9mm wrench in San Diego? - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

uberwasser · #61 01-02-2014, 09:10 PM

Fascinating!

Phil_F_NM · #62 01-02-2014, 09:19 PM

I have a sometimes debilitating case of combat PTSD with heavy anxiety and traumatic brain injury but I never use it as an excuse for any behavior other than my memory being bad and those are obvious cases, in-person, not online. I forget short term conversation points and in said conversations, I will graciously apologize.

We all have our issues and we've all made it this far in life to get onto a forum and pose questions or give advice regarding experience we have with cars we own or have owned. If we've made it this far in life, we can certainly carry on here with a lot less sarcasm, snark and entitlement than has been shown.

There is no need to attack another member's upbringing, that shows a complete lack of class and tact. It's simply immature and uncalled for.

Phil Forrest

minsk · #63 01-03-2014, 11:36 AM

im a fan of the 6 point wrenches...less chance for stripping.

Mölyapina · #64 01-03-2014, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minsk

im a fan of the 6 point wrenches...less chance for stripping.

Same here. I'm slowly converting to all 6-point. The hard one is finding 6-point box wrenches.

sixto · #65 01-03-2014, 04:17 PM

Keep the 12 points. You never know when you'll be in a tight spot where you can't swing a 6 point wrench 60* degrees.

Sixto
87 300D

Mölyapina · #66 01-03-2014, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixto

Keep the 12 points. You never know when you'll be in a tight spot where you can't swing a 6 point wrench 60* degrees.

Sixto
87 300D

Oh, I'm not throwing away any tools, just buying more

.

Stretch · #67 01-04-2014, 04:43 AM

Weird - I read this (or something like it) quite a lot =>

Quote:

Originally Posted by minsk

im a fan of the 6 point wrenches...less chance for stripping.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jooseppi Luna

Same here. I'm slowly converting to all 6-point. The hard one is finding 6-point box wrenches.

Six sided sockets are much more likely to damage stuff in my opinion.

I'm not going to go off on a "buy snap on" rant 'cos I have perhaps one snap on socket in my whole collection - I've only ever been able to justify the cost of Gedore, BGS or Sonic (all children of a lesser god I'm sure) but I've had much more luck with their 12 points than their 6.

The only 6 points that I like are those gucci fit any worn bolt head types like metrinch =>

Metrinch-tools - IF THIS CAN'T DO IT, NO TOOL CAN

Now these buggers are good - they grip on the sides of the flats not on the corners. This gripping on the corner effect is the main reason why a badly made or worn socket / poorly fitting bolt or nut slips. These sockets and spanners are bloody fantastic six sided things. If I had a six sided fetish these are the only ones I'd be adding to my wardrobe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixto

Keep the 12 points. You never know when you'll be in a tight spot where you can't swing a 6 point wrench 60* degrees.

Sixto
87 300D

X2

Much more versatile!

Shortsguy1 · #68 01-04-2014, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stretch

Six sided sockets are much more likely to damage stuff in my opinion.

Stretch, could you clarify this more? How is a 6 sided socket more likely to damage the corners of a bolt than a 12 sided (assuming similar manufacturing tolerances)? I am having trouble picturing that.

When applying high torque to remove a siezed/rusted bolt, I find that 12 point sockets tend to rotate off the bolt or nut. It is hard to apply all the torque in the correct direction, so there is always some off axis torque. I find the socket is less likely to slip off if it has 6 sides. Is your experience the opposite?

layback40 · #69 01-04-2014, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stretch

Six sided sockets are much more likely to damage stuff in my opinion.

On this we disagree !
When ever I destroy a socket I replace it with an impact socket. They dont break & they are 6 point. I have broken a few heads off bolts with them. 12 point just round the corners off.
The most important thing is to have a tight fitting socket.

vstech · #70 01-04-2014, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stretch

Six sided sockets are much more likely to damage stuff in my opinion.

weird... I'd rather have a cheap 6 point wrench vs a high end 12 point when dealing with brake or exhaust hardware... the 6 point is a tighter fit, and it's harder for a damaged head to slip through.

