Media | Articles
5 Tools That Often Get Misused
Tools are the items and objects we use to complete the tasks we desire to do. At one point in human history we likely only had three tools: a pointy rock, a sharp-edged rock, and a blunt heavy rock. With those three things an industry was born, and it’s one that is today closely linked to the automotive world. We need a lot more tools than those primitive three to get any project done these days, but sometimes we might have the right tool and still decide to use the wrong one. Here are five examples.
If Not Pry Bar, Why Pry Bar Shaped?
Screwdrivers can be precision instruments. They can also be the closest thing to your hand when you need to lever two pieces apart, and oh boy, is it tempting to take that flat-blade screwdriver and shove it in there, maybe even tapping the end of the handle with a hammer to help things along.
Sometimes that works fine, but why take the risk with your tools? Screwdrivers were designed for turning forces and thus it is surprisingly easy to bend the shank or fracture the tip once you start using them in a freestyle manner. If you’re unable to find a pry bar or lever of the appropriate size for your projects, designating one tool for that task is the next best option, though still only half a step short of tool abuse. I have an old damaged flat blade screwdriver that is only used wrong these days. But most screwdrivers do not have shanks that extend completely through the handle, so be advised that any attempts to use a screwdriver like a chisel are likely to break the handle.
Designed to Twirl, Forced to Fight
Sockets are great at removing hardware, but the location of said hardware often means putting those sockets on some type of extension. These simple straight bars have both male and female ends for attaching a ratchet or breaker bar on one end and the socket on the other. That shape also makes them a perfect general-use punch. The broad tip doesn’t focus force much and makes an extension just too perfectly suited for driving out large bolts like those found on suspension hardware. It’s a tool that was designed and born to spin like a ballerina, but often has to pull duty on the offensive line as well.
“The Claw”
At some point a hammer is a hammer, but using a claw hammer under the hood just feels so wrong. Ball-peen hammers are much better for working in the tighter confines of an engine compartment, compared to claw hammers that were designed for framing houses. Ball-peen and dead-blow hammers are likely the most popular for automotive use and come in a range of sizes that help persuade stuck parts and hardware, but that doesn’t stop many people from grabbing what is handy, and I guess we can’t blame them.
Marketplace
Buy and sell classics with confidence
OBD Scan Tools
How could you use an OBD scan tool wrong? Well, I use mine to clear the check engine light and not much more, which quite honestly is massive underutilization of the surprisingly powerful diagnostics abilities that come with a $12 scan tool. I simply don’t want to see the check engine light, because I know the “clogged catalyst” that trips the light isn’t actually being clogged. The problem is that I don’t drive long-enough trips in the winter, and the ECU is putting in additional fuel to try to help the engine warm up and run smoothly, thus the O2 sensors are seeing readings the computer doesn’t like. So I use my scan tool to remove the code and nothing else.
It’s a Lever off the Jack, Too!
Hydraulic floor jacks make lifting our project cars easier than ever. Once the car is up in the air, there is usually (always? without fail?) some large bolt or nut that needs removed, and of course it’s somehow stuck far tighter than the torque spec would suggest. So it’s time to get archaic. Even my two-foot breaker bar is not enough at times, and that’s when the jack donates its handle to create the lever long enough to move most anything. If you’re tempted to use this trick, be careful, the force can be enough to easily strip the teeth inside a ratchet, so it’s best to stick to using a breaker bar. And even then, be sure to have solid socket engagement and a clear path for the long lever to swing in without hitting something else.
Find more values
Search for prices of other cars, trucks, vans and motorcycles
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Words of wisdom
Eloquently stated…What I have always called “agriculturally engineered” or “farmerized”. Grew up on a farm a long ways from town…
There’s a non PC discription of poorly done repairs. I had a shop and employed a proud black man. He often complained of poorly done Honky Rig repairs.
A lot of times we have to complete tasks we don’t want to do and time is of the essence. At these times I say “all is fair in love, war, and tools” especially if the tool has a lifetime guarantee.
The REAL reason to use a Ball-Peen hammer under the hood is that it’s steel alloy and temper makes it not chip or fracture when hitting much harder materials like many hardened bolts. A claw hammer is harder as it is only intended to hit relatively soft steel nails.
For fun: Also, remember to never use force, just get a bigger hammer.
