Impact Sockets - CR-V or CR-Mo?

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I'm going to pick up a set of 1/2" drive impact sockets for axle nuts, so 34, 36mm and a few others. I'm not getting anything fancy, just a cheap(er) set on Amazon for shade-tree jobs. I see that I have two choices, chrome-moly and chrome-vanadium. Is there any reason to choose one over the other?
 
Cr-Mo is usually considered better, but if they are decent brand CR-V is good.
 
I always look for cro-mo. I always thought of vanadium as a harder metal, so i would worry about cracking.

I have the northern tool Klutch Cro- mo sockets, they have taken a lot of abuse.
 
Some of the best have cr-v on them but it is an alloy that also has molybdenum in the mix. Some just have "Chrome alloy" stamped in them, and these are not cheap chicom junk either, these are top shelf. Buy good ones and it doesn't matter what is stamped on the socket they are all alloys.
cheap chicom rubbish may be another story.
 
I would pick up the cheap impact set from Harbor freight.

fwiw all their better sets are cr-mo, the cheap ones CR-V

Also OP stated he wanted large size ones
Could do worse than Tekton through amazon.

or astro pneumatic has this set for $67 seems like a steal if you need those sizes.

  • Extra deep Precision Broached and forged from CR-MO with stamped and laser markings and lasting finish
  • Designed for an exact fit on both 6Pt and 12Pt axle nuts
  • Lifetime warranty, Includes 1/2" Drive sizes in: 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38 & 39mm
 
Depends on what you want to spend vs # of pieces. Plenty of people occasionally use Cr-V sockets without problems.

I would sooner prefer 6 pt over 12 pt more than Cr-Mo over Cr-V, but both together, even better if the size set you want, doesn't have a large price difference.
 
I have both in impact sockets depending on who makes them I prefer Chromoly mostly. The cheaper chrome vanadium ones have wallowed on the drive end whereas the cheaper chromoly ones haven’t. If you get chrome vanadium get a better set so they don’t wallow.
 
Depends on what you want to spend vs # of pieces. Plenty of people occasionally use Cr-V sockets without problems.

I would sooner prefer 6 pt over 12 pt more than Cr-Mo over Cr-V, but both together, even better if the size set you want, doesn't have a large price difference.
IIRC some cars need 12point.. maybe toyota.. I'm not a big axle nut person so its escaping me without using the power of google.
 
IIRC some cars need 12point.. maybe toyota.. I'm not a big axle nut person so its escaping me without using the power of google.
I still wouldn't get 12 pt as the first set, unless the budget was high, so very big set, and included 12pt as well as 6.

Do you mean that the axle nuts need 12pt? There is a lot we could assume or falsely so with the requirement "34, 36mm and a few others". Normally it's more important for a no-skip (sizes) set in the lower #'s then once you get up to mid-upper 20's, not as important not to skip steps. Granted, the lower #'s aren't all that important to be 1/2" drive in the first place. We don't have a lot of background info on what the OP has and based only on info provided, it could be as inexpensive to buy a piece at a time for a couple axle nut sizes mentioned... though personally, once I got impact sockets, I started using them everywhere they would fit, regardless of whether using an impact wrench or hand wrench. Why risk cracking a Cr-V chrome socket if a thicker impact will fit? AND, a thick 6 pt impact socket, has less chance of rounding a fastener... if, made to close tolerances which can work both ways, sometimes a high size precision socket means you have to file rust off a fastener to get it on, but that beats rounding the fastener when you can do it.

Guess it comes down to convenience in which socket drawer you have open.
 
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The Cr-V and the Cr-Mo content in impact sockets is vastly different to hand sockets.
Some years ago I spoke to Hazet at their factory about this because at the time the impact sockets has Cr-V stamped on them, ditto Stahlwille and some other top shelf brands.
The reason Cr-V is labeled on many tools is years ago that was the mark of a quality tool, the fact is the alloy is mostly iron. Too much Cr-V in the mix and its brittle, to much Cr-Mo and its too soft, throw a bit of each along with a pinch of boron and/or other things, harden it properly and you get tool steel.

The fact is the alloy used on those sockets contain a mix of both and other compounds in precise amounts in the mix to create an alloy that is strong enough to hold up to long term impact use and not wear quickly and not crack. Today they just have steel alloy on them to put and end to this better or worse thing.
There are not too many tool steels better than German tool steel, if they say its an alloy that will do the job and last in a high use environment its good enough for me. I have an old Dowidat impact somewhere that is stone old and it has Chrome Moly Vanadium stamped in it, sounds good but in reality it is no different.

12 point impact are a must if doing cv axles , I see more 12 point nuts all the time in 30, 36, 39, and a few others. Having 6 and 12 point is a must.
 
I would pick up the cheap impact set from Harbor freight.

I was skeptical about these, but have beat on the quite a bit and they have been fine. I started with the metric set and picked up the SAE set a while afterwards. They will be fine for the average person.
 
Thanks for the feedback fellas. I decided to go with the Harbor Freight set since I need them quickly, I forget they carry a decent assortment of automotive tools. In hindsight, I wish I had gone with Amazon as those sets are 9 piece for the same price as the HF 7 piece. By all appearances, the HF set look like cheap Chinese tools, probably comparable quality to what comes from Amazon. Even though it's unlikely I'd need all nine sizes, the larger assortment is handy to have for installing seals.

They spun my axle nuts off fine, so they seem good enough for what I need. For the one or two times a year (if that) I'll use them, I'm sure they'll last a long time.

I'll wait till I have a need before I buy a 12 point set. Haven't run across an axle nut with that configuration yet.
 
Thanks for the feedback fellas. I decided to go with the Harbor Freight set since I need them quickly, I forget they carry a decent assortment of automotive tools. In hindsight, I wish I had gone with Amazon as those sets are 9 piece for the same price as the HF 7 piece. By all appearances, the HF set look like cheap Chinese tools, probably comparable quality to what comes from Amazon. Even though it's unlikely I'd need all nine sizes, the larger assortment is handy to have for installing seals.

They spun my axle nuts off fine, so they seem good enough for what I need. For the one or two times a year (if that) I'll use them, I'm sure they'll last a long time.
Did you get the China or Taiwan ones? They have two different ones the China are chrome vanadium the Taiwan are chromoly.
 
Did you get the China or Taiwan ones? They have two different ones the China are chrome vanadium the Taiwan are chromoly.
The ones I got are made in China. Pretty sure that's all they had on the shelf, but I sent the wife to grab them, so I'm not certain.

Interestingly, HF website shows Cr-Mo for all their axle socket set SKUs. There's three possible SKUs, I assumed that's because they've been revised / moved to different (cheaper) overseas factories a couple times.. Since their website offers no mention of Cr-V, I figured they were all Cr-Mo; this particular set doesn't mention the alloy used.
 
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