Stuck Lug Bolts

[Mark R]

What manufacturer is the 36" breaker bar?  I used to have a 32" or 36"
breaker bar and here's how I lost it:
My plant manager was displaying a cut lip and broken tooth to my mother as
he told us about how his really long breaker bar snapped and hit his face.
By his own admission, it was made in China.  Anyhow, my mother decided that
one of my favorite tools, my 3/4" super-long breaker bar needed to
disappear.  I laughed, and said it was a major brand, not made in China, and
I'm careful.  Fast-forward a month or two.  Guess what's missing?

I've got a large tool box filled with all kinds of expensive SK, Facom,
torque wrenches, specialty tools, etc.  The ONLY thing mission was my 3/4"
breaker bar and attached 3/4" to 1/2" adapter.  To this day, she denies
taking it.

Since then, I've been hunting for a replacement.  Snap-On and SK have 24" or
25", but nothing 30+ inches in either 3/4" or 1/2" drive.  Same with
Stanley/Proto, etc.  I swore my old 3/4" was a Proto, but I must be
incorrect.  So any leads would be appreciated.  And I'll buy 3.  One for my
tool box, one for the track, and one for my mother!

Mark Rosenkrantz


On 10/6/06, Abe Berman <yellowcuda at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thank you to all those who provided BTDT's and advice.  I was able to
> remove the remainder of the lug bolts yesterday.
>
> Casualties of the battle were a couple of junkyard acquired Audi/VAG
> lug wrenches that cracked from used a cheater pipe on the end (don't
> worry, plenty more where those came from) and a sears 17MM laser
> etched socket, that cracked right away when using 3 foot breaker bar
> plus 3 foot cheater bar.  Once again, Sears happily replaced it when I
> went and picked up a 17MM deep impact 6 point socket for $10.99 last
> night.
>
> After soaking the bolts daily in Kroil all week and then hammering the
> heads with a 32oz hammer and a cruddy el-cheapo 6" extension I had
> lying around as a "drift" I was able to crack all of the bolts with
> the breaker bar and cheater with relative ease and no damage to the
> wheels.
>
> FYI, the airgun that I was using at the shop around the corner was
> pretty beefy, apparently the kroil all week and the hammering did the
> trick.
>
> I will be order a few fresh lug bolts to replace the semi rounded ones
> and cleaning the others with a wire brush and the vice.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Abe
>