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zero degree offset wrenches

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scott37300

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I was doing a ****** swap this weekend and there was very little room to get the torque convertor nuts off. My friend had a set of mac wrenches that were longer and zero offset. The head of them was about 1/2" deep, hope this makes since, basically the part were the nut goes was deeper than a normal wrench. So they fit in there nice and then the head was deep enough to get in the bell housing to get to the nuts holding the flywheel to the torque convertor. They were some nice wrenches.

I don't have much for wrenches besides combos and ratcheting wrenches, have gotten by with them so far. But now I'm thinking about getting some box wrenches and maybe even open end, although I do have some nice flare nut wrenches that get me by for open end so far. I looked at the mac site and couldn't find the wrenches like my friend had. I looked on snap on site and didn't see anything even close to them. But the standard box wrenches that have a 10 degree offset look like they would have worked pretty good.

Any recomendations for box end wrenches. Or ideas as to were I can get wrenches like what I described above?
 
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bonneyman

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Bonney used to make what they called "aerospace wrenches" that sound alot like the wrench you're describing. They were black oxide, thin head, basically a flat double box end in 12 point with their Loc-Rite broaching. The box ends were also ground with a lip for reaching into a recess to grab the bolt heads. Unfortunately, they are no longer made, and those you find on ebay are all SAE - they didn't make them in metric.
Snap-On makes what they call high performance wrenches which look - on screen at least - to be like the above Bonney's. And they make metric ones. Maybe you should check them out.
 
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DrkMtnDew

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i have a metric cornwell set and a standard SO set. for length and overall heavier build cornwell has it. for a slim head and access to hidden fastener SO is better.
 
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Scout Driver

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I have used tappet wrenches in the past to get to hard-to-reach fasteners. A set of purpose-made, zero offset wrenches would be super handy.

Scott
 
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kornjulio

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images
 
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mp23

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I have a set of Mac's and they are great but I know snap on and matco both make sets. I was having a hard time reaching a bolt on a transmission, they would have save me a ton of trouble if I would have had them.
 
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GeorgiaHybrid

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I have had the regular Snap-on zero offset metrics for a while and like them a lot. With that in mind, Matco was running a bogo deal on the metric and SAE ratcheting zero offsets last year so I bought a set and had to pre-order them with my dealer. The damn things are made in Taiwan....

If I had known that, they would never have been purchased. Even worse, I still find myself reaching for the Snap-ons when working on a flywheel or other limited access areas that are similar to that. The only time I have used the Matco's is on older USA (SAE) iron and that just seems wrong.

If COO doesn't matter, buy a set of Gearwrench's zero offset (same as Matco). If you want USA, buy the Snap-on wrenches.
 
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duanedragon

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I prefer zero offset long pattern gearwrenches. For non-ratcheting wrenches I like the standard combination box and open end wrenches in the longest pattern I can get.
 
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Skin

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Yes the MAC ones are made in Taiwan now. Snap-On and Matco are the only two that i know of that make a wrench that you described in the US. Cornwell's zero degree long box wrenches, while made in the US, are not the same as they do not have the extension to the box ends, its just a normal box end thats flush with the beam.

Honestly if you're after functionality i'd get the GearWrench gearbox wrenches with one side ratcheting. Nobody else makes them (aside from a Matco rebrand).
 
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scott37300

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Lots of great advice in here. I see why I couldn't find them on the snap on site, they don't have them under wrenches for some reason, they are hiden under high performance/spline. Those gearwrench gearboxes look pretty nice also, not sure if I would want each size to have it's own wrench and I already have ratcheting wrenches so I think I would rather just have the genious set that has less wrenches to make a set.

I'm leaning towards the genious set right now for 80 bucks. Seems like the best deal and they look identical to the MAC ones I used which I really liked. My friend said he paid 320 for the mac ones off the truck! And they aren't even made in the US. Crazy.
 
