Because it's a 12.99 socket set. Cheap quality, probably 12 pt sockets. Try to return what's left of it and get some real tools!

 

yeah, i dont think the tool sets are very good. I would go to harbor freight if you want to save money. Thats where I get my impact sockets, and they work great. no problems what so ever, and i have a 700ft/lb 3/8" impact lol

 

I heard that 9pt, 12pt 16pt etc sockets are notorius for stripping. These multi point sockets are easy to insert (because guess what, multiple point to form hex/square shape), but they don't grab the bolt/nut very well.
I always try to use hex sockets and never stripped any bolt/nuts yet. If it is too tight, i just spray some wd40 or pbblaster and it will loosen much faster.
I've bought and used HF socket sets (hex, of course) and they all work very well.
However I always wish for that snap-on set though

 

yeah I've actually come to like the hex sockets but the compressor I ordered came with bolts and didn't want to use the hex bolts that were already on the old one

There's a place called ToolKing in my area. It's an online store but they have 1 and only 1 location down the street from my house.

However, I do find Autozone's tools to be really high quality. And the guy at advanced told me the toolset is Craftsman with a rebadged name :nofu:

 

I have been using Autozone's Duralast 3/8 socket set (metric/SAE) for almost 3 years with zero trouble, very durable sockets (6-point), great ratchet which I really like. cost me like $40 but really works.

Formerly I used (literally once) a Great Neck cheap socket set, but guess what, they made it the way you need to use stupid 1/4 adapter on sockets for 3/8 ratchet (whatever, but adapter is needed) and that crap breaks in no time... it broke on loosening a 25ft-lbs caliper pin bolt the first time I used it! :wtf: hehee ... right Made In China tools ... distributed by Great Neck NY based company ... way to go :lol:

on top of that I use a multitude of tools from HFT and so far nothing snapped

 

This happened to me too. I was using a set from walmart and the stupid adapter broke while loosening the oil pan bolt.:headbang:
I went to Lowes and got the kobalt one (costs more than the entire walmart set) and that one is rock solid.

HF tools (though made in china and cheap), seems to be much better quality that walmart or autozone no-name brand items.

I have been using Autozone's Duralast 3/8 socket set (metric/SAE) for almost 3 years with zero trouble, very durable sockets (6-point), great ratchet which I really like. cost me like $40 but really works.

Formerly I used (literally once) a Great Neck cheap socket set, but guess what, they made it the way you need to use stupid 1/4 adapter on sockets for 3/8 ratchet (whatever, but adapter is needed) and that crap breaks in no time... it broke on loosening a 25ft-lbs caliper pin bolt the first time I used it! :wtf: hehee ... right Made In China tools ... distributed by Great Neck NY based company ... way to go :lol:

on top of that I use a multitude of tools from HFT and so far nothing snapped

 

You get what you pay for.

 

Look for Pittsburgh Or Pittsburgh Pro brand of tools in HFT, they are made in USA and despite my hardest efforts I haven't broken any of them yet

solid as a rock and cheap like peanuts :thumbsup:

 

I have some HF Pittsburgh sockets and they are made in china :headbang: (chrome vanadium plated :lol. I never saw anything made in USA in my HF store . And the torque wrench is also by Pittsburge, made in china. (i haven't see the Pro brand though in my HF store)

Pittsburgh sockets are really good quality, used in many DIY applications, holding on strongly and never ruined anything so far.

Look for Pittsburgh Or Pittsburgh Pro brand of tools in HFT, they are made in USA and despite my hardest efforts I haven't broken any of them yet

solid as a rock and cheap like peanuts :thumbsup:

 

I've got lots of HF tools. Quality is mostly good. The ratchets that came with my socket sets were crap; replaced them with Sears. I bought a set of Torx bits, 3/8" drive, that twisted off like they were made of peanut butter. But wrenches, sockets, allen wrenches, pry bars, compressed air fittings, hoses, hose reel, etc., all good.

 

HFT is good stuff. My main tool set is a Craftsman, no problem with that. I beat the crap out of the HFT electrical impact when I used it on the spring compressors, worked fine, along with the HFT impact socket set.

 

Craftsman tools and some other brands are made by the Danaher Tool Group. Craftsman tools are of good quality but Sears does not make the tools. Craftsman tool specs are sent out to bid during a contract year and the lowest bidder gets the contract. Regular hand tools should not be used with impact wrenches. The walls on impact sockets are thicker then hand tool sockets. When it comes to tools, you DO get what you pay for. My main set is craftsman and some of the other tools I have are of a lessor quality. For me, it depends on how often I am going to use the tools. i.e. Drag link sockets. How often do you use drag link sockets? If you're a mechanic working on cars all day long, it might be different.

 

Yeah, OP's parts store socket set is probably carbon steel. Those don't last long around harden nuts and bolts. OP can check out the HF 64 pc chrome vanadium set and add a 1/2" metric socket set. All for about $40 on sale. Maybe some extension bars and a 1/2"-drive 18" (or 25") breaker bar too.

http://www.harborfreight.com/64-piece-14-38-and-12-socket-set-67995.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piece-high-visibility-12-drive-metric-socket-set-67916.html

The old 6-point HF Pittsburgh set I have was made in Taiwan, then they switched to 12-point sockets made in China. Many of the wrenches are made in India. I have HF tools from all these countries.

