# "Special cranked spanner"? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303 "2023-06-25T22:21:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/1 "2023-06-25T22:21:03Z")
Magazine article about restoring 1988 Land Rover’s cooling system, it says “the viscous fan required the use of a special cranked 32 mm spanner”. What is a cranked spanner? Bicycles require a special type of thinner than normal wrench to remove the crank bearing. Could that be what they are referring to? ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/2 "2023-06-25T22:30:55Z")
Cranked = bent Spanner = wrench. So bent 32mm wrench. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/3 "2023-06-25T22:39:25Z")
+1 … Took a closer look at the photo of the wrench. Appears t the part that grabs the fastener is offset from the handle’s plane. So not related to bicycle wrench above. So “crank” means bent? Maybe the origin of the term “crankshaft”? ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 10:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/4 "2023-06-25T22:44:27Z")
So I dunno but why wouldn’t you just use a socket wrench with an extension if you needed to? Unless it is like a strut socket where it has to fit over a protrusion. Either way, got a welder? Trust your welds? What do they call welders in the uk? ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 10:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/5 "2023-06-25T22:48:35Z")
> [@bing](#): > > why wouldn’t you just use a socket wrench with an extension if you needed to? The fan clutch attaches to the water pump. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/e/8/e8ea1dec9d6a01a7a3019938cb276baaed653427.png) ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 10:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/6 "2023-06-25T22:51:19Z")
> [@bing](#): > > why wouldn’t you just use a socket wrench with an extension I expect there isn’t enough room to place a socket on the fastener. Something is in the way. For example, if you were removing my Corolla’s water pump pulley. It’s right up against an inner fender., no room for a socket to remove the bolts that hold it on. I actually do use a socket, but have to jack the engine up a few inches first. If I had a wrench bent in the exact form for the job, I wouldn’t have to jack the engine to remove the fasteners. But I would still have to jack the engine to remove pulley from water pump hub. ---
**Author:** ![LoudThunder](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/loudthunder/32/27769_2.png) [@LoudThunder](https://community.cartalk.com/u/LoudThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 11:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/7 "2023-06-25T23:39:52Z")
If this ain’t a “Cranked Wrench”, I’ll get “cranked…” L 🤣 L ![crank](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/5/c/5c0e489cab797ef3170be7e86bbe99e973baeb0b.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/8 "2023-06-26T20:08:04Z")
I looked it up in my big dictionary. “crank” does in fact mean “bend”, but that meaning is pretty far down the list. Maybe it is a more common usage in the UK. I’ve never used the word “crank” in verb form to mean “bend”. If I say “I cranked” something it means I applied a lot of torque, usually when tightening a bolt or nut. Or I “cranked” the engine. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/9 "2023-06-26T20:42:16Z")
It seems that the article is from a U.K. and you are likely using an American dictionary. Also, the term is probably English slang. Why would you expect all of this to match well? ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/10 "2023-06-26T20:49:23Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > the article is from a U.K. and you are likely using an American dictionary. Yes, UK publication. My personal dictionary is pretty good for including UK common usage as well as USA. I use that particular 2-volume dictionary for that reason, b/c cross-word puzzles often use UK usage to obfuscate. > [@jtsanders](#): > > the term is probably English slang. You are probably correct. Oxford English Dictionary puts “crank” meaning “bend” higher up the list. ---
**Author:** ![LoudThunder](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/loudthunder/32/27769_2.png) [@LoudThunder](https://community.cartalk.com/u/LoudThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 12:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/11 "2023-06-27T00:00:23Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > Also, the term is probably English slang Americans typically use Merriam-Webster’s dictionary and the Brits us the Oxford dictionary and I did not find it there either under normal definitions, even looking for slang or cliché expressions, but I do remember my Scottish Grandfather using the term and referring to an item being “bent…” ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/12 "2023-06-27T00:45:35Z")
Two nations separated by a common language. If I were going to ask for one at the store, I’d say I needed an offset box end wrench. I’ll ask for a cranked scanner next time though just to see if they show me the welders. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/special-cranked-spanner/191303/13 "2023-06-27T20:57:54Z")
> [@bing](#): > > I’ll ask for a cranked scanner We’ve pretty much covered “cranked vs bent”, but what about “spanner vs wrench”? hmmm … I guess the jaws span the bolt head, so if you need something to span 32 mm, calling it a 32 mm spanner sort of makes sense. Wrench is used a verb too, “I wrenched it down hard”. I wonder if in the UK they say “I spannered it down hard”?