Topic: I'm afraid to use my torque wrench - I don't think it has a clue!

[mycb750k6]

I have the click kind, 10-80ft-lbs,  and I didn't pay a lot for it but it seems that this type of torque wrench is too fragile to belong in the shop with normal tools. First you can't drop it. Then you must store is with no pressure. Next you must torque it at it max setting ten times if you've not used it in a while (define while). Then it should be re-calibrated yearly (by who?) You gotta be kidding me. Who can remember to do all this crap? And then the shop manual say something like 15.7 ft-lbs. There's no way! I have absolutely no confidence in this thing. And I think they are all the same. Let me ask you - what do you use to torque case, head and cam tower bolts and how do you do it if I may ask?

[number13]

Use the old fashioned lever and rod type,
those click type wrenches are notorious for
being inaccurate.

[mycb750k6]

Yeah my beam type is in the garage somewhere but I can't quite locate it just now. So that's it then? Go back to the old beam style?

[scunny]

for the smaller case bolts etc, use a small rachet and just snug up.

[BobbyR]

We use click wrenches, they are not that fragile.   

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, I've got a "Warren and Brown" 3/8" drive 4-20 ft lbs "clicker" that I've been using for 30 years, and it's never let me down. I'd be suspicious about using a 10-80 foot pounder on a sohc4 though, but that's just my opinion. Cheers, Terry.

[Markcb750]

Like any good tool, a click type wrench's quality is a function of its initial quality and how well it is maintained.
So...
buy a good tool
keep it clean
keep it in its box
return it to its minimum setting when stored.


A quality wrench will meet the requirements of SAE standard AS28431. this requires the wrench be within 10% from minimum to maximum settings. This accuracy is fine for the vast majority of automotive work.

Every sub $100 wrench I looked at did not list the SAE compliance in their literature, if it was available.

Craftsman literature claims compliance with SAE.

Snap On also meets this spec, and the USAF used their product almost exclusively.  when I was calibrating wrenches in the Luke AFB PME Lab. Snap On wrenches where the best.

The guy on the SnapOn truck wanted $375 for a 1/2 drive  wrench; out side my budget.  I bought Craftsman, a 3/8 and a 1/2 inch drive, less then $300 for the pair.

Having been stuck along the road trying to remove a lug nut put on with an air wrench one too many times  I now rotate my own tires. The 80ftlb requirement to properly seat a 12mm or 1/2" lug bolt comes off using the car lug wrench without busting my gut.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

I recently picked up my first clicker so I'm skeptical. It's Harbor Freight too. I played with it when I installed the lower case studs. Seemed OK then. Nothing broken or stripped. I like the "moment of truth" click at just the correct setting. My pointer has a variable response in that it doesn't stop at a precise point. You have to carefully watch it while you are wrenching and you should have that line of sight identical each time. Variables I hadn't counted on. I plan on using the clicker first on the engine then I'm cautiously getting my Craftsman pointer out and "verify" that thery are close to one another. 

[dave500]

Yep, I've got a "Warren and Brown" 3/8" drive 4-20 ft lbs "clicker" that I've been using for 30 years, and it's never let me down. I'd be suspicious about using a 10-80 foot pounder on a sohc4 though, but that's just my opinion. Cheers, Terry.

ive got a warren and brown dual signal aswell terry,i dont use them on small bolts,just feel.

[mycb750k6]

Well that's kinda the response I expected. Terry. it seems like a 4-20 ft-lb is more in the range of the torques we encounter rather than 10-80 however I've not seen anything with those torque settings. Everything seems to be 10-80 ( even the snap-ons ) and so most work is at the bottom of the scale so that's why I'm skeptical. I'll see if I can find/afford a Warren and Brown. I don't torque a lot of things but sometimes you really want uniform pressure applied like gaskets or surfaces that may leak oil.  I "snugged" my disk brake rotor studs pretty good and then when back with the torque wrench and saw as much as a half bolt rotation difference between the bolts when torqued so I feel two bolts snugged with the same "feel" may very well have quite different stresses applied so that's why I want a torque wrench I can trust.

[Uncle Ernie]

I finally got a new clicker after trying to do some research.  Shee-ite Moslems- too much to figure out.  So I got a mid-priced one, but in in the vice, and hung known weights from it.  I figure it's about 2- 2 1/2 pounds off.  So- when I torque a headbolt that's supposed to use 24 [popinds, I set it at 22.

Having a wrench professionally calibrated is hugely expensive.

[dave500]

i do a fair bit of car stuff like heads etc,so i have a heavier wrench,this goes to 120lbs,i dont know if youll get a "repco"warren and brown in the states these are australian made,automatic trans guys have an inch/oz one.,they are expensive.

[mystic_1]

Having a wrench professionally calibrated is hugely expensive.

Perhaps, but having one checked should be quick and affordable.  I check mine using a digital torque transducer (at my workplace) about once a year.  It's a Craftsman clicker type wrench and it's pretty much right on the money.

mystic_1

[dave500]

if its out a little,no big deal,so long as all the bolts or nuts are the same is the main thing.youll get by ok with a cheap torque wrench,,the thing now is torque angle,a measure of twist angle on a tightened nut,,i can feel mine creeping up now with just the thought of it.

[markb]

Perhaps, but having one checked should be quick and affordable.  I check mine using a digital torque transducer (at my workplace) about once a year.  It's a Craftsman clicker type wrench and it's pretty much right on the money.

That would be a great way to check it.  I just use a spring scale to check mine.  Easy to do, I first put a bolt in plate and clamped it in a vice.  Then I set the wrench to 264 in.-lbs. (22 ft.-lbs.) and put a scale on the handle and slowly pulled until the wrench clicked and noted the force.  I did it a couple of times to get an average.  Most of you probably know this but then its just a simple calculation: Torque = Force x Distance.  I measured 22.5 lbs and the distance from the center of the bolt to the scale was 11.75".  22.5 x 11.75 = 264.375 in.-lbs.  If you want your answer in ft.-lbs., just divide by 12.

[mycb750k6]

I just read the ugly reviews on the one I'd  bought and promptly threw mine in the trash. (Oh wait - on second thought it'll make a nice breaker bar or ratchet if I crank it up to 80 lbs)    I'm off to Sears to get the old beam type again as mine's gone missing. The last thing I want to do is snap or strip something. After all these motors are only made of aluminum.