24" Unbreakable Breaker Bar ?

[demarpaint]

I have the HF 25" breaker bar, in fact I have a few of them. I keep one in each of my vehicles with a short extension and socket for the lug nuts. I paid under $10 for them and have to say it was money well spent. I'm sure they can be broken, anything can be broken, but for normal breaker bar tasks it was money well spent for me.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: cmorr
I have the 25" HF breaker bar, a short extension and appropriate deep socket in every car I own so I am not forced to use the stock lug wrench


I do exactly the same thing! And I do get good use out of it.

 

[JHZR2]

I was thinking about doing the same thing, at least to bring on long trips. Got caught in a situation where standing on my OEM lug wrench would not loosen the bolts...

 

[y_p_w]

The last time I had tires installed I was watching the installation from the parking lot. They used an impact socket first tuned to less than the OEM spec, and then used a torque wrench on all the lug nuts. I figure it should be easy to get off. Before that, I pulled a muscle trying to take off the flat to install the spare.

 

[JHZR2]

I was just in a Snap On truck today and saw they had a 36" breaker bar that has an easilt replaceable 1/2" square drive - he made it sound like they rebuild these things in the truck a lot, and that the new design makes it easier...

But it was like $170. I like Snap-on stuff, but I think I can buy two US made S-K bars and a long length of pipe for that much...

 

[yonyon]

I have had almost nothing but good experiences with my Snap On 1/2" breaker bar. I let the strong guy of the shop borrow it to try unscrewing a ball joint (screw-in ball joints can be a pain) and he was having some difficulty so he put an 8 foot pipe on it. That wasn't good enough so we got the fat guy to run and slam into him while he was pushing. The bar bent about 15 degrees but didn't break and did crack the ball joint free.

Of course if you let the screw come loose the bar will snap pff just loosening brake caliper bolts.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I don't expect $10 breaker bar will lasted as long as $100 one. But for $40 I can have 1 for each of my family 4 cars. It one breaks HF will replace it free of charge, no better deal than that.

 

[JHZR2]

Less a concern of it lasting, but instead if/how it fails, the potential to cause injury, etc. if I'm going to be jumping on it roadside to free a seized lug bolt, I don't want it cracking and causing a fall that could be dangerous.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Less a concern of it lasting, but instead if/how it fails, the potential to cause injury, etc. if I'm going to be jumping on it roadside to free a seized lug bolt, I don't want it cracking and causing a fall that could be dangerous.


Those lug nuts would have to be verrrry tight. I've used the HF breaker bar with 2' of pipe to extend it, other that a what felt like a little flex it worked fine.

 

[JHZR2]

Not tight, seized. On my 20 YO BMW. One of these days Ill break a breaker bar head trying to release. They tend to seize up every time...

I did hit a piece of metal and was on the side of the road jumping on the OE lug wrench, which wasnt long or stiff enough. No luck. So something longer is desirable.

 

[AccordV6MN]

Just go hardware store and get a 1" black pipe with schedule 40 and cut to length. Make sure the ratchet you have will go into the pipe. Probably cost you 10-20 dollars.

 

[Dan55]

I bought this one a few years ago, cost me $29, it is oversized and says Guaranteed for life on the handle. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accesso...ier=560039_0_0_

 

[SubLGT]

If the 1/2" drive bar breaks, another option is to go with a $20 3/4" drive 20" bar from HF:
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarter-inch-drive-20-inch-quick-release-breaker-bar-98270.html

They claim it is good up to 750 ft-lb.

 

[THE_TROTS]

I have broken two of the Harbor Freight 25" half inch drive breaker bars. One was the fault of a coworker, and the bar bent 5 inches below the handle.

The second one, the cheap chinese steel just couldn't take it. It snapped at the narrow end by the flex joint.

They are good for light duty stuff but you might want to look elsewhere if you are going to put a lot of torque on this tool.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: THE_TROTS


The second one, the cheap chinese steel just couldn't take it. It snapped at the narrow end by the flex joint.


They're made in Taiwan, not China. At least they were the last time I looked at them, which was pretty recently.

 

[Traction]

Like posted before, get a 3/4 breaker bar and use adapter for 1/2 drive. The best cheater bar, if you have a aluminum floor jack, is pop out the handle and use that. My favorite lug wrench, and can be used as a breaker bar is the Gorilla wrench with the extendable handle. Perfect angle.

 

[THE_TROTS]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Originally Posted By: THE_TROTS


The second one, the cheap chinese steel just couldn't take it. It snapped at the narrow end by the flex joint.


They're made in Taiwan, not China. At least they were the last time I looked at them, which was pretty recently.


Both of mine were made in China, along with everything else I have ever purchased from Harbor Freight.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: THE_TROTS
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Originally Posted By: THE_TROTS


The second one, the cheap chinese steel just couldn't take it. It snapped at the narrow end by the flex joint.


They're made in Taiwan, not China. At least they were the last time I looked at them, which was pretty recently.


Both of mine were made in China, along with everything else I have ever purchased from Harbor Freight.


You're either misremembering or the breaker bars you had are different than the ones they sell now. I just happened to be at HF today and snapped a couple pics.

HF has lots of Chinese items, but they've been introducing more Taiwanese items. Many of the newer, improved hand tools are Taiwanese, although the cheapest ones are still sometimes Chinese. The well-regarded Earthquake impact wrenches are Taiwanese, too, just for another example.

 

[THE_TROTS]

I wish mine was made in Taiwan. They are slightly thicker overall, with a beefier flex joint, and a nicer, more comfortable handle.

My Harbor Freight store, Westland, Michigan, only carries the Chinese made ones. What your local store carries does not mean every other store carries the same items with the same country of manufacture.

 

[stephen9666]

In the discussions I've read about the HF breaker bar I've never heard about a different Chinese version.

Are you sure yours isn't an old one that's no longer sold?