[Nebbuchanezzar]

Yesterday, I was doing a tranny flush on my 94 5sfe A/T...as you know, the tranny and diff drain bolts are QUITE hard to get off...to make it worse, ALL I had handy was a small 6" long, 3/8 ratchet...

lemme just say, that thing took the worst beating I have EVER given a tool! and it is STILL good! I tried putting a lot of force first, that wasn't working...so I tried hitting it with my hand...not working...hammering on it...DIDN'T work! so, I set the ratchet in the bolt, got further out and started STOMPING on it...I am a 6' 225lb construction and bicycle racer...I have pretty strong legs...it took only one kick and it broke free, and the damn thing is PERFECT! lol...I was amazed! I was waiting to need to go to sears...

long story short, I will be buying almost ONLY craftsman tools from now on! lol

 

[tayunz]

Yeah. I've always had great experiences with their tools. I'm not looking forward to dealing with those drain bolts. Hopefully my craftsman ratchet/drain bolt experience goes a little smoother.

 

[Nebbuchanezzar]

All I can say is MAKE SURE YOUR FILL PLUG IS ABLE TO COME OFF BEFORE DRAINING!!! and also, use the proper tool, it makes it a LOT easier...use a 1/2" cheater bar, or impact tools if possible...also, liberally soak it in penetrating oil, run the car just before you try to take them off [hot tranny fluid will help] and MAYBE even try taking a torch to it...if you do all of this, it really should come out without much difficulty, no matter how stuck it is...

 

[RU2CHKN]

cheater bars ftw!

 

[Nebbuchanezzar]

When I have all my stuff, and I can get it in there, I have one with a 6' long, 1/8" wall thickness steel pipe that fits over my ratchets...if THAT can't break something loose, IDK what can! the main problem with the Diff fill plug is it is in an awkward place...if you do it right, you can get a small ratchet up there and slide a pipe over that if the car is jacked enough, that would be good!

 

[PhatRoyale]

:werd:

Most of my hand tools are Craftsman and all of them are built rock solid. I'm pretty hard on my tools. :thumbup:

 

[RU2CHKN]

^that's what I did to remove the plug, put a cheater bar over the ratchet from above the hood and break it loose from there.

 

[djb2]

Craftsman has a reputation for good sockets, especially for the price. But most of their ratchets are considered deficient by those in the know. And their quality has dropped in recent years.

I didn't have any problems taking out my drain and fill plugs with a regular length ratchet and a Craftsman 10mm hex driver. I wouldn't attempt to remove those those plugs with a hex key or even a lower quality hex driver -- stripping out the head would be some time to recover from.

 

[Chris Crash]

I really love craftsman tools. It's true their ratchets aren't the best, as I have broken a few teeth myself, but with free replacement...it's not that bad. :thumbsup:

 

[Nebbuchanezzar]

Well, I have heard that, and as I said, I have not experienced it...and honestly, as I have said before to other people, I would MUCH rather get a pretty good tool that has an amazing warranty, than an amazing tool with an okay warranty...I do abuse my tools when I use them, and I love knowing, no matter what, if something happens, I didn't lose my money...I use screwdrivers as pry bars at work to reposition HUGE pieces of duct, and have bent and snapped them, and I just got new ones...it's pretty fun sometimes to walk into a sears and see the looks on their faces when you bring in a broken tool...hahaha...

 

[Chris Crash]

haha yeah it is. Especially when they ask what happened.

 

[Throwdown]

I'm a craftsman fan as well. Of course snap-on, etc are great, but for the money I don't think you can beat Craftsman. Lots of tools have a lifetime warranty, but many of them may not be around in years to come. I don't see the Craftsman brand going anywhere! =)

 

[projektvertx]

Dude, I love my Craftsman toolset! My dad gave me mine on my 16th birthday, and every tool is still just as good as the day I got it nearly 5 years ago and hundreds of jobs later!

 

[LynchburgCSI]

Guess what? This thread is in the WRONG SECTIONNNNNNNN.

 

[bigbird]

i like any tool company who has a lifetime warranty:thumbsup:

Guess what? This thread is in the WRONG SECTIONNNNNNNN.

so go ask for mod powers and move it Ken:thumbsup: your on here enough, they would likely make you a mod...as scary as that thought is:lol:.

 

[got-rice]

For most DIYers, Craftsman stuff is on the money. Heck, there a few mechanics out there that use Craftsman, and aren't in debt with the Snap-On Tool Truck.

 

[AvalonMan96]

cheater bars ftw!

Damn right!

When doing a front brake job on my Avalon a couple years ago (I'm still alive, so I must've done a good job!), getting the front passenger tire off was a real PITA. 2 of the 5 lugs absolutely did NOT want to come off. I had also stripped the damn things trying to get them off.

So I bought a breaker bar and a damaged lug nut remover tool, sprayed some lubricant on the lugs (not WD40, but can't remember the name), and let sit for about 5 minutes.

Once I attached the bar and the tool and applied ample force, the lugs popped right off! :thumbsup:

Gotta love breaker bars.

 

[Pvt-Public]

Years ago when I still turned wrenches for a living, most of my tools were Craftsman. Would some break? Sure they would. But is was always easier to go to Sears get the tool replaced and finish the job, than waiting for the (insert name here) tool truck to show a week later.

 

[LynchburgCSI]

i like any tool company who has a lifetime warranty:thumbsup:


so go ask for mod powers and move it Ken:thumbsup: your on here enough, they would likely make you a mod...as scary as that thought is:lol:.

Ditto on the lifetime warranty. I had a great set of Kobalt tools I returned for Craftsmen before Kobalt started there lifetime warranty as well.

Ohhhh I had a request in before I posted that. But yeah. They probably wouldn't make me a mod. I'm too in your face. :lol: I do live here though.

 

[IronNam]

i used my craftsman 3/8ths to break my crankshaft bolt free....

well i tried.

put on socket, put on bolt, bar on ratchet, lay on frame, click starter.


needless to say it damaged the internals of the tool, but i eventually removed the bolt with an actual breaker bar (1/2 inch!)


BUT

the 3/8ths still worked! one way! so i went to Sears and exchanged it nonetheless lol