I had the pleasure of changing an oxygen sensor in my truck today. Since I was nice enough to let some friends store a bunch of crap in my garage, I couldn't find a piece of pipe to use as a cheater. Lucky I found anything.....

Anyway, after climbing, searching and cursing it dawned on me that what I needed was right in front of my face......I took the last piece of the handle of my floor jack off and it fit beautifully over the 1/2" ratchet I was using. Had the oxygen sensor out in no time......

This is probably the most obvious solution I have ever come up with and after close to 25 years of working on stuff I have no idea why I never thought of this before.....

 

Oh ya baby that sucker has saved me a ton of grief. I have mine held in place with a quick release pin so i can get at it real fast but yet can still be held securely in place to serve its purpose on the jack. Good tip

later
TFC

 

I have a whole selection of cheater bars standing in the corner ready for instant use. I never strain at a fastener. I always get out a cheater bar so I can pull gently. This has saved me at least a pound or two of flesh and lots of blood over the years.

 

I use my floor jack handle all the time..i have three jacks so i can still use two and use the handle from the other

 

A deep-well socket on a long 1/2" extension also works well.

 

You can also use a larger box end wrench around another wrench etc for a cheater bar.

 

I've used my jacks handle many times too. Fits real good over the socket handle.

 

cheaters seem like a necessary evil to me. I've never heard of it but a guy told me they tear up ratchets and you should use a breaker bar whenever possible. I use one when I can, but most of the time I can't get it to fit and use a cheater setup.

One time I had to use a cheater on my 1/2'' breaker bar. I was pulling some bumper supports from a truck in a junk lot, couldn't budge them with the breaker, but with the cheater I had the leverage to break the bolts off.

 

That's a good idea, but I installed a piece of pipe foam insulation over my jack handle to protect the truck body/paint.

 

I haven't snapped a ratchet yet but if I ever do, they are all Craftsman and would get replaced for free...

 

they wouldnet get replaced, just "rebuilt".

 

I have heard that if you break/abuse a Snap-On tool, such as a ratchet it can void the warranty. Is this true?

 

I have never had to get a Craftsman ratchet replaced but I have seen them replace them at the store with rebuilt ones as was said. I have also heard of them giving rebuild kits to change the guts to them.

I guess they could all say that they won't replace them if they are abused but who makes that decision? I can see if you use a ratchet as a hammer, that is abuse. But using a ratchet as a ratchet and having it break is different....they never told me not to put a pipe on it. What if I was just really strong? A little force on a long handle is the same as a lot of force on a short handle......

 

lol I have good experiances with craftsman rachets, 4 foot long cheaters, a $40 mazda, and the craftsman repair policy...

some gorilla must have tightend the lug nuts on my mazda, because I had some issues with them...
After 30 min of getting frustrated, i grabed a peice of 4 foot long pipe, put it over the rachet, and stood on it... only to rip the gears out of my 1/2 craftsman (didnd rip them, but it spun)

Went to sears, got a new/rebuilt one... the dork at the counter didnt know what size it was, so i kinda chuckled... I also asked if i could have a new one off the wall, she said sure...
20 year olds who should be in the linquine department are fun, because they just dont care sometimes...

Craftsman rachets are awesome, their repair policy is awesome, and I like them...
Im also mad at my friend who put his breaker bar on it, and jumped on it to get all 6 free... I wasnt thinking so i kinda didnt do that... I also could have used a breaker bar, and jacked up with my 12 ton bottle jack (old relic, and its huge... should toss it but cant)

anyways, i plan to make a set of cheaters in shop, by making a mock handle, and heating a pipe to fit over it and stuff

~Nate

 

I put a 4' cheater bar on my 1/2" craftsman ratchet, had to stand and bounce on the end of it with all my weight to break a wheel bearing nut loose (not on the ford).

I guess that was about 600 ft lbs.

Tried it on the otherside, jumping on the end of the cheater bar didn't budge it. So I put it on the other way, put my jack under the end of the cheater bar and jacked it up, it was starting to lift the back of the car. Finally snapped the square off the ratchet at somewhere over 1000 ftlbs. I had the ebrake on full to avoid putting that load on the drivetrain.

Took it to Sears, they gave me a new one free, and I even bought a breaker bar. Some sears will only give you a rebuild kit, it all depends.