Torque Wrench Advice

[Dave8338]

I was looking at a 3/8" drive with a shorter handle length for smaller bolts and have seen the clicker types in various brands. I saw some from Sears but read some nasty reviews in a couple of different locations. Has anyone bought this type for a reasonable price and with decent quality and range? Thanks for any advice.

I go old school when it comes to torque wrenches. Show me the needle indicator and I'll tell you if the bolt is stretching, threads are pulling out or if you have a good solid set on it. The "clicker" type just tells you when you've reached the selected torque spec, where as watching the needle tells the story and lets you know if you've reached the limits of the situation ie. "It won't hold the speck, we better quit now, befor we're looking for the easy outs and a tap and die set" !! [-o<

[jimcor]

Follow my advice: "Never get in an argument with a woman that's holding ANY torque wrench." :shock:

And use German torque settings: "Gudundtite"

[Giblet]

I go old school when it comes to torque wrenches. Show me the needle indicator and I'll tell you if the bolt is stretching, threads are pulling out or if you have a good solid set on it. The "clicker" type just tells you when you've reached the selected torque spec, where as watching the needle tells the story and lets you know if you've reached the limits of the situation ie. "It won't hold the speck, we better quit now, befor we're looking for the easy outs and a tap and die set" !! [-o<

What are you trying to do? Put Helicoil out of business?

[Dave8338]

What are you trying to do? Put Helicoil out of business?

No, just save myself and others a great deal of headache when it can be completely avoided. I'll pass on the extra work as it is directly proportional to the length of time that I get to enjoy my toys! :-D

[rustybronco]

I own three, 3/8" click in-lbs, 3/8" beam in-lbs, 1/2" click ('76 craftsman) ft-lbs better to use them than not, love my 1/2" craftsman never broke a bolt in 30 years torquing them just make sure they're not streched first.

[twr1776]

Thanks all for the advice, I think I will get a 3/8" in/lbs and call it a day. I have a 1/2" drive but tend to bulldog which is not a good thing for aluminum threads.

[49er]

Torquewrenches have (at least) two different kind of errors:
Missing repeatability and/or missing calibration.

With missing repatability throw it away, but it is fairly easy to recalibrate a torquewrench. (I have made a Low-tech presentation at: http://home20.inet.tele.dk/xxxxx/torquewrench.htm for inspiration).

Stig

A very practical calibration exercise Stig.
Your calibration integrity may be compromised by be the accuracy of your scales and the ambient air temperature during calibration. You should be well within the 10% of accuracy that is accepted as being the norm for most torque wrenches though. On a larger scaled wrench, at an indicated 500ft lbs, you could be actually torqueing 550 ft lbs.
On our GS's the head torque figure of 29 ft lbs, could increase to 32 ft lbs but that increase is not likely to break studs or strip threads.
The key is consistancy of torque.

[saddlewarmer]

Torquewrenches have (at least) two different kind of errors:
Missing repeatability and/or missing calibration.

With missing repatability throw it away, but it is fairly easy to recalibrate a torquewrench. (I have made a Low-tech presentation at: http://home20.inet.tele.dk/xxxxx/torquewrench.htm for inspiration).

Stig

Can you make the formula in ft lbs and in lbs for some of us?

[bwringer]

It's important to keep a firm grip on reality as well as your torque wrench. If your arm has a good idea of what 25 foot-pounds or whatever feels like, you'll be far less likely to strip threads.

You also need a good reality checker in your head -- it's pretty easy to misinterpret rows of teensy little numbers in a manual, so think carefully about the size of the threads and the materials involved before crankin' 'er down.

And lastly, make sure you understand the terminology -- I've seen tales of woe here from people who confused the size of the wrench (10mm) with the size of the threads (6mm), and applied 10mm worth of torque to a 6mm bolt.

With the smaller bolt sizes (6mm - 8mm and under), especially threads going into aluminum, I still prefer to tighten them very carefully by hand, using 1/4 inch drive tools wherever possible. There's a certain feel you develop after a while for when things start to go wrong. And at lower torque settings, you can't trust most torque wrenches.

[POULSEN]

Your calibration integrity may be compromised by be the accuracy of your scales

Are you questioning the accuracy of my wifes kitchenscale ?:-D

Can you make the formula in ft lbs and in lbs for some of us?

My best guess would be:
Replace Kg with lbs
Replace m with feet
Skip gravity
- and you will end up with ft-lbs

(But I might be corrected by some native non-metric:? )

Stig

[49er]

Are you questioning the accuracy of my wifes kitchenscale ?:-D


Stig

I guess it all depends on how prolific she is at cooking. \\/

bwringer, you're right about judging the torque by feel. I never use a torque wrench for bolts in the 5-12mm range. In fact, I have only used a torque wrench for tightening down heads, automotive gearbox and diff internals and flywheel nuts on mazda rotary engines.
When using a ratchet on the smaller bolts, I reduce the leverage by holding the ratchet pivot area in the palm of my hand. You get good feedback and reduce the risk of over tightening.
I must admit to stripping the odd thread in the early years. It's all part of the learning curve. You can't gain experience by just reading about it.

[kingofvenus]

I have a 120ft.lb. 3/8 snap-on that the anvil (the square part that the socket attaches to) broke off of it while set and used at 95ft.lbs.

[BadBillyB]

Tried to avoid this topic, but I figured I would throw my 2 cents in. I have 3 torque wrenchs, 1/4" drive in./lb, 3/8 drive ft/lb., and a 1/2" ft/lb wrench. They are all Snap-On "clicker" type and I have them calibrated every few years. The best tips I can give you are....
1) The torque spec you are working with should fall right in the midle of the range of the wrench. If you are torqueing the bearing caps to say 90"lbs., than the ideal wrench would have a range of 0-180" lbs. This is where the wrench is most accurate.
2) Make sure the threads/surfaces are lubricated with motor oil to lower the friction factor
3) Torque should be reached while the fastener is being rotated. Meaning, if you stop turning before the spec is reached (to reposition) and the wrench "clicks" before the fastener begins turning (after repositioning).....loosen the fastener and re-torque it. In other words, if you are torqueing the cylinder head nuts, and you are going for 30ft lbs and you stop at 26ft lbs to reposition the wrench, it may take 35ft lbs to just get the fastener moving again....Loosen slightly and re-torque
4) If you use "clickers" like I do, store them with them set at the lowest setting, it keeps the spring from losing its tension
5) If you are torqueing a bolt into a "blind" hole, (like the cam bearing caps) make sure there is no liquid (oil) in the hole. You can not compress a liquid and the threads will be ruined by the "hydraulic" action.

BadBillyB

[runewolf]

I hate to ressurect an old post, but I'm curious about what you guys think about this wrench? I've got to beg borrow or steal a torque wrench to replace gaskets in my bike

http://www.amazon.com/Neiko-Pro-PROF...033493&sr=8-19

[rustybronco]

where are you located?