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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.
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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.
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My 3 cents:
o My1960 VW flywheel nut required a 5 foot wrench extension (pipe) to meet mfg’s specs.
o I never try to high torque a fastener through a ratchet. That’s asking to ruin the tool.
Use a pipe wrench after you’ve destoyed a bolt head or nut with vice grips.
To quote Red Green “Any tool can be the right tool !”
I blame Craftsman and their lifetime warranty for the misuse of tools – giving something a lifetime warranty for ANY reason just invites it’s misuse!
I actually have a screw driver set, magnetic tips, phililps and straight blade that have the steel of the blade that extends thru the handle where it forms a rounded end tip with a hex on it. Although I’m sure it was never intended as a hammer point to use the screwdriver as a chisel, I have tapped it with a hammer to help loosen stuck screws. The hex end also allows for using a ratchet and socket to add extra torque when needed
The longer you work on cars, the more tools you acquire. As you acquire more tools, the less you need to make do with the wrong tool. If a tool could be used for other than it’s designed purpose, you went for it. I broke many a lifetime warranty wrench or breaker bar by using a piece of pipe. One of my still favorite ways to achieve more leverage is to hook one combination wrench on the open end of another being used to turn a bolt, effectively doubling it’s length. By the way, WD-40 is a joke for freeing rusted parts. PB blaster at the very least, and if it works, your bolt or nut wasn’t all that frozen to begin with. If not, then you break out the acetylene torch.
Funny that you mention ruining a ratchet with a cheater bar. Twice, I have broken a Craftsman 1/2″ breakover bar (back when they were good tools) and put a cheater on a 1/2″ ratchet and broke the bolt loose without ruining the ratchet. You don’t get that bend-flex feel when using the ratchets.
Pro tip, Proto tools don’t get much respect at the pawn shops and can be bought cheap.
Our hands are our most abused tools and they don’t come with any replacement guarantee even though we treat them as though they do.
The first thing to remember is to only pull not push when using a wrench when possible, because when the bolt or nut breaks loose or slips you don’t follow through until your knuckles punch hits something sharp.
Using your palms as a hammer takes it tolls on your bones and nerve endings years later when they feel numb but painful at the same time. Etc!