Locking Pliers; Circlip Pliers; Box, Open-End And Combination Wrenches; Adjustable Wrenches - Polaris 1999 Sportsman 400 Service Manual

GENE RAL INF ORM ATIO N
13
Circlip Pliers
Lo cking Pliers
Circ lip pliers (Fig u re 15) are made for removing
and installing circ lips. Externa l pliers (spreading)
are used to remove circlips that fit on the outs ide of
a shaft. Internal pliers (squeezing) are used to re-
move circlips which
fit
inside a gear or housing.
II
Box, O pen-End and Com bination Wrenches
An adjustab le wrenc h (sometimes ca lled crescent
wrenc h) ca n be adju sted to fit nearly any nut or bolt
head that has clear access around its entire perim e-
ter. Adj ustable wrenches are best used as a backup
wrench to keep a large nut or bolt from turning
whi le the oth er end is being loosencd or tightened
with a box -end or socket wre nch,
Adjustab le wrenches have on ly two gripp ing sur-
faces which make them more subject to slipping ofT
the fastener and damaging the part and possibly
Adjustab le Wrenches
WARNING
Becau se circlips call sometimes slip
amifly of]when removing and install-
ing them. always wear safety glasses
when using them.
Open-e nd, box-end and co mbination wrenches
are ava ilable in set s or separately in a variety of
sizes .
On
open and box end wrench es,
the
number
stamped near the end refers to the distance between
two parallel flats on the hex head bo lt or nut. On
combination wren ches, the number
is
stamped near
the center.
Open-end wrenches (A, Figure 16) are speedy
and
wor k best in areas with limited overh ead ac-
cess.
Their
wide,
flat
j aws make
them
unstable for
situations where the bolt or nut is located in a bore
or close to the edge of a casting. These wrenches
grip only two flats of a fasten er; if either the fastener
head
or the wrenc h jaws are wor n, the wrench may
slip ofT.
Bo x-end wrenches (B , Figu re 16) require clea r
overhead acce ss to the fastener but can work we ll in
situations where the fastener head is close
to
an-
other pa rt. Th ey grip on all six edges of a fastene r
for a very secure grip. They are avai lable in either
6-p oint or 12-po int. The 6-po int gives superior
holding flower and durab ility but requires a greater
swinging radiu s. The 12-po int works better in situa-
tions where the sw inging rad ius is limited.
Comb ination wrenches (C. Figur e J6) have
open-end on one s ide and box-end on the other with
both ends being the same size. Professional me-
chanics
favor
these
wre nches
because
of thei r ver-
satility.
o
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Locking pliers are used to hold objec ts very
tightly
like a vise. But avoid using them unless nec-
essary since their sharp j aws
will
perm anently scar
any objects that are held. Lock ing pliers are avail-
able in many types for more specifi c tasks.
Need lcnosc pliers are used to ho ld or bend small
obj ects. Water pum p pliers can be adjusted to hold
various sizes of objects; the j aw s rema in pa rallel to
grip arou nd objects such as p ipe or tubing. The re arc
many more type s of pliers. The ones described here
are most suitable for vehicle repairs.