HF's teardrop ratchets are pretty good, IMO better than the Craftsman (some call Crapsman) 36 teeth ones they've been making in the past decade. However, HF in recent months downgraded the 48 teeth ratchets to 36 teeth but still advertised 48. Still I would check these out if you want to add a ratchet or two. Can't beat the value.
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eighth-inch-drive-heavy-duty-quick-release-ratchet-40591.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-drive-heavy-duty-quick-release-ratchet-40582.html

=================

I was looking at Danaher again but they only showed Matco Tools under the group. Gone were the GearWrench, KD, Armstrong, etc. All these got spun off to a new company called Apex Tool Group. So I don't know if today's Craftsman are made by Apex or Danaher. Some say GearWrenches already started import tools from China since it was spun off last July.

I picked up some old Danaher sockets on sale at Lowes as they replaced their Danaher line by tools made in Taiwan. The new ratchets have 72 teeth. Really smooth. I'll check out what they'll put on sale on Black Friday.

However, even the broaches of the Harbor Freight sockets have the rounded verticies and curved edges GearWrench calls "Surface Drive Technology". IMO HF sockets with lifetime warranty actually look better made than today's Craftsman. But time will tell how long they'll hold up. But for most I think HF tools are pretty good value when on sale (they jacked up the prices this year).

http://www.gearwrench.com/catalog/ratchets_and_sockets/sockets/standard/

Craftsman tools and some other brands are made by the Danaher Tool Group.

 

I am a mechanic, and I have a lot of Craftsman and HF Tools.

almost all of my impact sockets are Harbor Freight.. Even my Swivle sockets. Well Besides my huge swivle sockets, but HF and Craftsman do not carry them.

My wrenches are all craftsman, most of my sockets are HF and Craftsman.

My screw drivers all all craftsman besides one set of Snap-on with cushion grips (lol)

Taps are Craftsman

Pulley Removers, Scrapers, Allen Wrenches, Air Chucks, Pry bars, hammers are all from HF / Craftsman

The only thing that I really invest my money into as far as tools of quality is Ratchets and Impacts. I get those from Snap-on or Matco

Other than that everything else is Snap-On and Matco like my Air Line tools, Multimeter, Flashlight, Electric Impact 1/4" ; 3/8" ; 1"

I seriously recommend for the starting mechanic, backyard mechanic, someone who does it for fun, or the professional mechanic .. dont spend your money on expensive tools! Craftsman and Harbor Freight both have Lifetime warranties on almost everything you get anyways. Like I said, I would recommend getting your ratchets and air tools from Snapon or Matco though

 

all of my sockets are craftsman. while i do have a number of impact sockets, i have used regular sockets on my impact gun and only cracked 2 thus far. its nice bringing them back to the store for free replacements. my other tools are a mix between craftsman and HF.

 

Got a pristine Snap-on 1/2" impact wrench rated at 800 ft-lbs nut busting torque with hard shell case for under $100 (with lifetime warranty) off my local dealer - it was a display item.

Found sets of 1/2" and 3/8" Snap-on impact sets (deep and short) at garage sale for under $20 as well (no swivel sockets though - still looking).

Snap-on also has a small compressor for the DIY market for under $150 (made by Alltrade and sold at Costco - it's alright) - but prefer the Makita Mac5200 instead.

 

well this was just ridiculous. My socket set just began stripping one by one.

I ended up running to Advanced Auto and got a set of their Autocraft sockets. Now, those are actually better than gearwrench. I believe those were the ones he was referring to as re-branded craftsman. They are right up their with duralast sockets.

I will never buy a piece of shit toolset again. I didn't even know it was, but the guy was selling them to me like their on sale.

And autocraft has their name engraved. If it doesn't have a name on the socket, dump it now.

 

Speaking of tools, I have been buying SAE sockets and most of the time they don't fit correctly. Looks like I need to replace all my SAEs with Metric now. When I was doing the TB change, almost everything was in mm. However other non-car related projects need SAE sockets. WTF?
Looks like need to buy many similar sized SAE and Metric sockets are needed

 

on Japanese cars use only metric sockets for everything or you risk stripping bolt heads. those cars were designed and built using metric system.
SAE might be good for some aftermarket parts, but since they are supposed to meet OE specs, then I think they should be metric too.

Only time I used SAE sockets was when I was working on my junk 3.8L GM car in past, sold it thankfully last Summer ...

some of SAE sockets are very close to metric, e.g. SAE 3/4'' and metric 19mm, but they are not same. for some metric sizes you will not find SAE equivalents at all (will be either too loose or too tight).

 

on Japanese cars use only metric sockets for everything or you risk stripping bolt heads. those cars were designed and built using metric system.
SAE might be good for some aftermarket parts, but since they are supposed to meet OE specs, then I think they should be metric too.

From my experience, You need 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21 and 24 mm. for Toyota's. I have yet use 9, 11, 13, 15, 16 and 18 mm on anything.

 

I remember in the shop, almost all GMs we worked on were Metric, the trucks, camaros, trans am etc. Same with Chryslers and sometimes Fords, depending on the day the Ford was built. I remember we had a 2003 Explorer that had a different transmission from an older model from the factory. The gasket and filter was completely wrong.:facepalm:

 

my 3.8L GM was actually Buick Lesabre 1992 , everything on this car was SAE and torx where possible LOL :lol: ... unless I was using SAE sockets on metric bolts LOL, but I doubt it, they fit well.

 

I recently picked up a swivel head ratchet on sale. Good stuff. I might get one of those extendable ones too. But I'm also debating about that or a ratcheting breaker bar (cool idea but may be less strong).

 

I like my swivel-head ratchet (some Craftsman thing from way back in the dark ages). Probably use my wobbler and u-joints (especially the wobbler) more, 'tho. Can't use it in tight spaces, 'tho.

 

I bought one of these http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eighth-inch-heavy-duty-flexible-ratchet-96369.html ratchets and didn't work well. I thought this will be very usefull in tight spaces, however when you start applying force, it just swirls/moves and is hard to use. May be a swivel head would have helped me though.