You know a bolt is on tight when you snap a socket from your expensive tool kit. I can understand a cheapy snapping, but this set wasnt cheap.

I was undoing the bolts (well, trying to) the ones that hold the mounting flange onto my front discs. I had the socket on a socket bar, with a 1 metre long breaker bar attatchment on it..... i heard "CRACK" and thought "... FINALLY its loose."..... nope. The socket came off in 2 pieces. And I also bent a wheel stud in the process

Whats the lesson here??? I dunno.... use RP7 or something to derust the bolts, I guess

Now I have the hard task of undoing the 1,5/16 nut on the driveshaft. The 1 metre breaker bar wasnt doing anything to it. I'm in trouble now.

Nothing has gone to plan this weekend.

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

they shouldnt break but i guess thats a pretty diumb thing to be saying to you lol...my ETC socket set has been horribly abused even run over by a log skidder a few times on purpose and its still fine.. some good sets have a lifetime warrantee on crap like that happening..

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No longer Ms Westwoods mini outside her original kings road shop

probably way out of it's initiat design to have all that weight on a socket..

Sidchrome have a lifetime warranty

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Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

Yeah... but you have to pay for sidchrome... my set was kinda free... still, not cheap to replace bits though

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

I was gonna say, dude, sockets ARE designed to twist nuts off, but I guess you mean the lateral load not the tortion?

Sorry to slightly hijack the thread, but does anyone have any experience using a rattle gun with ordinary sockets?

I don't have a gun yet, but don't what to wreck what I already have. Could not really justify the expense of a set of impact sockets as well. Would probably use them less than once a year.

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"Life is not like a box of chocolates... it's more like a jar of jalapenos. Whatever you do today, may burn your arse tomorrow."

That depends on if you want air powered tools or not....

Look at this one...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=22664&item=4359229817&rd=1

I bought the same set last year.

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

you'll find that Sidchrome and the others around the same quality will knock you back on warranty if they found out you were using a breaker bar that long - but how would they know??

If you say it was an expensive kit, what brand?? Most reasonable brands do have a lifetime warranty - try your luck??

Rattle gun NO GOOD with ordinary sockets. Not just the strength, but the shape of the sockets. Look at your ordinary sockets - 12 corner shape - only grips the corners of the bolt/nut. Impact sockets are hex shape snd fit nut exactly to grip it better. Even if your sockets stack up to the job, your bolts/nuts will end up rounder than a wheel!!

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Bob Slattery
Duffman Says A Lot of Things - OH YEAH!!

you gotta turn the nut in the right direction to loosen it....

You will find that ratlle gun sockets don't grip the corners of the nut/bolt head because they are sort of hollowed or rounded in the corners. They grip the flat edge. It prevent's you comletely destroying the nut/bolt head by making it ROUND!

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I know it's not a good idea to use ordinary sockets with rattlle guns but as a rule all the mechanics do it and I have been doing it for as long as I can remember. BUT, if you have a warranty claim they will look at the socket and can tell if it was used in a gun by the wear in the drive end. I have never broken a socket and for the price of impact sockets should buy a couple of sets. They used to be bloody expensive but there are some reasonable cheapies around these days.

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Chris

Everything I like is either
illegal, immoral or fattening.