Yahoo Autos Reach Any Nut or Bolt With These Stubby Wrenches
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Spend any time working on a car, and you’ll quickly discover that not every DIY is as straightforward as your favorite YouTuber depicts it to be. Some nuts and bolts are harder to get to than others, requiring special tools and clever workarounds. If you work in a tight engine bay without much room, stubby wrenches are a must.
Stubby wrenches are exactly what they sound like. They have standard wrench ends on either point, but the handle connecting them is way shorter than normal. They can fit inside the palm of your hand, making them extremely versatile and perfect for reaching hard-to-get-at fasteners.
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve had to resort to using stubby wrenches to break a nut loose or grip the head of a bolt. Some of my past project cars, namely my $700 8-Series and V-10 M5, had gigantic engines and tight bays where almost every bolt was in a tough place, usually surrounded by other things. Having stubby wrenches on hand meant I wouldn’t have to disassemble half the car just to get to one bolt.
Stubby wrenches are useful for more than just your engine bay. They can be key players in removing stuff like exhaust connections or driveshaft bolts. And because they’re so small, you can take them with you and have them around without taking up a bunch of space in your trunk or glovebox. I always make sure to have a few in a couple of key sizes in case of an emergency.
Because stubby wrenches are just physically smaller versions of regular wrenches, they’re not any more expensive. Gearwrench sells a 14-piece set with 12-point ratcheting heads for just under $57 on Amazon. If you’re looking for even greater flexibility, Gearwrench also sells a set with adjustable ratchet heads, yours for $133. Want something a bit more budget friendly? Duratech makes a 12-piece stubby wrench set without any ratcheting elements for just under 30 bucks.
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