Wheel Change

Bought a extendable 'persuader bar' for wheel nuts from Halfords a year or so back. can't remember how much it was, but it was cheap enough and did the job.

Assuming you have a socket set, get a two foot long breaker bar. That will shift anything on a car. Cheaper than a mini torque gun, and more use for other things. Just don't tighten the wheel nuts with it.;-) Even if you don't have a socket set you could buy just the one socket.

wrench them its hard

noticed argos are

or can advise

bank) :).

Unless you've actually tried one, I don't think they can be dismissed that easily. Admittedly they look to be cheap and nasty, but have you actually used one? I have, and whilst they don't appear to be a tool that will give years of service, they do work, and will undo wheel nuts that would otherwise be difficult with a std wheelbrace. I think they're good value.

For wheel nuts alone, a breaker bar is probably a better choice, but one advantage of an impact gun, which is what these actually are, is that they will also undo nuts on parts that would normally need to be prevented from rotating, like crankshaft, or camshaft pulley nuts. They're also useful where the use of a breaker bar is either difficult or just not practical. The 1/2" square drive makes it useful if you also have a 1/2" socket set.

£20 is hardly going to break the bank, and IMO, for occasional use one is well worth consideration. Even a cheap compressor and airgun is an expensive buy if you don't need to use one very often. Mike.

Gunson are doing a wheel nut gun - have a look at

in the shop - I'm also thinking of getting it for my wife so she doesn't have to ring me :-) don't no how good it would be thou

Martin

"Marty1a" mumbled:

Same one as Argos are doing...for a bit less I think.

wrench them its

noticed argos are

or can advise

bank) :).

in the

doesn't have to

Good enough. Read my earlier post. Mike.

in the

doesn't have to

The Gunson one is the same. At double the Argos price. Mike.

Standard Gunson pricing, then. ;-)

That just doesn't make sense to me - if we're talking about a tool to carry around in the car, where it will sit unused for many months, what is the sense in relying on something which requires power, and a working switch/motor, over a simple (and cheap) 2' breaker?

And for workshop use, I'd be surprised if one of those lasted more than a week.

Both my car and my partner's have 2' breakers in the boot, and a selection of 1/2" car nut sockets (17/19/21/23mm). Very handy things.

They don't tend to roll off the nut. Which can be a real issue with locking wheel nuts.

The impact wrench kit from Argos looks excellent value at £19.99. I might just buy one tomorrow. What have you got to lose with a 12 month warranty. Personally, I use a torque wrench for tightening wheel nuts, and I wouldn't trust most garages to empty my ashtray.

Terry D.

"Terry D" mumbled:

The fact that though it "functions" it isn't actualy much use?

Well,

To be honest, its no fun on a friday evening trying to get the wheel off.

Could anyone who used the product in question ? verify if its good enough to be bought ?.

I bought a socket set with a lifetime guarantee and I treat it rough, extending it with other tools and standing (not jumping - that's likely to round nuts) on the end. I expected it to give way a long time ago, but it didn't happen. I do still have the receipt!

It's worth putting oil on stiff nuts and letting it soak in before attacking. WD40 or diesel work well. Also I find cursing the last garage mechanic who worked on the car helps.

Once you get the nuts off, put a drop of oil or some grease on the bolt before putting everything back together. This can avoid the same problem the next time you want to take the nuts off in a couple of years' time.

I'll bet she still does. It's far more likely she doesn't like getting all dirty heaving spare wheels and jacks around, so makes tight nuts an excuse.

"shazzbat" mumbled:

You can get telescopic levers with a reversible 17/19mm socket on the end. They're about 20" long when extended...and provided you don't buy one that's made of lead (there are several almost identical brands out there) they're super.

"Mike G" mumbled:

Just a guess, and I ain't going to spend money to confirm it! I'm sure everyone here has seen products which they could tell at a glance aren't worth having 'cos they're tacky gimmicks...and my feeling it this is one of 'em.

Could be wrong and would be happy to be disproved by someone who's gone and bought one and tried it on really stiff nuts.

It functions so it's not much use? Work that one out. I know someone who has one of these and said it works quite well, personally I would stick with manually getting a nut or bolt off without using this gadget. I think it's ok for the DIY user as with all motorised tools it just saves you time and effort (supposedly).

Dave

Seconded. Got mine from a car boot for circa £2.