[ahmedb]

Without spending an arm and a leg, what's a reasonable 19mm telescopic wrench out there that can remove wheel bolts easily and not risk damaging the lug holes of my wheels? Are Halfords Teng tools decent?

I've tried a cheapo £5 one off ebay which was good for about 3 or 4 uses, now the click on socket attachment has become quite loose and the wrench just slips off the bolts. I am dreading slipping and scuffing my wheels.

Ideally after something telescopic to reduce the strain when bolts get too tight.

[Aragorn30d]

arent the wheel bolts 17mm?

If the bolts are torqued correctly you dont need anything fancy. A standard 1/2" drive ratchet or fixed bar is more than enough to loosen wheel bolts.

This:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BERGEN-Too...8AAOSw3ydV00FL

and a suitable 17mm socket like this with the plastic sleeve to protect your wheels:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Draper-Exp...MAAOSwDNdVgpbG

[Rich_D]

I got one for Aldi or Lidl years ago and it's still going strong

[ahmedb]

Originally Posted by Rich_D

I got one for Aldi or Lidl years ago and it's still going strong

That's the kind of thing I need, I'm thinking to just go with Halfords as it is low hassle and should be decent quality.

Better than paying £10 to a local tyre garage each time I want to swap wheels over and very handy when cleaning arches etc.

[Aragorn30d]

Get a plastic covered socket or you'll regret it!

I dislike the various "telescopic" ones because they put the lever at an angle to the bolt. You want to be applying the torque at 90 degrees, not at 50 degrees, much more risk that it'll slip etc when you're applying the force at the wrong angle.

[ahmedb]

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

Get a plastic covered socket or you'll regret it!

I dislike the various "telescopic" ones because they put the lever at an angle to the bolt. You want to be applying the torque at 90 degrees, not at 50 degrees, much more risk that it'll slip etc when you're applying the force at the wrong angle.

I think that's what's been happening with my current telescopic wrench. The angle starts to slip when applying some load.

I also have one of those 4 way X shape wrenches, it's great once the bolt has been loosened a little but to tighten to or loosen from adequately tightened bolts is almost impossible.

[Aragorn30d]

Just get a proper breaker bar and socket like i linked to above.

FWIW, a properly torqued bolt that isnt overtightened would come out just fine with your X wheel brace. Garages often wildly overtighten them by doing them up with the air gun.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

Just get a proper breaker bar and socket like i linked to above.

FWIW, a properly torqued bolt that isnt overtightened would come out just fine with your X wheel brace. Garages often wildly overtighten them by doing them up with the air gun.

Agree, a decent breaker bar and protected socket does the job both easily and safely.

For those changing wheels, don't forget a torque wrench is a good investment for correct tightening.

[ahmedb]

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

Just get a proper breaker bar and socket like i linked to above.

FWIW, a properly torqued bolt that isnt overtightened would come out just fine with your X wheel brace. Garages often wildly overtighten them by doing them up with the air gun.

Question, if I get a breaker bar, do I need an extension bar that connects to the 90 degrees rotating end piece and attach the socket to that?

[IanS100]

Originally Posted by ahmedb

Question, if I get a breaker bar, do I need an extension bar that connects to the 90 degrees rotating end piece and attach the socket to that?

A short one will save you skinning your knuckles and less likely to knock paint off the wheels

[Aragorn30d]

depends on the wheels etc. I sometimes use one, sometimes dont, just depends what i'm doing.

The breaker bars with knuckles mean you can put the bar at a shallow angle to come out clear of the wheel, and thus dont usually need one. Get the bits and see what you think. Then if you feel its too close buy the extension.

The protected sockets are quite long, which helps a lot.

[kiel_dafo_kenyg_as]

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

FWIW, a properly torqued bolt that isnt overtightened would come out just fine with your X wheel brace.

Amen.
If the bolt wont come out it was overtightened.
When changing summer/winter tires I have seen people jumping on the wrench to tighten the bolts, leading to at least 5x more torque than acceptable