Mark DiSilvestro · #71 01-04-2014, 09:29 AM

A point in favor of adjustable 'crescent' wrenches -
While most of the generic ones are 'nut-rounders', I have a vintage set of genuine, unplated, American Crescent wrenches that are extremely precise and well made. I can often screw them down tighter on the fastener than a regular wrench. I sometimes use them in situations where a regular open-end, like a 10mm, won't work without rounding-off the hex.

Happy Motoring, Mark

tangofox007 · #72 01-04-2014, 09:47 AM

When it comes to gripping small, stubborn fasteners, it's hard to beat the Vice Grip models with the three-point grip. They contact every other flat on a hex and won't damage the fitting. They are especially good on line fittings where using a full-box six-point is not possible. (Obviously, access issues preclude their use in some situations.)

Part numbers 4LW, &LW, 10LW.

Stretch · #73 01-04-2014, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shortsguy1

Stretch, could you clarify this more? How is a 6 sided socket more likely to damage the corners of a bolt than a 12 sided (assuming similar manufacturing tolerances)? I am having trouble picturing that.

When applying high torque to remove a siezed/rusted bolt, I find that 12 point sockets tend to rotate off the bolt or nut. It is hard to apply all the torque in the correct direction, so there is always some off axis torque. I find the socket is less likely to slip off if it has 6 sides. Is your experience the opposite?

Quote:

Originally Posted by layback40

On this we disagree !
When ever I destroy a socket I replace it with an impact socket. They dont break & they are 6 point. I have broken a few heads off bolts with them. 12 point just round the corners off.
The most important thing is to have a tight fitting socket.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

weird... I'd rather have a cheap 6 point wrench vs a high end 12 point when dealing with brake or exhaust hardware... the 6 point is a tighter fit, and it's harder for a damaged head to slip through.

Well it looks like I'm in a minority - in my experience I've caused much less damage to hardware using 12 point sockets than I have with 6. The 12 point tools seem to be made better - well they fit better - and don't slip off as easily.

The only 6 sided sockets I like are my Metrinch ones (see link above) because the grip on the flats not the corners.

One thing is for sure, whether you are using 6es or 12s, if you are not on there properly you are much more likely to mess it up.

layback40 · #74 01-04-2014, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark DiSilvestro

A point in favor of adjustable 'crescent' wrenches -
While most of the generic ones are 'nut-rounders', I have a vintage set of genuine, unplated, American Crescent wrenches that are extremely precise and well made. I can often screw them down tighter on the fastener than a regular wrench. I sometimes use them in situations where a regular open-end, like a 10mm, won't work without rounding-off the hex.

Happy Motoring, Mark

When ever I see a generic one in a store, I try and wobble the moving jaw. Nearly every one will be loose. I once found one that was nice & tight. I purchased it & still have it. A tight moving jaw & good hard steel is the key to a good adjustable.

With regard to the OP looking for a 9mm, I have a cheap Chinese 8mm 6 point ring spanner that was a loose fit on 8mm. It fits 9mm nice & tight with a little force.

cth350 · #75 01-04-2014, 08:43 PM

geez, I step away for about two days and look what happens. Last time I was here, the kid was stuck in San Diego and needed a shop. I go back to work for two days and check back in at the end of a quiet Saturday and I find a long winded skirmish and some truly interesting tools from NASA.

Having fast forwarded through four pages of material, I just wanted to add...
- a socket is a great way to break a bleed screw unless you have the discipline to use a torque wrench.
- 6 point tools are essential and I have made sure to always buy them. So when I was flat on my back in a pick & pull under a 190E 2.6 to grab it's 5-speed and flywheel, I had some choice words for myself when I discovered that the right tool to remove the flywheel is a 12mm twelve point socket and I didn't have one handy.
- Give your mom a break. You may have plenty of reasons to be annoyed with her, but none of us are angles. You gotta start somewhere. See if you can make it through the movie "Because of Winn-Dixie", which was just on HBO an hour back and I got to watch it with my 8 year old. (don't ask, trust me and do it; have I ever steered you wrong?).
- I had another point to make about cresent wrenches, but I forget exactly what I wanted to say and I believe somebody else said enough about them.
- Thanks Phil, much appreciated.

-CTH
PS. Oh yeah, that other point was about a zero lash ratchet I read about in Skinned Knuckles I think. Basically using a one-way clutch like you would in an automatic transmission drive line. It's a ratchet style wrench without the pawl of a ratchet.