HELP! What's this tire mark MEAN?!?!

24" breaker bar helps with lug nut removal. Were those lug nuts installed by "pros"? That would explain the need to stand on the wrench.

I'd second a floor/style bicycle pump; that's all I ever use now, even for a near completely deflated tire, say after a plug repair.

Tire marks in my experience are always indicating what corner the wheel came off of. It's the only sensible way to mark them.

 

... very frequently discounted at Harbor Freight, though just about any stray section of iron pipe, large enough to fit over the lug wrench handle, is sufficient.

 

I'm too lazy (old, decrepit?) to use a breaker bar anymore. cordless impact wrench is the way to go... but it does cost a few extra bucks

 

For auto and motorcycle work, I've never ever had an issue with using PVC tubing; much lighter, cheaper, and doesn't rattle in the trunk. It's more than strong enough to snap a lug right off. My "nuclear option" is a 6 foot long piece of 3 inch oil field pipe.

 

Corded electric impacts seem to be going the way of the dodo. Sadly? They seem cheaper to buy, no bulky battery and a charger. Maybe they can't match the torque of the battery powered??

 

I'll have to give it a try, with the upcoming winter tire swap. It would certainly lighten the load in the trunk.

And would be a good addition to the smaller niece's vehicle tool kit. When her hand-me-down Explorer had a flat, she could do almost all of the tire change herself, except that she just didn't have the body weight to break loose the lug nuts with the regular wrench.

 

I have a section of stout PVC here, 1½" or so, that I used a few times for some breaker action. It is shorter now than it was when I conscripted it for that job, and one end of it is very jagged and sharp, and my recollection is that shards of it went flying far and fast.

 

^^ Any recollection what schedule it is/was, 40 or 80? White or dark?

And what size vehicle was it used on? That Explorer will need something more stout than my Prius.

 

I'd get a breaker bar; they're cheap. 1/2" drive by 24" maybe?

Taking a regular handle ratchet wrench and extending it with a pipe is likely overtaxing it's mechanism, could break it.

Ok I guess a "cheater" would be ok to extend the Toyota lug wrench, say left in the car. I'd be inclined to use a steel plumbing/gas pipe. You could tape it to reduce rattles.

 

This might be a place to mention two things I routinely do:

(1) I use a torque wrench, and 76 foot-pounds, when I put the lug nuts on.

(2) I have a little jar of anti-seize. I never put it anywhere, except a little dab now and then (from the tip of a jeweler's screwdriver) in the little gap between the captive washer attached to the lug nut and the bottom of the lug nut itself, where it bears down on the washer. And I spin the washer back and forth a bit so that little dab is spread around on the bottom of the nut.

When I go to take the lug nuts off, it just isn't ever an uncivilized experience in the least.

 

Here you go, shouldn’t need to put a pipe on the end.
1/2 in. Drive 25 in. Professional Breaker Bar

I still might consider the impact wrench for home use, but keep one in the car for emergencies.

 

Here's the collection of cheater pipes I use with breaker bars. I manage to bend one of the smaller ones on an FWD axle nut; moved up the 1&1/4 inch PVC + "nuclear option" (6ft metal pipe) which popped it loose quite easily. I have similar ones to the middle pipe in the picture stored in every car with a breaker bar+correct socket size. Just like in use, I store the breaker bar inside the pipe so no rattles.

 

might want to consider picking up a 13/16” impact socket to go with and keep it handy in the vehicle should you need it. That’s what I use.