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amolaver

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i've got the genius set, the double box gearwrench long pattern set (one box ratchets, the other is fixed), and a set of gearwrench long pattern combos that are zero offset (non-reversible). i like them all, each has specific uses. the genius set has an 'extended box' if you will, so while its zero offset, you get some space between the beam of the wrench and the work. of course, it doesn't ratchet, so i typically use that to back up an impact or the gearwrench ratcheting end. the genius have a great finish on them and even the brand stamping has a very tool truck look to it. i keep them in my track box since they store so compactly.

occasionally, that extended box can get in the way when there is little clearance between a nut/bolt and something 'above' it, so in those cases the non-ratcheting end of the double box gearwrench set works well.

the zero offset combo wrenches are my go-to set and i use them probably 10x more than anything else. with gw's FD+ implementation, the open end is much less likely to round stuff off and the ratcheting ends have yet to fail me.

what else do you want to know?

ahm
 
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cortez

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So "Non-reversible" equals Zero offset??? (Zero offset equals non-reversible) I banged my head trying not to post a "what is a Zero offset wrench"

Thanks for the clarification!!! :lol_hitti:lol_hitti
 
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wafrederick

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I have the Matco set and broke one so far.I did get it replaced under warranty with no problems.I use the 17mmx18mm on GM front wheel drive torque converter bolts.
 
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freeskier

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where can i buy a full set of those Genius extra long zero offsets like in the photobucket pic on the first page? cornwell's sets are goin for 200$+ used on ebay and there isnt a dealer for miles.
 
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amolaver

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cortez said:
So "Non-reversible" equals Zero offset??? (Zero offset equals non-reversible) I banged my head trying not to post a "what is a Zero offset wrench"

Thanks for the clarification!!! :lol_hitti:lol_hitti
Click to expand...

i'll try and clarify. to my understanding, offset refers to the angle of the working portion of the wrench vs the beam. almost all 'typical' combination (open/box) wrenches have the box end on a 15 degree offset. in cortez's post, the first and second picture both show 10 degree offset wrenches. in the images, you see three renderings of each type of wrench, all from different perspectives. the middle perspective shows the heads of each wrench with with the number '10' next to them indicative of the angle they are 'offset' from the beam.

the third image is, as i know it, a design unique to hazet. it is zero offset per my description above - the head is in the same plane as the beam - but it is 'rotated' such that the beam does not intersect the box end along the radius line. its interesting, but i'm not sure what the advantage is. for a given beam length, you'd have less leverage, and i think the force vector is less effective, although i could be wrong about that. sure looks nice though :)

so imagine a ratcheting box end wrench. if it doesn't reverse, you have to flip it over to go the other direction, right? if it is offset (as defined above), in one direction you'd have clearance from the work, but when you tried to flip it over, your hand and the beam of the wrench would be angled beneath the level of the nut/bolt. so...in gearwrench's case, if the ratcheting end is non-reversible, it is a zero offset design (at least so far as i know). i'm not aware of any gearwrench, non-reversibles, that are offset.

this is one of their zero offset double box (non reversible) sets http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000T8WFBU/?tag=atomicindus08-20 and this is a combo wrench set with the same zero offset box end http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HBDX60/?tag=atomicindus08-20

versus one of their reversible ratcheting combination sets http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HBF5SY/?tag=atomicindus08-20 (the description says 15 'percent' offset but it should be degrees).

ahm
 
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KEH

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Ran into the same situation with loose bolts holding the engine to the transmission on a Zetor tractor. Tightness is important because the engine and transmission bolted together support the tractor instead of having a frame. Bolts were a mix of 17 and 18 mm as I recall, and were impossible to get to with sockets, except for a couple. Normal box end wrenches had too deep an offset. I used combination wrenches but couldn't get enough leverage to tighten adequately. I had to use a large diameter pipe to fit over the jaws of the open end to use as a cheater bar. Now I have 2 Craftsman box end wrenches that have the right sizes between them and I can use a smaller diameter pipe as a cheater bar. A zero offset probably would work, but the offset in a regular Craftsman or other combination wrench is better.

KEH
 
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amolaver

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just for a little more information, i have all three sets i referenced; the genius, the gearwrench double box, and the XL combos. the genius are the longest of all of them, but have two sizes per wrench (8+10, 9+11, etc). ***** when you want to use the 8mm to hold a nut and the 10mm to spin a bolt... granted, one side you can usually get some other drive tool on, but you get the point. while they are long, the included holder lets them take up minimal room in your box - its really nice not to have to buy another wrench holder to maximize drawer usage. obviously, the genius are not ratcheting. the combo wrenches have gearwrench's FD+ knockoff on the open end and it works.. the gearwrench double box set also has the 'extended/deep box' on the non-ratcheting end similar to the genius.

if i was going to buy one set, it would probably be the gw double box set - having the extended box on the fixed side, but ratcheting on the other is convenient. they are also longer than most other LP wrenches (although the genius is longer still). the gw does come with a GIANT blow mold case which wastes a ton of room - need to replace it w/a wrenchrack or MTS so i can recover a drawer...

ahm
 
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