you 'misplace' your van? Probably not. Buy your tools and put in the extra effort to keep track of them. Don't just go through life knowing that you will lose everything you buy.

With your amount of use, I'd get most of my tools at Harbor Freight. However, don't go in an buy the cheapest **** they sell. You will want to buy the better stuff there if you have the option (i.e. Earthquake impact vs. cheapo one). Also stick with Taiwan made tools there.

Good luck and I mean what I say with the best of intentions for you.

 

[djb2]

A second (third?) on the HF breaker bar.

The HF 1/2" torque wrench will break if you bounce on it. The 26" breaker bar won't. It has more flex than I would prefer, but it's tough.

If you will get only one, go for the longer bar.

The HF bars have a 15 (?) degree offset on the square, which helps when indexing a 12 point socket sot hat the bar is the best position.

(To forestall the comments about tool abuse: the choice was an hour round trip to get the right tool vs. abusing a $10 tool. I was careful.)

 

[Yv.]

I thought flex handles and breaker bars were the same thing?

 

[theoldwizard1]

Probably too late ... I know the OP wants to stay under $30, but instead of a /12" breaker bar, I would recommend he spend a few dollars more on a 3/8" flex head ratchet (assuming he has 3/8" sockets). MUCH more useful in the long run and I have put a good sized "cheater" (pipe) on my Craftsman with no issues. Used on eBay for under $20.

 

[moron88]

bought the jack and placed the order for the pads and rotors. while cheap, i googled both and found decent reviews of both. the pads are centric c-tek metallics and the rotors are bendix. havent bought the breaker bar yet. might just go to harbor freight and see what's up. if i go that route, i'll be swinging by lowes on the way as i have zero complaints about the rest of my kobalt tools. thanks for all the advice.

 

[Ncognito]

bought the jack and placed the order for the pads and rotors. while cheap, i googled both and found decent reviews of both. the pads are centric c-tek metallics and the rotors are bendix. havent bought the breaker bar yet. might just go to harbor freight and see what's up. if i go that route, i'll be swinging by lowes on the way as i have zero complaints about the rest of my kobalt tools. thanks for all the advice.

You do have jack stands, right?

 

[Wakefield]

"Hinge handle" "Ell handle" old time tool names (Ell handle had a 90* bend and no flex and was thought to be stronger (Look up "Alloy Artifacts" for some old time tool pictures)
Now "hinge" - "flex" and the flex joint is thought to be strong enough
Some here use a flex ratchet for heavy stuff (1/2" inch drive vs. 3/8" or even 1/4" drives) I would not use less than 1/2" drive for lug nuts except in an emergency

alloy-artifacts.org

 

[barrybeefburger]

I would like to see how the OP will get on with an 18-24" breaker on a car on jack stands.

 

[dledmo]

Congratulations OP for deciding to do some auto maintenance on your own! It can be fun and will certainly save you some money. I have the Harbor Freight 1/2" breaker bar at home and at work, for lug nuts it hardly seems fair. They give up right away, kind of takes the challenge out of it (unless some shop has used air tools to way over tighten the lugs). Certainly get some jack stands also, safety is very important.

 

[PugetDude]

A piece of 3/4" or 1" pipe works well as a breaker bar, assuming your ratchet has a lifetime warranty.

 

[moron88]

A piece of 3/4" or 1" pipe works well as a breaker bar, assuming your ratchet has a lifetime warranty.

lifetime warranty, yes. second vehicle to get to lowes, no

 

[moron88]

You do have jack stands, right?

i was just thinking about this. i have watched the brakes on this van get changed twice, first by my sister's ex-idiot and then by my brother who is an ASE certified master mechanic. the idiot used 2 jacks, the one that came with the van to change the spare and his own little autozone POS. he used the van's jack on the driver side then went to lifting the passenger side with his. he lifted the van to the point that his jack pulled the van over and landed on the rotors. fortunately nothing other than the van's jack broke (bent the lift screw). my brother used is 3 ton lo-pro jack and did one wheel at a time, without jack stands.

just how important is it to use jack stands? i will if it's serious but anything i can do to keep the job short is preferred. i'll be doing the job in my garage, which a tree fell on nearly 3 years ago taking out the overhead door and half the roof (havent fixed it because we havent had the money. no home owners insurance either, no one will cover the shop which is attached). the forecast calls for mid 30's all next week but this is southwest Michigan, where lake effect blizzards are a thing... thanks again for all the help.

 

[moron88]

Congratulations OP for deciding to do some auto maintenance on your own! It can be fun and will certainly save you some money. I have the Harbor Freight 1/2" breaker bar at home and at work, for lug nuts it hardly seems fair. They give up right away, kind of takes the challenge out of it (unless some shop has used air tools to way over tighten the lugs). Certainly get some jack stands also, safety is very important.

now i'm strongly considering the hf route. first guy was all about american made, making me jump on the stars and stripes bandwagon. now everyone is yelling harbor freight, which made my wallet jump on the "i'm not empty!" bandwagon

 

[moron88]

I would like to see how the OP will get on with an 18-24" breaker on a car on jack stands.

well, either the brakes are getting changed or the van will crush me and my mom will get my life insurance money. at any rate, she'll have a vehicle that stops!

