Geared Lug Wrench - how NOT to use it & extra info

[number9]

I finally used the Geared Lug Wrench this weekend....... and broke it. I had read the PS mag article as well as the Ken-Tool pdf that are posted on this site. Both are geared toward describing how to remove the rear dual nuts - ie. budd nut and the outer lug nut - not specifically JUST the outer lug nut like on the front wheels.

I remembered the section attached below about running the bar handle through both holes and using it to remove the outer lug nuts. What I didn't remember was this was AFTER you break it loose.

I put the short bar handle through both holes and then slid the long tube handle over it for extra leverage and put my back into it. The lug nuts broke loose but it took some doing and a few of them made a really good POP - I suspect now that one of those pops was obviously the "pinion stud" (shoulder bolt) that holds the secondary gear on the wrench body.

Luckily, the threaded portion broke off and I was still able to use the wrench to get the front wheels changed out. This wrench works SLICK and GREAT when used correctly.

I emailed Ken-Tool today with the following.......

Hello, I have a Military Surplus version of the TR43 Basic Power Wrench Set - only it came with a 20 1/2" bar handle and a 36" tube handle. I was using it this weekend and the Pinion Stud & Nut broke. I need to purchase a replacement. I see from your parts manual that this should be part # TR48A assuming the design of the tool has not changed from the tool that I have. How do I order a replacement? Also, how do I confirm that the current design of the tool is the same as the tool I have? I have included 3 pictures of the tool.

and here was their response......

See comments from my Engineer, below.


The wrench shown is very old. We are in the 3rd generation of the tool and this is the first generation. I can't be sure of the length of the shoulder of the bolt. The shoulder on our current bolt is 1-61/64 inches. If this size is the same as the shoulder of the broken bolt he can purchase the part. The shoulder is from under the head of the bolt to where the threads start. The part is a TR48A pinion stud.

I measured the shoulder and it IS the same, so if anyone else has this happen, you now know a replacement can be had. I don't have cost for the part yet but will update post when I get it from her tomorrow.

ETA - the process in the pics below is the correct way to use the wrench when working on just the outer lug nuts. Let the long tube handle react against the ground and pull on the short bar handle to do the work.

ETA #2 - forgot to include the PS mag pic I was thinking of when I broke the tool.

......

 

[stumps]

Wow! I wouldn't have thought that would break the shoulder bolt... but I can see how it might. I wonder if the shoulder bolt was defective in some way?

Putting the body on a jack stand and using the bar against the ground is certainly better from a leverage perspective. I wonder why the PS magazine article missed mentioning that?

The primary purpose behind the geared lug wrench is to allow you to loosen the outer nuts on the rear wheel lugs without risk of the inner budd nut/thimble loosening from the stud before the outer nut loosens from the budd nut/thimble.

-Chuck

 

[wreckerman893]

This is why I have a 1" air wrench.....I used those wretched inventions of the devil in the army and lost a lot of skin for my trouble.....they will bite the ell out of you if you get flesh in those gears when trying to put it on a nut.
A big pull bar with a cheater pipe will give you just as much leverage. You can also use the jackstand with it.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Sure is a help having one when your porkchop goes missing.

 

[rizzo]

Sure is a help having one when your porkchop goes missing.

 

[gimpyrobb]

WM, you just have to be smarter than the device you are using!!

 

[m16ty]

I've got a geared lugwrench but like Wreckerman, I don't use it because I've got a 1" impact .

It does sound like Ken Tool has some good customer service. Most places would just tell you that that model was obsolete and wouldn't go through the trouble to tell you what part may work or get the engineer involved.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I want to know how much the replacement will be. Usually, its more than what you paid for the whole dang thing. I hope this is not the case for you.

 

[jatonka]

Kenny, I know that porkchop feeling, so I have two under the bench and one in the RoboTool bag. I never need them any more since RAM convinced me I needed a geared lug wrench, he was a very wise man. JT Oh, and he made money off me every time he showed me something I needed. He was a very wise man.

 

[kipman]

WOW, did not know those things could be hurt like that.

 

[number9]

You know, actually I had an impact with me and was within 20' of a big IR air compressor and probably a couple 1" impacts. I just wanted to use the geared wrench to see how it worked and how it would do in a worst case scenario. I definitely plan to carry it on the truck when I get a locking storage box sorted out and mounted somewhere to keep it in.

.........

 

[5ton4ever]

when I get a new truck I use the 1 inch impact to loosen all the lugs then re-tighten them. That way if I have a problem on the road, I can get them off with the manual wrench because they have not been stuck on for who knows how many years. plus, knowing lefty loosy and righty tighty (exept on left hand threads) does not hurt.

 

[Westex]

Anybody use those big 1" impacts off a bottle of CO2?

 

[surfdog]

Sure is a help having one when your porkchop goes missing.

May be a stupid question, BUT... what's a porkchop?

The only porkchop I know tastes really good with applesauce.

 

[mactiredearg]

 

[stumps]

May be a stupid question, BUT... what's a porkchop?

The only porkchop I know tastes really good with applesauce.

A pork chop wrench is a short husky box wrench that is used to hold the outer hex lug nut while you re-tighten the inner square budd nut. The pork chop is short enough that it will swing against an adjacent lug nut and keep the lug nut you are working on from turning.

It becomes necessary to use a pork chop when the outer hex lug nut, or the budd thimble, is rusty, or bunged up, and would rather spin the inner budd nut/thimble loose than loosen itself.

One of the downsides of using a 1 inch impact wrench to attempt to loosen the outer hex lug nuts is if they are bunged up, or rusty, the wrench will spin both the hex lug nut and the budd nut/thimble. This can very quickly ruin your rim, and turn your wheel into a wobbler.

The geared lug wrench's main purpose is to allow you to loosen the outer hex lug nut while holding the inner square budd nut/thimble from turning.

-Chuck

 

[number9]

I want to know how much the replacement will be. Usually, its more than what you paid for the whole dang thing. I hope this is not the case for you.

Got the reply back today. They are sending me one - no charge Awesome customer service. They've earned a customer right here.

......

 

[319]

KenTool has always been a good company to deal with.

Pork Chop (do not eat!)

 

[TIGERFANS2]

I don't have one of them. Unacceptable.

 

[SteveKuhn]

I was reading through old threads on this for a friend's question and realized that this article isn't quickly available, so after much hunting, now it is:

PS Mag Issue 460 "Lug Nut Loosening"