Tried a crescent wrench on fuel line fittings for years until a old timer showed me the crows foot trick

I was stuck on a Cessna 210 fuel strainer drain valve yesterday, and that 5/8 line nut would NOT budge. I've been using a crescent wrench like a dummy for 3 years on these things. This old mechanic walks over, hands me a crows foot on a wobble extension, and it came off in 2 seconds flat. No more rounding off fittings for me. Has anyone else learned a basic tool trick way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

fisher.diana3d ago

Did you ever try the trick of putting the crows foot on the wrench backwards when you're in a tight spot? It throws the angle off just enough to clear a lot of frame rails and hoses. Makes you wonder what other simple stuff we're all missing out on.

tessa_roberts13d ago

Catch yourself before you go buying a whole set of crows foot wrenches though. I did that and then realized half of them never fit any fitting I actually work on. Your mileage may vary but a lot of those cheap sets skip the odd sizes like 5/16 or 9/16 that show up on common fuel and brake lines. I wasted money on that and only use maybe three sizes from the whole kit.