Stand on one end while you use your pipe on the other end, or get someone to pull on the pipe while you stand. You might have to do some gymnastics till you get it right if you are alone, but then there will nobody watching. Giving the nut a few "jerks" in the wrong direction might loosen it. Try that. It bends if force is applied on only one side. I have snapped a wrench, once. Bad material. []'s
Reference : changing tires for 40 years.
My 4-way is 2 feet long, thick, and has no noticeable flex. You can't beat a 4-way for speed, as you can spin off the nuts fast. I've used short ones in the past, and had no trouble with them. When I carried my tools with me, I used a 1/2 breaker to break them, and a speed wrench to crank them off. The 1/2 breaker flexed more than any 4-way I've used, and the speeder is more work than a 4-way. The only downside of a good 4-way is the space it takes. I've kept my lugs oiled with 30 weight until the last 20 years, when I started using anti-seize. I still wire brush them occasionally. But honestly, I haven't had a flat in at least 15 years, so only take wheels off for brake jobs or suspension work. When flats were more common, I carried a 1 1/2 ton hydraulic jack in my trunk. More compact than most jacks, just heavier. Now I just carry the jacks the came with my cars, but carry the big
4-way for trips.snipped-for-privacy@spamblocked.com posted for all of us...
NAPA usually has better grade equipment.
You may wish to invest in a torque wrench so the nuts are tightened properly. I would also avoid where you had the car serviced or wheels were touched.
Depending on how much DIY you perform an impact wrench may be an investment.
snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca posted for all of us...
+1 and Stumped ain't one of them...
I bought a Harbor Freight electric impact wrench specifically to remove a couple of damper tube bolts during a motorcycle fork project. It worked well and saved my bacon a couple of years later when I found The Hulk had torqued down the nuts on my new rims. It also came in handy to remove the sprocket nut that Suzuki installs with red Loctite.
High quality professional tool built for day in and day out use? Hell, no, but $50 well spent.
I've also gotten good services out of the electric impact wrench. First was Wel Bilt, and that broke. Since that time, I've had one or two HF, which do the job fairly well.
- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus
No longer.
I've shopped NAPA for over 40 yrs. Once an industry leader, now they're jes another crappy cheapo auto parts chain. All their tools are made in China, along with most everything else. You can't even buy windsheild wiper blade refills, anymore. Gotta buy the entire wiper blade assy. NAPA=CRAPA! ;)
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what auto supply store meets the grade these days?
Back when it was UAP here in Canada they carried decent stuff. When NAPA took over UAP we started getting all the cheap stuff. They used to be a supplier for garages / the trade - now they are just another "pep boys" clone.
It is still possible to get good stuff from NAPA, but they generally only carry the cheap crap in store.
Well, I'm finding I can often buy OEM from the dealer for the same price or less than I'd pay for the crap at Napa or Parts Source or Car Quest - so I usually go to the dealer to start with.
I've not noticed that at the NAPA here...I just bought a set of (I think Anco?) refills last month...
Do almost all parts there and I don't see much difference. I've never bought tools thru NAPA or any other parts place, though, to speak of, anyway, altho do have a couple S-K and Proto sets that came from there
50 yr or so ago. But, the change in what is available generally isn't just NAPA, it's almost universal so can't really fault them for trying to remain competitive.For the comment on dealer-priced OEM parts -- I've never found any such pricing to be even _close_ to being true...OEM parts are, ime, exorbitantly priced at dealerships. You can sometimes find them online for reasonable cost but I can't think of last time I've bought GM local if it wasn't an unavailable part otherwise...other than the "quick-lube" specials for their oil filters that are reasonable with the deal in the shop here, anyway. But the air filters are at least 50% higher plus the labor may run one for the Buick to $100 installed if let 'em...
| For the comment on dealer-priced OEM parts -- I've never found any such | pricing to be even _close_ to being true...OEM parts are, ime, | exorbitantly priced at dealerships.
For what it's worth.... I know that Toyota parts have always included the mechanic's markup of 66% when buying directly, which I find very sleazy. (If a mechanic pays $60 they add $40 as a hidden labor cost. Toyota would charge me $100 if I buy directly from them.)
I don't know if all dealers are like that. I thought it was a relatively new trick. But I learned something else recently: I've often gone to AutoZone in the past. There are several near me. But last year I went there for a muffler/tailpipe assembly for my pickup. There was a problem with it so I took it back. In the meantime I'd bought the exact same thing at a local, independent parts store. The indy store charged me about $80. AutoZone had charged me about $150. Both were the same after-market brand! So it seems that AutoZone is charging dealer prices for after-market parts. That possibility had never occurred to me. I'd just assumed they were the cheap option.
Always check a couple places for part prices. Hell I've bought O2 sensors from Amazon for 1/3 the price at O'Reillys (now Murrays.) $42 vs $150. As far as dealership OEM, very seldom can they match a parts place. Though I did buy a intake manifold gasket set at a Chevy dealer that was only 10 bucks more than the aftermarket equivalent. Even "body parts" like power window motor assemblies are much cheaper on the net when you can find them.
I usta go to the dealers. That is, until they started saving overhead by reducing parts invantory. Not all, but definitely Chrysler products. Last time I went to my Dodge dealer, they told me they no longer carried that part and recommended I try NAPA. So I was at the NAPA store and waiting in line with other customers and doing some grousing about dealers, when I noticed the guy I'd jes spoke to at the Dodge parts counter was in the back of the line I was standing in at the NAPA store. Ford seems to have all their parts, but at great cost. I don't like Fords.
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You jes named the last two remaining USA based hand tool mfrs. Believe me, that's not what NAPA is carrying, now.
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On 12/30/2014 11:17 AM, notbob wrote: ...
Not sure if it's corporate or not; I presume it's all local dealership option of what they want to spend their $$ on but certainly the GM dealership here has virtually nothing on hand any more. It's exceedingly annoying that virtually no repair can be completed owing to them not having parts in stock so must wait for them on top of the other shop time.
On 30 Dec 2014 17:17:11 GMT, notbob wrote:
Well, I used to be a died-in-the-wool Mopar man and Ford Hater. I still have a bit of a soft spot for Mopar - some would say it is somewhere in the middle of my skull but that's beside the point (and that wouldn't show if I combed my hair the other way!!) but I've taken a real liking to the Ford products. I had 2 Aerostars,a Pontiac Trans Sport then a PT Cruizer, and I'm now driving a Ranger. For my wife we had 2 Chryslers (LeBaron and New Yorker) then a Mystique and now the Taurus. The only one I'd likely never buy again was the Trans Sport. Try as hard as I could to like that vehicle, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I liked the PT but it didn't really suit my requirements for a "truck" so I found someone who liked it enough to give me a reasonable price, and found my current Ranger at a price I couldn't turn down. The only problems my last 3 fords (before the current two) had were minor electrical glitches and some transmission maintenance - plus a bit of expected body rust -they were far from new vehicles even when I bought them. My current 2 have given virtually no problems in the 3 plus years I've owned them. One is 13 years old, the other 19, with 90 and 327 thousand killometers respectively., purchased with 54 and 307 thousand. The aftermarket ar-starter on the Taurus has had a couple minor issues, and I put U-Joints in the Ranger. Other than that, not even a light bulb. Both are virtually original except for front brakes, and on the Ranger, a clutch (installed when I bought it)
So I really have no complaints with either Mopar or Ford. The darn Pontiac on the other hand, was a painfull experience from beginning to end - with stupid little things acting up every time I turned around.
My local Napa store can usually have what I need next day. So can my Ford dealer. I've had better luck with the dealer actually having the part on hand for my older model Fords than Napa or Parts Source - and at as good or better price. I usually know pretty well what I am going to need before I get too deep into a job, so usually order the parts ahead
I do some work on friends' and family's cars as well and have found the same (actually have bought more parts for friends' cars than my own over the last 10 years) - Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, and others.
Oh, I forgot one repair I needed to do on the Taurus. The rear wheel bearings got noisy. I cheaped out and ordered the bearings on-line from parts discounters - first ones were no good - didn't fit, second were not the right ones, and the third set - from Rock Auto finally did the job at half dealer price. The first 2 were from different suppliers. For the hassle I went through I could have bought them locally and had the job done a week earlier. Live and learn, I suppose.
Then you've got a sleazy Toyota dealer. Most dealers charge labour "by the book" and sell their parts at or below MSRP. You cannot buy parts directly from Toyota USA or Toyota Canada. I say at or below MSRP because if you have a good relationship with your counterman (and the dealer as a whole) they will often sell you parts at a discount, like they sell to independent garages.
I know. I was a Toyota dealer service manager for 10 years.
Just like ASS U MEing you always get a good deal at Walmart or Costco. Or any other "big box discounter" They have to pay for their expensive advertizing some way- - - .
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The "on the net" guy has a lot less overhead - half the time he doesn't even have or own the part you buy from him untill you buy it - and he never sees the part - it is drop shipped from a warehouse somewhere. Half the time the real good deals, price-whise, are close-outs - stuff that came off the shelf of some business that closed down because they could not compete - and often because nobody would buy product from them the second time due to bad quality and poor service provided trying to cut costs so they could always sell at the lowest price.
That's what happened with the first two sets of bearings I bought on-line - and even the set I eventually got from Rock were obviously returns or retail shelf items because the one box had been opened and the packaging and instruction papers were missing - the hub had worn through the cardboard box in shipping and it was totally covered in fine cardboard dust stuck to the preservative grease because the sealed plastic bag it had originally been packaged in was also missing.
"You want first quality oats you have to be willing to pay first quality price. If you are willing to settle for oats that have already been through the horse, they come a bit cheaper"
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