So we generally know the Gearwrench ratcheting type wrenches have limits to the amount of torque they can handle - they're not for breaking loose very tight fasteners - but I was wondering how strong are they? Has anyone here ever broken one, and be able to guess how much torque it took to do so? At what size?
Gearwrench torque limits
- Thread starter matthew
- Start date
tonydanzah
Well-known member
very strong, used mine on tight/rusty fasteners all the time
Jay H 237
Well-known member
One of the guys in work broke a 13mm years ago trying to break a fastner loose. I don't know how much force he put on it though or if a cheater pipe was possibly used.
Big Bad Jon
Well-known member
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- Jun 14, 2008
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They all break at some point even the snap on non-ratcheting it is a part of using tools. I guess I wouldn't worry about it.
scbird94
Well-known member
I think its fun to break tools. I am proud when i bust a SO wrench or ratchet. Warranty is awesome, gearwrench included.
I have never broken a gear-wrench, just used them to the point the ratchet mechanism locks itself and the flex heads are way floppy. I even use the two-wrench breaker-bar method and have yet to break a gearwrench
I have never broken a gear-wrench, just used them to the point the ratchet mechanism locks itself and the flex heads are way floppy. I even use the two-wrench breaker-bar method and have yet to break a gearwrench
WVU Tuba Dale
Well-known member
My 7/16" Gear wrench seems to be stripped out.. again. I guess I'll swish it around in the parts washer to clear out the crud.. again. 
That's the only problem I have had with them so far.
That's the only problem I have had with them so far.LGMechanical
Well-known member
I've broke my 7/16" gearwrench adjusting brakes. I have the mastercraft rebranded version. Went to a Canadian Tire and swapped it without a hassle.
nate379
Banned
I've had a set since Sears started carrying them, somewhere around 03 I think? Anyhow, haven't broken one yet. Don't know how much force I can put on something, but I have broken a few 1/2" bolts with a 12" long ratchet before 
nissan_crawler
Well-known member
I haven't found any limits yet. Not used on tight fasteners? Forget that, if I have to grab another wrench to loosen every fastener, they're worthless to me. I reef on them. I've locked a 9/16" one up, with both feet braced, yanking as hard as I could on it. Still, it didn't *break* it just locked up.
At least on the packaging of my set, it had a note about torque limitations yadda yadda. I took it as a sort of disclaimer, and not that I'd obey that strictly, but it's nice to know how much margin of safety you have... From the sounds of it the mid-sized wrenches are good to at least 80 or 100 ft-lb, which should be pretty safe for most applications.
Hey NissanCrawler - by locked up do you mean permanently, or just jammed and needing to be jarred somehow to release???
Hey NissanCrawler - by locked up do you mean permanently, or just jammed and needing to be jarred somehow to release???
Joelfke
Well-known member
I was using 13 and 15mm for oil changes when i began my internship. Some people i guess use impact wrenches to tighten oil drain plugs because some of them were really really tight, I have yet to replace ANY of my gearwrenches. I have stubbies normal length and flex head sets
Cryptic1911
Well-known member
thats good to know.. I have two sets of them that should be arriving soon
BlindViper
Well-known member
I have a 8mm one that I broke using on a 12pt faster on my truck. I had all my force on it at 6'4" 330 lbs.
Joelfke
Well-known member
i broke a 12mm cman ratcheting wrench on a honda brake caliper, but my GW one outperformed the cman one and still works fine. the cman one didnt even break it loose
jteck75
Well-known member
I broke an 11/16 GW brand working on a John Deere dozer about 5 years ago. The ratchet end literally disintegrated,after that the law of physics took over and went face first into the tracks.Snap-On guy came by later on and I replaced it with a Blue Point wrench. It held up pretty darn good,upgraded the whole set to Armstrong about a year ago. Haven't bought a GW brand since then nor do I plan to.
Snap-On guy came by later on and I replaced it with a Blue Point wrench. It held up pretty darn good,upgraded the whole set to Armstrong about a year ago. Haven't bought a GW brand since then nor do I plan to.seth_man
Well-known member
my long 12mm gearbox wrench took off a very rusted ford drive shaft, made it all the way through without breaking. had to put a little (2ft) pipe on it. but that was over a year ago and i still use that wrench daily.
pmohr
Well-known member
I've broken one or two 21mm wrenches with a long (~3ft) pipe doing alignments, then my 17mm reversible just snugging down a bolt. Didn't much like it anyway, took the opportunity to upgrade to a 'regular' 17 (non reversible).
