Torque wrench recommendation needed

[Jacob D]

Originally Posted by Papa smurf

As I prepare to receive my AS in May I realise I will need tools that I do not have. One of them is a torque wrench. When choosing one what should I be looking for. Do they all offer more or less the same level of precision +/ - 4% or are some models more precise and does that even make a difference. Should I opt for a model with a range that covers the need of the AS and TV or is there any advantage to have one with a larger range. Pass those general considerations do you have a specific model to recommand .

If you are not familiar with tools or brands of tools, go to Sears tool dept. You can not go wrong and Sears stands behind them.

[rvb]

There are two types of torque wrenches.
Dial type: has scale you watch and stop when you reach the setting you want.
Click type: has a collar you rotate to set the desired torque and it will have an audible and felt click when you reach that amount. The following are click type:

Snap-on and MAC are pro tools and you will pay dearly for them. Hundreds of $$$
Sears Craftsman is excellent with a lifetime warranty but pricey for only torquing lug nuts. $$
Harbor Freight - imported but appears adequate quality. $

Go by Harbor Freight and sign up for their sale flyers. I get about one a week in the mail. Each flyer will have a 20% off coupon. Their torque wrench is normally $29.99 but is currently on sale $21.99. Earlier this year I bought one on sale for $12.99 and used a 20% off coupon on top of that. I compared it to my Craftsman on a lug nut at 95# and the torque it was virtually identical so I keep the cheap one in the trailer. It also came with a nice case to protect it, my Craftsman did not.

Buy a spare hitch pin while you are there. Sooner or later you will leave yours on the bumper and lose it!

[A W Warn]

I bought one from Harbor Freight, dedicated it to my tow vehicle's tool box, to use while on the road. I did not want to carry a good wrench (meaning more expensive) because of the varying conditions when traveling (wet to dusty). When I brought it home, I checked the HF wrench against the one I keep in my tool chest in my garage. The torque settings in the 90 to 110 lb range are pretty much identical on both wrenches.

[kdickinson]

Make sure you have the right size drive size for the sockets you will be using. Harbor Freight has some great tools for a great cost and my input is to get a long handle torque wrench, a few more $ but worth every penny

[GatorDave]

Harbor Freight. $10+- will suffice

[GatorDave]

How often does on check the torque on the TV??

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by Elbo

Ask any man in a tire shop why they torque wheels .

Oh, you mean the ones who crank everything down with the same air wrench setting, no matter what the specs say? My experience says this includes 95% od the dealers and tire shops.

[Elbo]

Sweet spot. Yes in the old days we had no chose but to tighten to the "sweet spot" but that was before torque wrench's was available like they are today. In the early 50s I was tighting flat heads and 216 Chevy 6s with a pipe on the end of a breaker bar always hoping there was a sweet spot somewhere in the process. Sometimes I would have customers come back with problems from to tight or not tight enough. Then in about 1958 I bought my first torque wrench from Sears, it was the new "Beam Style" torque wrench. Still have it, plus I have added 3/8 drive inch lb,1/2 click type ft lb, 3/4 drive dial up to #500 lbs all Snap On. My point about using a torque wrench now a days is that is what we call progress. Cars now days don't even have spares and I am sure the reason we can go into outer space is not because we tighten the rocket engine bolts to the "Sweet spot"

[m.hony]

I still have the old Craftsman "beam" style from 30 years ago- suits me-

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by DavidSowder

How often does on check the torque on the TV??

I check mine any time the lug nuts are loosened for any reason. Then check torque again between 50 / 100 miles. Then again after 200 / 250.

I think there is a more detailed spec in the owners manual.

[J. Morgan]

Rockets ain't the same as lug nuts....

#JustSayin.

I think that anyone who wants to use a torque wrench to tighten wheels should do so, but as far as my vehicles go, I will keep doing what I have been doing (without incident) for the last 35 years.

Were those flathead Fords 21 stud or 24 stud heads?


Brevi tempore!

