Hitchcocks Forum

Hi

I have a Bullet Electra X 500cc. I cannot undo the gearbox filler nut as it is really tight. I do not have exactly the right spanner and I do not want to 'round off' the nut. Can anyone tell me the exact spanner size that I need. Many thanks.

In our early bodgery days taking up the slack in an oversized spanner was easily accomplished with a coin packer, usually a six penny piece was good

Hi BARNEY-- Why not buy a spare one from our hosts first---then, when it's safely in your hands you can go to town on the old one by whatever means you like. Have you tried "Jumping" the head using a thick copper drift and a heavy club hammer ??

Surely such brutality is unnecessary Alan, oversized spanner with packer will not round the head but it will remove the plug....Been there, done it & more than once .......Perhaps I should say it is mostly with open enders, ring spanners need a slightly different method of bodgery but it has been done. Not yet found a viable method with sockets.

Hi guys-------- fitting something into the jaws of an open ended spanner helps apply the full face of that spanner onto the hexagon, and is a well-known piece of "Entrepreneurial Engineering" dating back to Noah's Ark maybe ?(LoL). However, there is a range of sockets on the market at the moment that have a different shape of hexagon ( I know that sounds daft but it's the only way I can think to describe it )--- that are designed such that the full 6 FLATS are engaged on the nut rather than onto the points. This gives a 100% better grip and drive. The only drawback is}------I can't remember the trade name for them !!!.........OK,"Jumping" sounds worse than it actually is. The idea being to momentarily release the grip that the bolt head has on it's mating surface by flexing. If done in conjunction through the middle of a fitted ring spanner, with some torque applied at the same time, it's normally quite successful... I find it takes only a couple of thumps and the things away. Ditto with the "Been there" etc --- Army equipment--- out in the field, literally !! But hey! more strings to Barney's bow, wouldn't you say ?? Must visit Armoury Road soon.

Hello again------- have just done some research, try this }----http://www.metrinch-tools.com/website/introductie.php ------------- and these }---http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=m ... &_osacat=0& ------------------------------ That should do the trick !!

In answer to Barney's original question it is 18mm.

This one locks onto the head the harder one levers on it. Saves weight and space on a bike because it self-adjusts to several sizes. Not much use if access is only by a socket.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j203/ ... MG0297.jpg

If you have no tool kit like me,why not buy a set of metric stubby combination spanners on e-bay for a tenner,they come in a wallet and wrap up.

A-hem... Just to play "the devil's attourney" here for a moment (the one that tries to find the problems and downsides of everything): .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

An open ended spanner will transfer the force to the bolt head in just two points on the very corners of the hexagon. The risk of rounding it off is big. A properly shaped ring spanner will transfer the force to six points on the sides of the hexagon, very much reducing the risk of destroying something. .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

About the "Metrinch" spanners: Metric spanners come in 8, 9, 10 mm etc. etc. "Inch spanners" (Imperial?) come in multiples of 1/16" or 1/8". Whitworth is yet another story, measured by the bolts, not the heads. Point is: None of these spanners are interchangeable. What Metrinch has done is they have mad spanners that ALMOST fit the mm and inch spanners closest together, i.e. 3/8" and 10 mm. ALMOST, but not completely, as 3/8" is 9,53 mm, not 10 mm etc. What you need to loosen a very stubborn bolt without destroying it is a spanner that fits EXACTLY. That is not Metrinch! I regards those as "emergency tools" for situations where you can't bring all the proper tools. .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

About the "Super grip" that Leon Novello mentions: I have one of those, bought more than 25 years ago when I knew a lot less about tools and macines. I think I have found it close to useful ONCE. Normally it will not fit. The bolt heads are most often not "high" enough (maybe "thick" is a better word?) for that one to get a complete grip, so all it does if you put force on it is slip off and ruin the head. That especially applies to soft bolts like brass filler plugs etc. I would NOT use that one on a stubborn filler plug! .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

There is really only one way to go here: Get the correct tool! Frank is onto it: Get a good 18 mm ring spanner. Fit that onto the plug, give the other end a blow with a suitable mallet. That will normally do the trick. If not, try heating the area around it with a heat gun, then try again. Don't use too much force or heat! .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Regards, Anders F. R.