Me either. If it ever comes to the point where I have to stop what im doing to go grab the cheater bar I might as well grab a real wrench.
What BWright said. I've never broken any of my GW's or Cman rachetings and don't intend to.
MartinTech
Well-known member
Our local Stahl-Willie guy keeps a gearwrench on his truck that has had the handle bent back some 60 degrees from straight, as a result of indiscriminate use of a cheater bar. The ratchet mechanism still works as smoothly and predictably as a new one. I have yet to see a failed gearwrench. I did have one replaced under warranty because it was sticking, though. It would work normally if I whacked it on something, but who am I to turn down a free replacement?? Ever wonder how we got by before those things became so ubiquitous?
i know this does not apply to most of the animals on this board, as we like , enjoy and use our tools responsibly in most cases. abuse though sometimes necessary is only done at last resort. that being said, this type of "bird" does exist in the wild. though it may be rare here in captivity they run rampant in the wild (rest) of the world. i beleive that some of these birds may be the cause of some warranty issues seen out there. even the toughest animals(critics) we have here do not say they are proud of breaking tools. definately odd and unusual behaviour.
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z28snksknr
Well-known member
i know this does not apply to most of the animals on this board, as we like , enjoy and use our tools responsibly in most cases. abuse though sometimes necessary is only done at last resort. that being said, this type of "bird" does exist in the wild. though it may be rare here in captivity they run rampant in the wild (rest) of the world. i beleive that some of these birds may be the cause of some warranty issues seen out there. even the toughest animals(critics) we have here do not say they are proud of breaking tools. definately odd and unusual behaviour.
I think he meant that it's "fun" in the way that seeing things blow up or watching car crashes is "fun"- it's fun to watch destruction vs. shedding tears over breaking a tool that has a warranty. I doubt (I hope not anyway) he sits in his garage and TRIES to break tools.
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I have managed to break a couple of Gearwrenches. One was a Gearwrench the other a Matco proswing. Both were 15mm. Both went dink and freewheeled in both directions. Only hand force without any type of cheater bar was used. The wrenches were used on caliper bolts. Despite two failures over the years, they're still my favorite wrenches.
i was having some fun with my response. i don't know scbird94 and hope he is kidding but,,,,,,, that mentality does exist. we do not see it here very often but i would bet the tool sellers here will attest to it happening. how people here view tool use may not be how the rest of the world does it. i have personally seen sledgehammers on wrenches and ratchets, pipes beyond normal and things i could never even imagine. one would not try and warranty a car that has been blown up on purpose, but you can bet your a-- people will try and return a rathet that was blown up by a six foot cheater pipe. explain how that is right.
nissan_crawler
Well-known member
Sorry, missed this. It did come loose, but was fairly prone to locking up when pulling hard after that, so I replaced it. To be honest, there's a chance that had seen a cheater pipe before that. I've done it several times. No, I don't like to, but sometimes that is the only thing that will fit and takes little enough swing to do the job.
If I have to replace one every 5 years for that reason, I'm a happy man. I use them as much, if not more than my snap-on ratchets.
devilphrog
Well-known member
I had a 10mm break on me a few weeks back. It was a reversible wrench and it just kind of stopped working. No cheater bar or any thing, just would not change directions, as though the pawl fell apart and got jammed up. It really just became a combo wrench at that point. Took it to sears and got a new one no questions asked. I assume it was a defective part because it was not being put through hard use.
tonydanzah
Well-known member
anyone have an pics of what the gearwrench guts look like?
Mickey O
Well-known member
I have no idea what the torque limit is on them but they have a display at Sears and I put a backer wrench on the display in an effort to break one and I knocked off the shelf, it was quite loud, I left quickly.
tonydanzah
Well-known member
no one has any "guts" pictures?
superautobacs
Well-known member
Here you go. ...with patent # 498775 drawing.
Attachments
tonydanzah
Well-known member
thank you very much sir, looks like the inside of a matco/armstrong/danaher ratchet
z28snksknr
Well-known member
Do these pics mean they are serviceable?
superautobacs
Well-known member
Makes perfect sense; all owned by Danaher.
No, the GearWrench types are not serviceable.