1/2" DR. Deep Hexagon Socket (17mm)

The reason a deep socket is needed on these is the stud itself. Suspension and mounting components are very often assembled with studs rather than bolts, precisely because a stud lets the component be located and then clamped, and the thread deliberately projects past the nut. A standard socket bottoms out on that projecting thread and cannot reach the flats at all.

At this size the fasteners are usually both tight and corroded, because they live underneath the vehicle, and that is worth some honest advice. A deep socket is the less rigid of the two lengths — a long barrel twists slightly more under load, and it holds the ratchet further from the work so any misalignment is magnified along that length. On a badly seized M12 stud nut, that is enough to increase the chance of rounding the nut. If the nut sits low enough on the stud for a standard socket to reach the flats, use the standard one. Use the deep socket when nothing else will go on, and when you do, make sure it is seated absolutely square and fully home before you pull.

The socket is drop forged from fine chrome vanadium with a matt chrome finish. Forging flows the steel's internal grain around the hexagonal form rather than cutting through it at the six corners where all the stress concentrates — which matters most on a long, relatively thin-walled barrel like this one.

The buyers are vehicle, commercial vehicle and bus mechanics, suspension and steering specialists, agricultural and plant fitters, engineering and maintenance workshops, and hardware dealers supplying the motor trade.

On a seized fastener use penetrating oil and time, then heat on the nut so it expands away from the stud, and work it back and forth in small movements rather than one long heave. And never use a chrome hand socket on an impact wrench — plated hardened chrome vanadium cracks under impact hammering and throws fragments. Impact work needs black chrome molybdenum impact sockets. Ask on WhatsApp for a price.