what kind of torque wrench?

[Johnny K]

I am going to order a torque wrench at harbor freight. There are a couple of different kinds. Just confused on which one exactly to buy.

 

[Guest]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=807

that one has a range that should cover all the bolts/nuts on your bike

not sure of the quality or accuracy at low settings, cos its kinda cheap

 

[rphillips]

I don't think there is "ONE", The smaller bolts are in. lb. & the larger ones are ft. lb. To do it propwerly, I think you need "TWO".

 

[tas850g]

I too have been looking around and i agree with rphillips. I have a larger one in ft.lbs but you definately need a smaller one in inch lbs. I looked at the one from harbor freight and that seems too good of a price to be a quality wrench and that is after i looked at other brand name wrenches. Hard to find one that is less than $89. However, i just ordered the spark plug cleaner for dirt cheap from them and will test there quality.

 

[gs1197]

Save your $ and buy a Craftsman.
The H.F. wrenches are junk. The clicker type feel like there is gravel inside the handle. And I would be shocked if they would come close to calibrating correctly.
Very poor quality.

 

[Old Colt]

I would really recommend getting a match needle, AKA beam type or a dial type torque wrench.
You really do need more than one to work with the small to medium fasteners on bikes as well as most other vehicles you will be playing with.
Just setting and mis trusting a click type wrench is a small part of properly torquing a fastener. Trying to think a click type wrench will even give you a sign when a 6mm bolt is near torque is a joke. The torque wrench really needs to give you information as the fastener is coming up in loading. A click type wrench is not even allowed in the assembly of many aircraft components. The proper way to torque a fastener is to bring it to torque and hold it there for 5 seconds. Try it, you will be amazed how far a fastener rotates when you hold it at rated load. This is due to things like gaskets compressing, the twist in a fastener relieving, all sorts of load changes that can not be detected with any preset type wrench. Thinking that just a quick pull till a click might have been felt is really setting the proper load on a fastener is a strong false self belief that a job is even remotely done right.

 

[tkent02]

Big (ft/lbs)and a small (in/lbs)clicker, and a big and small beam.
Clicker for when you can't get in there straight to see the dial on the beam, the beam for when you want to be accurate.
My Craftsman click type wrench fell apart, it was crap.

 

[Old Colt]

I also have a Crapsman 1/2" clicker.
The ratshi t never lined up in it. Basically only 1/2 the width of the teeth are engaged. The third time it failed I was pulling 90 or so pounds and my knuckles slammed the machined edge of the block I was assembling. Two fingers cut well into the tendons, one nicked the bone and that one has a joint that still does not work. That was in 1978. I have yet to bring it back in to Sears. I also have not bought from Sears since then.

 

[Jethro]

Sears tools do break easily, that is the downside, but they replace them, then again, so do most other big brands. I have two Craftsman clickers that are modern and seem to be very good quality, cost a lot of money, at least $100 each. They work very well and I have verified them with a beam type I have used for 25 years.

 

[p_s]

I would also suggest ebay or local garage sales for used good tools. I got a $150 beam-type in-lbs torque wrench for $30. It has enough range (250 in lbs) for all but maybe 6 fasteners on the bike. For those I use a cheap crappy clicker.

 

[JTsGS650]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=807

that one has a range that should cover all the bolts/nuts on your bike

not sure of the quality or accuracy at low settings, cos its kinda cheap

I've had this one for a few years now and it works fine for my purposes.

 

[Guest]

i agree, the best would be to have several different type wrenches of the best quality so you can have a decent choice what to use in what application when servicing your jet-fighter and your formula 1

for a gs however... those tools are not essential

most torque setting specs give you an acceptable range of torque you need to apply which is like +/-10% so even a lousy wrench should get you in the ballpark (except possibly for the 6mm bolts, as noted)

that said, i would LOVE to have a good selection of high quality torque wrenches, just because i love those heavy duty high-tech tools and equipment

 

[Old Colt]

or a gs however... those tools are not essential

Tell that to the guy whom last week was asking about his snapping off of oil sump bolts and the few stripped drain plugs mentioned in the last week.

The smaller the fastener the better the wrench needs to be.

 

[rapidray]

I have 4 torque wrenches & ALL are Snap On! I don't use anything else. They are expensive but if you're building 50+ motors a year you need good tools. Ray.

 

[tkent02]

The smaller the fastener the better the wrench needs to be.

Or the more one needs to listen to his calibrated fingers.

 

[rustybronco]

1/2" craftsman micrometer 20-150 ft-lb click style (74-ish), 3/8" craftsman microtork 25-250 in-lb click (newer), 3/8" snap-on beam in-lb (70's) great for checking pinion gear rotating torque.

 

[Carter Turk]

I've been using a 800 in/lbs Proto clicker for years. I'm happy with it. It would be nice to have a bigger ft/lbs wrench for the rotor nut and counter shaft sprocket.

 

[Guest]

Tell that to the guy whom last week was asking about his snapping off of oil sump bolts and the few stripped drain plugs mentioned in the last week.

i would have told that guy that on those bolts i go only "snug" by hand, then check for leaks after riding the bike and tighten a bit more if needed

 

[p_s]

i would have told that guy that on those bolts i go only "snug" by hand, then check for leaks after riding the bike and tighten a bit more if needed

I was that guy. The service manual had the wrong torque spec and the other manuals copied it (like they copy everything else).

 

[Guest]

I was that guy. The service manual had the wrong torque spec and the other manuals copied it (like they copy everything else).

yeah, i remember your thread, cant remember if i said anything but the torque spec you mentioned seemed too high for 6mm bolts in alu threads