Pass through socket set

[retDAC]

..., though I do own a Craftsman set and bought Kobalt adapters to adapt between the hex drive and cyclone (I think that's what Apex calls it?) drive.

Just a thing to be wary of, while old Kobalt and Bostitch have the same '3/8' size hex drives, the '1/2' drive of the Kobalt is 22 (or was it 24?) mm while the Bostitch '1/2' drive is 23 mm. ...

Not "Cyclone"; it's 'Vortex'. Of course I never make mistakes like that myself.

However you will sometime see "Pass-Thru XL", "XL Pass-Thru", or "GearRatchet".

What you are referring to as "old Kobalt" is actually current gen and is labeled "Xtreme Access". The older gen was "Flex Thru" which was the same as Gearwrench's Vortex etc.

 

[themiller]

I like em. Mostly use them outside of the garage on deck or fence projects and misc. lag bolts or trailer bolts from 2nd owners that were "resourceful" and replaced with what they had on hand vs. what was needed. 3 inch long fender bolts anyone? I've had a set since they came out and probably used 20-30 times as a real timesaver, maybe 50 times total as a 2nd ratchet before I really had a decent tool collection.

 

[red73mustang]

I too have a Husky set I got as a gift and I have never used it. I'm sure I'll need it some day and not be able to find it in my mess of a garage!!

 

[Kev442]

When I discovered my GW serpentine kit would work with my old Napa set, I was able to use the torx and Allen bits to remove caliper bolts in the wheel wells. The tensioner bar is now a breaker bar that I can angle any way I need.
The low profile was the only tool I could use to remove some torque converter bolts this summer too. So, I've actually doubled my use of them lately.

 

[6-Speed]

Would a simple wrench work? Or the nit is too low from the frame opening?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

An open end or box end wrench will work but I like the ratcheting action and preventing busted knuckles.

 

[jerseykat1]

An open end or box end wrench will work but I like the ratcheting action and preventing busted knuckles.

I usually use an air gun for that. Clean the rust off the exposed threads first with a wire wheel, needle nose vice grips on the back, some pb blaster and they almost always zip right off.

Now the lower bolt on the link that can be a PITA if space is limited. Sometimes you have to do it manually. But it's the rust that usually causes it to get really tight toward the end of the threads.

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[Philbert]

I always thought the pass through sockets would be great to cage your breaks. I would had used them in Iraq when I was driving 915s and HETs. Had a few break issues there
This would have worked better than a wrench or even a ratcheting wrench.

 

[softailgarage]

A pass thru set was part of my initial "load out" on the tool truck. Nice Chrome Cornwell set. I'd never seen them before...neither had my customers. Now I have about a half dozen tools left, The pass thru set is one. Never could understand why it never sold, after reading this, I would say I'm the new owner of a pass thru socket set. Anyone wanna buy it?

 

[OutsideMachinist]

They are pretty limited. If you deal with threaded rod a lot they are nice.