While I am joking, I want to remind y’all of the Lucas Theory of Electrical Conductivity, which states that electricity is carried by smoke, evidenced by the fact that old British cars with Lucas ignition systems would stop running once the smoke escaped from the wires, something that happened frequently stranding drivers on the side of the road.
Note: Modern Lucas parts are better, but although my ’86 Lotus Turbo Esprit HCI has a Lucas distributor, the rest of the system is Bosch.
Lucas, commonly referred to as the Lord of Darkness.
Lucas – Original inventors of intermittent wipers
If Lucas made vacuum cleaners they would be the only thing they make that doesn’t suck – – –
And Lucas refrigerators would be a good excuse for Britts drinking warm beer. Oh, sorry – not warm – room temperature – and because of – you guessed it – Lucas furnaces and room heaters, room temperature is generally NOT WARM!!!!
The reason for so few British high rises? Lucas elevators.
Lucas factory sign: Home before dark.
Replace the distributor, immediately.
Wheels are often tighten by the tire shop with a large impact of high torque instead of the req’d torque wrench, so they becomes almost impossible to come off without extra leverage. The fault lies with the tire shop. Check yours and demand they do it right. Check the torque spec for your wheels. Roadside you may not have a breaker bar handy.
Screwdrivers are best when one hand is palming the smooth round end, and you grip handle with your other hand at 90 deg and rotate with arm, not in the palm and twisting the wrist.
When I was service manager at a Toyota dealership it was a FIRING OFFENSE to NOT torque wheel nuts with a torque wrench. I spot checked regularly.
Good article, I never thought about the jack handle, I’m 78 so I need a little help sometimes.
I was always a stickler about using tools correctly, I was an automotive machinist for 15 years.
I have used a socket as backup to drive a pin out of something.
I am guilty about the screw driver thing, Snap-on had a place on their screw drivers to use a 3/8th wrench to help with those stubborn screws.
I use an impact to remove things, but never to install.
Number 1 is the actual reason that Harbor Freight makes screwdrivers. I’m pretty sure it’s in their company protocol. They also make a pretty darn good emergency scraper if you tune up the edge on a bench grinder…
Generally speaking, I have a good selection of ‘bushing drivers’ and bolt drivers that I’ve made over the years. A lathe is a miraculous tool… I do however, carry a 6″ extension in my tank bag on the Concourse. It is the perfect tool for tapping the ignition switch into activity when it needs cleaning and I am away from home.
I have a claw hammer in my box that was my grandfather’s. A year or so ago I tried to use it to actually (gasp) drive a nail that was standing proud. The handle was so shrunken I had to: A: Use a ball peen hammer and B: buy a household grade claw hammer. It does not live in my box, but grandpa’s hammer is still there…
Long time ago I seriously damaged a jack handle (had to cut it) so now have 3 breaker fitted pieces of pipe…
It all flies in the face of this great American inspirational phrase: Adapt and Improvise. What we all do best!,
The thing about resetting the check engine is that it sets everything to not ready. I had a bad egr. When I reset it the evaporation system showed failure. Eecs takes a longer drive cycle to reset so the problem looked worse than it was.
Tool abuse…how about starting a screw by hammering it with the butt of your cordless screwdriver. Checkmate!
.
Here is one, I’m sure not many would consider. Having skills in multiple trades.. my pipe wrench has been a savior in removing broken bolts or rounded bolt heads. The big IF is ” will it have enough room to swing and get a bite on the bolt.
using a power drill and it’s drill bit kind of like a “saws all”.
Just put a router bit in it. Problem solved.
Been there, Done that!
I keep my BFH in the bottom of my garage cabinet for stuck parts. The floor jack handle isn’t used as much since I now have a much better impact wrench.
I have a Craftsman screwdriver that has a chisel edge that I ground onto the business end…
The biggest abuses come FROM the loose nut behind the steering wheel…..
If there was a type of Xray that showed all the previous cuts, abrasions, and black and blue marks on my hands that were the result of using the wrong tool, I’m sure they would cover the whole hand. Just because I didn’t want to take the time to go back to the toolbox and get the right one.
I was taught to break lug-nuts loose while the vehicle is on the ground. Using too much force on a vehicle that is sitting on a jack or jack stands can lead to hardship.