[CRH]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

Oh, you mean the ones who crank everything down with the same air wrench setting, no matter what the specs say? My experience says this includes 95% od the dealers and tire shops.

Same here...I rotated the tires on two vehicles last week that had the new tires installed by two different shops. On both vehicles, I was wondering if the wrench, lug, lug nut or I would give out before it broke loose. One vehicle required a 24 " breaker bar to bust a couple loose.

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Attachment 254838

I have acquired a few good ones over the years.

1/2" drive 250 ft lbs

1/2" drive 250 ft lbs w\ gyros for "torque to angle"

1/2" drive 100 ft lbs

3/8" dive 250 inch pounds...

However, if I was just working on a trailer, i would buy a cheapie.


Brevi tempore!

I had a 1/2" Dr. ' torque-angle' gauge, but could never find a table to use it with.
Obviously the more angle one applies, the more tension on the bolt in direct proportion; but how much?

[MelGoddard]

As an aircraft 'Flight Service Engineer' at DeHavilland Aircraft, i was required to have all my torque wrenches 'certified' every three months.
I submitted a 1/2" drive, 25-250 lb.ft. wrench, purchased from Canadian Tire, for calibration.
When it was returned, I was asked where I had bought the thing.
I told them, Cdn. Tire.
The 'boss' said "N.F.W.!" He couldn't believe it.
The wrench met ALL the figures EXACTLY all the way up, the only one out of 24 wrenches submitted. [Mostly Snap-On].
I believe that it was made by Husky in Bolton, Ontario, and I still have it today.

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by CRH

Same here...I rotated the tires on two vehicles last week that had the new tires installed by two different shops. On both vehicles, I was wondering if the wrench, lug, lug nut or I would give out before it broke loose. One vehicle required a 24 " breaker bar to bust a couple loose.

Same situation, at Midas.
Torque specs and torque wrench given to mechanic; But he used an impact driver with "Tork-Stix"........
that have the accuracy of a bundle of spagetti.
On checking the torques later, I required a cross wrench, supported by a Hyd. Jack, and stepping on the wrench to break loose the nuts.
On three wheels, 4 nuts broke off.
(Can you imagine my wife [OR C.A.A.] trying to change a flat tire at the side of the road, being faced with THAT?)

I went back to Midas the next day, after 'phoning the MGR. and telling him to have the mechanic there when I came back.
Well, he told the mechanic to disappear, and when I put the four broken studs on his desk, he didn't have much to say.
I demanded and got, all the studs on all the wheels replaced, and wheels torqued to spec using MY torque wrench.

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Rockets ain't the same as lug nuts....

#JustSayin.

I think that anyone who wants to use a torque wrench to tighten wheels should do so, but as far as my vehicles go, I will keep doing what I have been doing (without incident) for the last 35 years.

Were those flathead Fords 21 stud or 24 stud heads?


Brevi tempore!

"Rockets ain't the same as lug nuts...."
Try losing a wheel at 70 M.P.H on Your Interstates, or on our 400 series highways, and keep that quote in mind.

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by a w warn

i check mine any time the lug nuts are loosened for any reason. Then check torque again between 50 / 100 miles. Then again after 200 / 250.

I think there is a more detailed spec in the owners manual.

exactly right, alan!

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Fwiw, even though I have a multitude of torque wrenches, I never torque my lug nuts. I know what feels right.

Those who don't know what right feels like should use a torque wrench.


Brevi tempore!

MORGAN: The Angel Gaberial must be riding on your shoulder.
Me? I'd: rather be an 'interested spectator' rather than an 'active participant'.

[ROBERT CROSS]

My T-wenches are in my tool box.....Snap-on click beam and Blue-Point mechanical bar.

This is in the AS.....


Bob

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by MelGoddard

"Rockets ain't the same as lug nuts...."

Try losing a wheel at 70 M.P.H on Your Interstates, or on our 400 series highways, and keep that quote in mind.

How do I answer that?

I think I just wont answer...


Brevi tempore!