Big sockets and torque wrenches

RalphVa · Dec 15, 2004

I lowered the hitch pins on my LX4 yesterday. It was quite an ordeal. First, I bought a 3/4" drive at the wrong store, Sears, at $50. Found them $30 at TSC. Second, I bought a 1 1/4" socket at Sears, about $14. They were about $7 at TSC.

The 1 1/4" socket on my LX4 hitch pin nut would NOT fit. That's what it measures. Think it's probably 32 mm, which is 1/4 mm larger than 1 1/4". Went to TSC to buy another socket. Their hitch pins nuts are exactly 1 1/4". One of their 1 1/4" wrenches fit them nicely. I bought a 1 5/16" socket.

Found no torque wrench good for the 433 ft-lb that the hitch pins are supposed to be set at, either at Sears or at TSC. Also, neither have metric sockets for 3/4" drive. Also, neither has 6 point sockets, which is what you really ought to be using for large nuts at high torques.

No torque multiplying wrenches or gizmos in Northern or TSC or Orsheln catalogs. Where does one get a torque multiplier bar for existing wrenches or a torque wrench for these higher torques.

TSC has their 1,000 ft-lb impact wrenches for sale locally, not their 550 ones. I'd need to buy a larger compressor to run one of those things.

Where to get proper tools? Anyone know what size nuts JD puts on their Canadian hitch pins?

I used a long crowbar attached to my 3/4" handle via 2 hose clamps. Grabbed a scissor jack handle to put into the hitch pin holes to keep from rotating. Wasn't very nice, but I got the bloody hitch pins lowered to where the dealer should have put them. Not properly torqued, of course.

Ralph

Glenn9643 · Dec 15, 2004

Ralph,
For something like you describe I use a 4' long 1-1/2" steel cheater pipe over the drive handle to get all the torque I can apply. Not rocket science, but it works for a lot of simple applications.

rdln · Dec 15, 2004

1 wall to support 1 200lb male with 2 hands while jumping up and down with 2 feet on a on a 185 inch long 2 inch dia schedule 40 steel pipe = 433ft-lbs /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

JerryG · Dec 15, 2004

I hate it when different manufactures use different fasteners. It is a real pain. As far as the torque goes, it is not critical. What is needed, is that it is tight enough that the nut won't come loose. If you want a torque wrench by all means go ahead and get one, but I wouldn't just for a lift pin.

PineRidge · Dec 15, 2004

We adjust our air impact wrench for the maximum setting and hammer it.

That's purely a figure of speech, keep the hammer in the toolbox. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Wannafish · Dec 15, 2004

"No torque multiplying wrenches or gizmos in Northern or TSC or Orsheln catalogs. Where does one get a torque multiplier bar for existing wrenches or a torque wrench for these higher torques."

Use a 4 ft long pipe slid over the Torque Wrench. 433 ft lbs divided by 4 ft = 108 ft. lbs. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

jinman · Dec 15, 2004

( Use a 4 ft long pipe slid over the Torque Wrench. )

Ouch! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif That poor torque wrench that only goes to about 200 ft-lb will NEVER recover from that. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Did you mean to put the pipe over the ratchet or breaker-bar?

Bird · Dec 15, 2004

( Where does one get a torque multiplier bar for existing wrenches or a torque wrench for these higher torques. )

Go to Google.com and enter "torque multiplier" and you'll find lots of them. But like the other guys said, I wouldn't pay what they cost. I'd just give a good hard pull on the breaker bar. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

markct · Dec 15, 2004

why ya so upset ya spent more for craftsman, i know they arnt the best tools nowdays they have realy cheepend them up but there lifetime warranty!! you could put a 15 ft cheater on that breaker bar and bust it apart then take it back to sears and they wouldn give ya a new one no questions asked, i dont think TSC will do that, and the tools i have seen in TSC all looked to be made in china best i could tell. as for the tourque, a tourque multiplier is about 600 bucks, a length of pipe is well under ten and does the same job, only time i have ever seen those geared multipliers used was with tourque wrenches, and ya surely dont need a tourque wrench to tighted a lift pin, just some brute force and a small does of common sense

Egon · Dec 15, 2004

hammer it.

Ugh - there are sockets with an end set up for hammering on. Use them all the time on high pressure pipe flanges.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Turfman · Dec 15, 2004

[quoteThe 1 1/4" socket on my LX4 hitch pin nut would NOT fit. That's what it measures. Think it's probably 32 mm.)

I had the same problem two weeks ago. The cat 1 pins on my landscape rake came loose. I tried all kinds of wrenches to tighten it, without success. Finally took them off with a lot of effort and took the nut with me to find a socket. I tried seven different places and kept hitting on a 32 mm socket. The nut would NOT go in, but was very close. Nothing else was at all close. Tried Sears and they had nothing. Finally I tried Autozone. They had a 32mm six point socket that had the corners relieved. Nut fell right in. Took it home and put it on my Craftsman 1/2" ratchet and every time I pointed the socket downward it fell off, it was so heavy. It was deep enough to do the job and I finished up with a breaker bar. Put anti-sieze on it for next time.

Wannafish · Dec 15, 2004

"Ouch! That poor torque wrench that only goes to about 200 ft-lb will NEVER recover from that. "

Jinman,
Heck, Torque wrenchs are cheap enough...throw it out and get another for next time! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

(No wonder my dad won't let me into his garage now that I have my own...Probably the same reason I won't let MY boys into MY garage /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif)

btolle · Dec 15, 2004

Personally, I use a pipe wrench and a 1 1/2" cheater pipe about 4' long for that job.

Bill Tolle

Wannafish · Dec 15, 2004

And ya don't have to throw it away, either!!

Egon · Dec 15, 2004

Sure hope its a steel pipe wrench, not one of the aluminum ones.

Egon

keeney · Dec 15, 2004

If the lift pins are falling off, two things to try besides just tightening the heck out of them:

1. Use some thread lock.

2. Use two lock-washers. However, lock washers don't really work when they are tightened past the point where they are squished flat, and they have a hard time digging into the harder grades of nuts.

3. Weld it on.

btolle · Dec 15, 2004

( If the lift pins are falling off, two things to try besides just tightening the heck out of them:

1. Use some thread lock.)

I would use the blue thread lock in case you ever need to take it back off. I put some of the red stuff on a bolt and suspect I would twist the head off before I could get the bolt to break loose.

Thread lock works great if you have something that keeps vibrating loose.

Bill Tolle

eee · Dec 15, 2004

( I put some of the red stuff on a bolt and suspect I would twist the head off before I could get the bolt to break loose )

I have to keep an eye on my rear wheel bolts on my JD 4400,they have a tendency to loosen up,and I even use the red thread locker on them and they still occasionally come loose,though not near as often as they use too.

chriswheeler · Dec 15, 2004

You shouldn't need to be that precise with a hitch pin. Unless something is messed up you should be able to use a 1/2 " drive deep impact socket on a 1/2" impact gun and where it stops should be good enough. These aren't head bolts, mine measure 7/8" NF threads.
Chris

JimR · Dec 15, 2004

I have a nice 6 foot pipe that fits nicely over my 2 foot Snap-On breaker bar. This wokrs for me for tightening and breaking large nuts free. Especially when you jump on it.