An old family friend (a normally grumpy, but always bellowing
electrical engineer wiz and TR3 restoring nut) drilled that into my
head at around 14 YO. 'Using a 3/8" drive? Choke up. Hold ratchet
around the head.' This being the same guy that barked at me
(bellowing) for driving my '58 Beetle too fast (nearly pinning the
speedo) eventually trashing the motor. I digress. Point is, I'm
thankful for that wrench advice. It has served me well.

One has to be aware at all times though. I got so used to higher grade
steel in my V-dubs that when replacing a water pump in the "Blue
Flame" (Ford Courier truck. pics of course: http://tinyurl.com/3tg29xr
)  I managed to snap a fan bolt or two quite easily even though I was
holding the ratchet by the head. *Huge* difference in quality or
grade. Going by feel alone, my Jetta engine has harder bolts in a
similar application. Apples to oranges yes, but one has to be
vigilant. Or experienced.    ;)

After one snaps a few fasteners, they learn to be cautious and sensible.

Neil.

On Fri, May 27, 2011 at 9:04 AM, Zeitgeist <gruengeist@gmail.com> wrote:

> Even if using a long handled wrench, I always apply force as
> close to the fastener as possible for smaller pieces and only use the full
> length and my massive spaghettis for the larger items.

--
Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"

http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/

http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines