Lug wrench too short?
05-07-15, 05:45 PM
#1
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Lug wrench too short?
Greetings all:
I;ve owned my gently used 2003 ES300 for three months and I'm enjoying doing my own service and generally getting it to a state of perfection.
Recently, while rotating the tires, I encountered one of the twenty lug nuts that must have been previously tightened by King Kong himself (younger readers may wish to Google "King Kong"). To remove this last lug nut required a deep socket and an 18 inch breaker bar which I had to stand on. This, coupled with the realization that the rather elegant chrome lug wrench provided by Lexus could be a source of problems out on the highway, prompted me to craft an extension with which a slight (130 lb) 71 year old can exert a great deal of torque where necessary.
I purchased a 2 foot length of 1 inch schedule 40 pipe (schedule 80 will also work fine) and had an istant extension of the short lug wrench. Like many, if not most, of us I had no intention of carrying a dirty looking pipe in my treasured ES300. I spray painted it white and wrapped it with some reflective tape and applied some transparent heat shrink tubing so it wouldn't scratch the trunk where it fits perfectly at the rear of the spare tire well. I also applied some transparent shrink wrap to the lug wrench so it doesn't get scratched by the extension/pipe.
For those of you still in the work force, this is the kind of project that you'll have plenty of time for after retirement.
Vic
Fort Myers, Florids
I;ve owned my gently used 2003 ES300 for three months and I'm enjoying doing my own service and generally getting it to a state of perfection.
Recently, while rotating the tires, I encountered one of the twenty lug nuts that must have been previously tightened by King Kong himself (younger readers may wish to Google "King Kong"). To remove this last lug nut required a deep socket and an 18 inch breaker bar which I had to stand on. This, coupled with the realization that the rather elegant chrome lug wrench provided by Lexus could be a source of problems out on the highway, prompted me to craft an extension with which a slight (130 lb) 71 year old can exert a great deal of torque where necessary.
I purchased a 2 foot length of 1 inch schedule 40 pipe (schedule 80 will also work fine) and had an istant extension of the short lug wrench. Like many, if not most, of us I had no intention of carrying a dirty looking pipe in my treasured ES300. I spray painted it white and wrapped it with some reflective tape and applied some transparent heat shrink tubing so it wouldn't scratch the trunk where it fits perfectly at the rear of the spare tire well. I also applied some transparent shrink wrap to the lug wrench so it doesn't get scratched by the extension/pipe.
For those of you still in the work force, this is the kind of project that you'll have plenty of time for after retirement.
Vic
Fort Myers, Florids
05-07-15, 08:27 PM
#4
Lexus Champion
Although I won't be making and putting one in my car this makes a really nice cheater pipe. So thanks for the idea.
05-08-15, 06:09 AM
#5
Schedule 40 plastic pipe? Or metal?
I never use the OEM lug wrench. I carry a cross-type wrench. Much safer. You can get a shorty version that fits inside the spare tire. And any time anybody messes with my lug nuts, I always re-torque with a proper torque wrench when I get back home.
Most torque wrenches that are in tire shops (if they use them) are waaaay out of calibration.
I never use the OEM lug wrench. I carry a cross-type wrench. Much safer. You can get a shorty version that fits inside the spare tire. And any time anybody messes with my lug nuts, I always re-torque with a proper torque wrench when I get back home.
Most torque wrenches that are in tire shops (if they use them) are waaaay out of calibration.
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