HF locking extensions. All junk?

[JBradley500]

I got a set of these yesterday, and returned them today. The long one just had cosmetic issue where the machining was rough on the drive, which I didn’t care about but did notice. Next, one of the lengths detent ball basically was flush when locked. Two others wouldn’t lock hard on certain sockets and I could pull them off without much effort. Basically they all had problems making one useless, two only useful with certain sockets, and one with cosmetic flaws.

I hadn’t heard of these issues before. I thought the only problem was needed to loctite the screw on the locking ring. Is this common with these?

 

[kctyphoon]

I can say none of mine are like that - but that's just my experience. I think generally they get decent reviews here.

 

[JBradley500]

I thought they were supposed to be good, but I wonder if people buy them “just in case I need them” and never actually end up using them. All of them in my store looked like the same batch, as the machining marks were the same.

 

[rmsg0040]

I did buy them just in case I need them, which is why I spent HF kinda money, so far haven't used them yet. I did notice that the longest one was skinnier than the others. I recently got a Mac 8" locking 3/8 extension USA made, did get it for cheap, and its way nicer than the HF ones.

 

[MrGiggles]

I very seldom ever use mine. They're nice for spark plugs, nothing worse than having to fish a socket out of a spark plug well.

I've noticed that the little set screws that hold the collar on will loosen up if you use them on an impact, but they're not designed for that.

 

[fordkid88]

My co worker was just talking about these and how much he loves them.

 

[General Geoff]

Been using mine for years, never had an issue with them.

 

[Bryanthegreat]

I bought them and they seemed to be of decent quality but I returned them because some of my sockets I could pull off of them.

 

[DFB]

I once purchased the standard HF extension bars both 1/2" and 3/8" drive sizes and they have such a loose fit at the anvil they can fall off with little effort. I wouldn't try any after that too bad because I need locking extensions now especially for some spark plugs

 

[mfewtrail]

You're probably already aware of this, but some sockets do not have detents so locking extensions are not going to lock on them.

 

[xin]

One gets what they pay for it is not designed for actual use. It is more like marketing purposes to say how it beats all competitors...

Lifetime warranty as one needs spends a lifetime in TIME/MONEY wasted on Chinese trinkets.

 

[cheechi]

I'm interested in what you're considering since the HF ones aren't working out for you. I think I have two, both 1/4" both Craftsman with the plastic slide button to unlock. I keep forgetting to get a 3/8 one for spark plug changes. Been lucky so far.

 

[JBradley500]

I’m not sure. I haven’t ever needed them, but thought they may possibly come in handy. I have regular Matco and Snap-on extensions with some loose Gearwrench, S•K, Craftsman, HF, etc, so I get by without locking ones. I also have spark plug socket/extensions so I really probably will just not get any locking unless I find some Snap-on on eBay for a song.

 

[unslow1]

I'm interested in what you're considering since the HF ones aren't working out for you. I think I have two, both 1/4" both Craftsman with the plastic slide button to unlock. I keep forgetting to get a 3/8 one for spark plug changes. Been lucky so far.

I like the Craftsman ones better than any other I have tried. They have a lot smaller releases.

 

[WWheeler]

I'm interested in what you're considering since the HF ones aren't working out for you. I think I have two, both 1/4" both Craftsman with the plastic slide button to unlock. I keep forgetting to get a 3/8 one for spark plug changes. Been lucky so far.

I very seldom ever use mine. They're nice for spark plugs, nothing worse than having to fish a socket out of a spark plug well.

I'd highly suggest ditching locking extensions and get a set of magnetic spark plug swivels. Best thing that ever happened to spark plug changes IMHO. Get at it from more angles and never drop a socket or a plug.

 

[xin]

I'd highly suggest ditching locking extensions and get a set of magnetic spark plug swivels. Best thing that ever happened to spark plug changes IMHO. Get at it from more angles and never drop a socket or a plug.

What brand do you got there?

 

[unslow1]

Some of them look like Gearwrench.

 

[WWheeler]

What brand do you got there?

Mine are all Gearwrench. Other brands make them too incl tool truck brands IIRC. The 5/8 were a 3-piece set. The 13/16 and 9/16 were separate.

A side plus is they are thinner walled than my Craftsman USA spark plug sockets. I've gotten them into a few places my old sockets wouldn't fit. Actually somewhere I've got another that was modified for Ford Triton plugs (a few ebay sellers sell them like that). Scratching my head a bit where it got off to ATM.

 

[1982fxr]

One gets what they pay for it is not designed for actual use. It is more like marketing purposes to say how it beats all competitors...

Lifetime warranty as one needs spends a lifetime in TIME/MONEY wasted on Chinese trinkets.

Pretty much

 

[Steve_P]

I have the HF 3/8 lockers and they're pretty good for the $ but mine are 10+ yrs old and may not be the same as today. You can pull some sockets off of them if the socket detents are shallow. I have 1/4" SK lockers and they're much nicer, much more $, and sockets don't pull off them.

The combined spark plug sockets and extensions are nice but with 100k mile plug changes, I can't justify them

 

[cheechi]

I took a look at the 3/8 set on the shelf my last trip to HF. They look and feel solid. I would have no apprehension picking up a set if not for this thread. My best guess your store got a bad batch. This is 100% free of any real world experience with them.

 

[AmishFury]

the long one in the set i got a while back had some less than great machining on it but it functions just fine

as for pulling the sockets off... the depth of the detent is key i happen to have a bunch of random sockets and an HF extension handy so i tested... only one craftsman G1 socket with barely a detent (had some other G1 sockets with proper detents that all held strong) and 2 older SK that would only hold onto the extension in one out of the 4 detents... the double detent CM and masterforce sockets i had handy worked really well

 

[2000-cvpi]

I have the 3/8 HF set and they have been great for what I paid. When I bought them about four years ago they release towards the drive end, when I picked up the 1/2 locking set earlier this year they now release towards the socket end. Haven’t had any issues with either set.