The Broken Tools Thread

[PlayingWithTBI]

I have a 24HP Craftsman Professional mower where the deck under the brake/clutch collects grass and debris which won't allow the clutch to engage completely. Then it acts just like described above. It's hard to get to but, once I clean it out, I'm good for another year Of course, now that we moved to the desert, I don't mow anymore

 

[skylark]

Well this is a job that sucked. This era of F150 has stainless caps on the lug nuts that are a pain in the butt. They have a tendency to get stuck in a socket and several times we've destroyed sockets. These have a chrome covered plastic cladding that is glued to the wheels so you can't use heat. They corrode to the wheel and they can be a nightmare. This one is.

The best process that I've found is to chisel back the cap in two places and then chisel the end off and then chisel back the cap like you're peeling a banana. You can then pop a 3/4 socket on and hit it with an impact but that doesn't always work. So far we have about 3 hours of actual work and lots of broken tools. We broke a Snap On 1/2" ratchet, a Matco impact extension, a Mac impact extension and a brand spanking new Snap On chrome extension. Our Snap On guy is awesome. Whee I met him on the road to warranty the 1/2" ratchet he loaned us a 3/4" ratchet with a 3' handle and just handed me the chrome extension. When he offered the ratchet I said are you sure? I may need a cheater pipe on it. He said go for it.

First came the ratchet and a 4' cheater pipe. No love. Then an 8' pipe and that resulted in breaking the nut in half. Then the nut rounded. This required an extractor that was 1/2" drive. I cut the nut as far as I could without damaging the wheel and went after it. I then broke the Matco, Mac and Snap On extensions. This evening I met my Snap On guy over at his shop and picked up an impact extension set that I'll try tomorrow.

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[Erik the Awful]

There was a class-action lawsuit over those lugnuts, but it got dismissed. My son's Crown Vic had lugnuts covered in tin, and we peeled them before removal. It was a stupid move on Ford's part, and personally I think a lawsuit is warranted.

 

[stutaeng]

Yikes! I once used a 9' galvanized fence post as a cheater bar on my 18" Ridgid pipe wrench to remove the ball on the gooseneck my K3500 ranch truck came with when I first bought it. The ball was threaded into a huge nut welded to a channel underneath the bed. It worked, I was just laughing out loud at myself because no one else was around!

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

It was a stupid move on Ford's part, and personally I think a lawsuit is warranted.

We had to do that with my wife's Escape the 1st time we had the tires changed but, they came off pretty easily.

 

[thegawd]

Well now, how in the hell is anyone supposed to change a tire on the side of the road with lug nuts like that? those lug nuts should be illegal.

stupid furds!

 

[Frank Enstein]

Well now, how in the hell is anyone supposed to change a tire on the side of the road with lug nuts like that? those lug nuts should be illegal.

stupid furds!

Ford engineers get bonuses for making the vehicles harder to work on so the dealer makes more money fixing the vehicle or you just trade it in and get a new one per the retired Ford engineer that lived up the street from me.

 

[thegawd]

I absolutely believe it Frank. And the crazy devoted ford guys (I know a couple) do indeed buy a new one every 1-3 years. hell 3 years would be pushing it. at least Ford treats their customers like gold and will buy back a vehicle so they can sell them the newest one!

man I can't be bothered with all the needless crap that comes in today's rolling computers that are more for entertaining than for transportation.

I really couldnt imaging F'n with chrome plated lugnuts when chrome plated wheels are bad enough! I'll take polished aluminum over anything made of chrome.

 

[kennythewelder]

Ford engineers get bonuses for making the vehicles harder to work on so the dealer makes more money fixing the vehicle or you just trade it in and get a new one per the retired Ford engineer that lived up the street from me.

You just don't know, just how true that statement is. When I was a senior in high school (1977-1978) I got jod at our local Lincoln Mercury dealer 1/2 days in the afternoon, while I went to high school in the mornings. That was the time when the ECM for controlling spark advance was introduced by Ford for there vehicles. So all of the mechanics were bitching about Ford doing away with the point distributor system, and swapping over to a control module. So I asked our shop forman about this one day. His response was, yes the points are a simpler system, that anyone can work on, but if you can repair you vehicle yourself Ford is loosing money. Being a kid, I'm like???? What. He said, it's simple, Ford doesn't want you to be able to do your own repairs. If you have to bring your vehicle back to the dealer for repairs, that's more money the dealer will make. Man how true and correct He was. Today, you can't work on any new vehicle, for the most part. The days of old, when a shade tree mechanic could do his own repairs are long gone.

 

[someotherguy]

Those horrible "clad" lug nuts are used by all 3 of the "big 3" auto makers. It's the cheap way for them to make a mag-style lug nut without them being solid metal with chrome plating. Easier/cheaper in mass quantities for them to use a regular lug nut and cap it with a stainless steel cap (which also is way more rust-resistant than chrome plating.)

Late model Mopars are notorious for them (the chisel-banana-peeling move is well-known at this point) but they don't seem to seize to the wheels like the Ford example @skylark posted. They just round off after a few uses and you have to peel the cap to remove the lug.

GM used them in the 70's-80's, I seem to recall them on some squarebody trucks, maybe other applications, too. Yeah - those cool Oldsmobile Rally wheels used them, as well as other styled wheel setups. Not sure if GM us still using them; they have lug nuts on late model cars that look exactly like the Mopar stuff.

I swapped all my Mopars lugs out with Gorilla that have the same styling as the OEM but are solid and chromed. Way better..

Richard