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Geared Lug Wrench options?

guns1977

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I used my brand new geared lug wrench on some lugs that a 1" impact destroyed sockets on. It worked great until the weld POPPED and broke, on the last 2 on the wheel. I welded it back together, then on the last one it is a twisted pretzel now. it will still work but done know for how much longer. I have looked for another, one on ebay doesn't look as well built as the one I have, not to mention the price. Is it better to stay with an original or would something like this torque mmultiplier work better?1674070732224.png
 

M35fan

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I used my brand new geared lug wrench on some lugs that a 1" impact destroyed sockets on. It worked great until the weld POPPED and broke, on the last 2 on the wheel. I welded it back together, then on the last one it is a twisted pretzel now. it will still work but done know for how much longer. I have looked for another, one on ebay doesn't look as well built as the one I have, not to mention the price. Is it better to stay with an original or would something like this torque mmultiplier work better?View attachment 888948
I bought a torque multiplier before I changed all 10 of my tires, and had great luck with it. Came with both sockets. I'll look tonight for the brand name but it looks similar to the one in your post. I ordered it on scamazon.

Edit to add: Mine is made by ABN. It's chinesium, but it gave me no trouble.
 
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87cr250r

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How much do you want to spend? These ones are good enough for every day use.

Torque Multipliers, 4x Multiplication, 1/2" Female Input Square Drive


You're already halfway there with two broken ones. Is 4x sufficient? The price goes up steeply from there.
 

foxtrot

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france
Nothing can withstand the heat of a blowtorch.
Take your time, by turning in the right direction, everything will come apart.
For reassembly, we spoke little about tightening torques.
It is easy to find a big used torque wrench that no one uses at a low price.
- Wheel cap nuts 400 -425 lb-ft
- Stud nuts 325- 355 lb-ft

 
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DIVE DIVE

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There is a tool out there called a "SWENCH." If you google it, it will pop right up. I have one and it works incredibly well. They are very expensive, but you are not going to break it.
 

Mullaney

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guns1977

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Is your gearwrench an original made by ken tool?
If so they are lifetime warranty.
I didn't think about the warranty, when the weld around the tube broke I rewelded it and I will have to check and see that may have voided the warranty. As far a price I gave 100 bucks for it many years ago, and would like to stay around that range. I would think my 220lb arsh wouldn't be able to break it but it did the job for almost 10 lugs
 

HDN

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I borrowed a torque multiplier kit like the OP has from a fellow MV collector to do the wheels on my truck. It's geared 64:1 and rated at some ungodly amount of torque on a 1" drive. I used that to break the clamp ring nuts loose on my A3 rims and borrowed a strong DeWalt 1/2" impact to get them the rest of the way off. Before I was able to borrow the impact, I 3D-printed a solid ABS 1"x1/2" square drive adapter so I could run the multiplier with my 10-amp DeWalt impact drill (with the impact mode switched off, of course!). That combination was pretty zippy!

My preferred use now is to break stuck nuts off with the multiplier after chasing threads with a die. For installation, I use a strong impact wrench to zip nuts on, then set torque with the torque multiplier. It's easy to do the math for the proper torque wrench setting, and with the high gearing you can set torque with a little 1/4"-drive torque wrench - just convert ft-lbs with the gearing to inch-lbs!

Just be sure to factor in 15%-20% slop from the planetary gear set in the multiplier and apply it to the torque setting. I checked slop by slightly tightening up a clamp ring nut with the multiplier, then using my Armstrong 600 ft-lb torque meter to loosen it and measure the loosening torque.

The only thing I wish I had in that torque multiplier is the ability to use the ground with the reaction arm instead of an adjacent lug nut or rim wall, like the older military ones. If someone made that I'd buy it.
 

rustystud

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I just used the original military geared lug wrench and it worked well for removal when I did all 6 wheels change out. I did have a 600 pound torque wrench for the install.
If you use a jackstand to hold the reaction rod (lug nut shaft) it makes life so much easier. That is the way the military says to do it also. That way you're not trying to hold up the rod as you are applying pressure to it.
 

guns1977

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If you use a jackstand to hold the reaction rod (lug nut shaft) it makes life so much easier. That is the way the military says to do it also. That way you're not trying to hold up the rod as you are applying pressure to it.
Yes the jack stand makes it a lot easier for one person
 
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