 

[Engine]

HF sells budget priced jackstands, but if you decide to go the "jack only" route and aren't getting under the car I suggest at least throwing the tire and rim under the frame while you are working on the brakes. If it falls, that will be better than nothing. I always assume that Murphy's law will come into play whenever machinery is involved.

 

[moron88]

HF sells budget priced jackstands, but if you decide to go the "jack only" route and aren't getting under the car I suggest at least throwing the tire and rim under the frame while you are working on the brakes. If it falls, that will be better than nothing. I always assume that Murphy's law will come into play whenever machinery is involved.

fair enough. i think i might have a couple jack stands laying around somewhere. i'll have a look in the morning. if not, cinder blocks are cheap.

 

[ChevyEFI]

cinder blocks are cheap.

Couldn't let your thread die gracefully?

 

[moron88]

Couldn't let your thread die gracefully?

and let people have faith in 22 year olds? gotta give people something to hate me for i know the idiot left a pair of jack stands in my garage, just a matter of finding them.

 

[Ncognito]

just how important is it to use jack stands? i will if it's serious but anything i can do to keep the job short is preferred.

Well as you've seen, 50% of the brake jobs that you've witnessed half fallen off the jacks. Personally, I don't trust hydraulic jacks to support the load while I'm crawling around working on that load. I guess the question that you have to answer is, Do you feel lucky? Look at it another way. Because of the weather, you want to keep the job as short as possible. That's understandable, but how long does it take to position a jack stand once the vehicle is lifted? How long is this job going to take if the jack fails and the vehicle falls?

I didn't know him, but a guy that I went to college with had a jack fall and trap him underneath the vehicle. It didn't crush him and apparently he didn't die instantly. From the story that I heard, he suffocated from the weight of the vehicle pressing on his chest. A horrible way to die.

 

[theoldwizard1]

fair enough. i think i might have a couple jack stands laying around somewhere. i'll have a look in the morning. if not, cinder blocks are cheap.

Better than nothing ! Take the weight OFF of what ever jack you are using and let the car rest on your "stand". I would stick a couple of pieces of 2x4 between the cinder block and the bottom of the car to help cushion and spread the load on the cinder block

The other cheap solution is, jack the car up, take the wheel off, place it under the car. Place 4x4 or 2x4 or even fire wood log, across the wheel and tire. Lower the jack until the car is resting on the wood. See if you can wiggle the car.

 

[John in OH]

I would like to see how the OP will get on with an 18-24" breaker on a car on jack stands.

I don't know how moron88 actually plans to do the job, but I've been doing my own brakes for over 40 years and have always done it "one wheel at-a-time" and always broke the lug nuts/bolts loose BEFORE lifting the vehicle with the jack. Then slid blocks or jack stands under for safety.

........ my brother used is 3 ton lo-pro jack and did one wheel at a time, without jack stands.

just how important is it to use jack stands? i will if it's serious but anything i can do to keep the job short is preferred. i'll be doing the job in my garage, which a tree fell on nearly 3 years ago taking out the overhead door and half the roof (havent fixed it because we havent had the money. no home owners insurance either, no one will cover the shop which is attached). the forecast calls for mid 30's all next week but this is southwest Michigan, where lake effect blizzards are a thing... thanks again for all the help.

If you are only 22 years old you should be able to easily expect 60 years of good life ahead of you provided you aren't a "*****" and try working on your car without jack stands. Regardless of how much is in your wallet NEVER take short cuts with your health and safety. At 22 you probably feel invincible, but don't be fooled .... cemeteries are full of invincible 22 year olds! I remember when my wallet was pretty slim (still is, for that matter) but NEVER TRUST A JACK, always use something to back-up the jack!! If you don't have jack stands use cement blocks (holes vertical) or a short stack of stable 4x6 or 6x6 wood blocks. If the garage floor is not solid, put a piece of 3/4" plywood beneath the jack and the jack stands/blocks. Don't ever take safety short cuts just to save time or money.

I don't know where you work, but at the power company where I worked failure to follow safety procedures or wear personal safety equipment was grounds for immediate dismissal .... and the union agreed.

 

[Ncognito]

...and always broke the lug nuts/bolts loose BEFORE lifting the vehicle with the jack.

Always? I can't count the times that I had to lower the car back down because I forgot to break the lug nuts loose. I was a slow learner.

Don't ever take safety short cuts just to save time or money.

Bolded for truth. We can always make more money, but we can't always get more time. Work safe!