Torque Wrench

pplblazerdude · Mar 23, 2015

Well over the weekend I was doing a clutch and then brakes on my tundra. At the end of the day I noticed my trusty craftsman torque wrench keep unlocking a lot. Come to find out I broke the handle and now it will not stay at a specific torque no matter what you do. So I loaded up and went to sears........ No dice they are only warrantied for one year and thats only good with a receipt neither which applied to me. Now I am in the market for a new torque wrench. What do you guys recommend? I am not a mechanic by trade just a heavy hobby user.

Thanks

bamatoy · Mar 23, 2015

Honestly you pay alot for the name. Where I work we actually build a torque wrench calibrator for the Army/National Guards mainly. We've tested basically every wrench on the market, up to 1500 ft. Lbs. Harbor freight all through Snap on tested out within their calibration certifications.

The biggest thing is proper care when not in use, digital wrenches dont have the same issues as the twist kind.

Myself I prefer digital. Also get a wrench closest to max torque you will be using( basically dont get a 250lb wrench for a 75lb job.)

wap13 · Mar 24, 2015

Mechanic buddy of mine mentioned of all the ones hes used the gearwrench seemed to be the best or at least as good as the snap on/matco. I want to think (could be wrong) he said matco was a rebranded gearwrench. Either way I got one and have used it to put in a few sets of head studs on cummins trucks, torqued the main bearings on a 6.8 liter John deere motor, and a few other things where I consider a good torque wrench necessary and so far nothing has let go. I like that it beeps at me too. I came from a "click" style wrench and other than relying on batteries I prefer digital. The flex head is a big plus for me too.

kushKrawlin · Mar 24, 2015

Harbor freight for me. I can't imagine how much a badass snap on like the one I saw a guy using it he other day. dam thing beeped when he was at correct torque!! My ole harbor freight is still holding up. Now, I'm sure none of the torque settings have been correct but I just keep tellin myself it is. Haha. I really would like to know how much them guys are. Man they are badass. Just turn and "BEEP". If i was a mechanic I would have the nicest most organized **** out there. But I'm a reject so I have a clusterfuk of **** tools.

rstdwright · Mar 24, 2015

Harbor freight cheap does the job I've used some higher named ones and was disappointed in them one story I used a Armstrong or William can't remember but brand new digital never used was rated for like 400 inch lbs the bolt I was using was only rated for like 30inch lbs and the dam thing stripped out and was useless

bamatoy · Mar 24, 2015

Click style are less accurate because when it clicks most off the time 1~5 lbs more is applied.

Neal3000 · Mar 24, 2015

yall use torque wrenches? i just torque everything to REALLY FAWKING TIGHT, seems to be working out so-far

wap13 · Mar 24, 2015

kushKrawlin said:
Harbor freight for me. I can't imagine how much a badass snap on like the one I saw a guy using it he other day. dam thing beeped when he was at correct torque!! My ole harbor freight is still holding up. Now, I'm sure none of the torque settings have been correct but I just keep tellin myself it is. Haha. I really would like to know how much them guys are. Man they are badass. Just turn and "BEEP". If i was a mechanic I would have the nicest most organized **** out there. But I'm a reject so I have a clusterfuk of **** tools.

You ever need to borrow a good tq wrench let me know. I usually only use one motor stuff like head bolts, main caps and flywheel bolts. One broken head bolt will make you wish you had spent the money up front on a good one. I used a cheap husky special for years but now that I have (what I consider) a good one I will never be without.

grcthird · Mar 24, 2015

One thing most people over look is having them recalibrated every so often. I've had both of my snap ons done 2 or 3 times. Most of the tool trucks have a scale mounted on the wall so you can see if yours is torqueing properly. I mainly only use mine on intake and head bolts, occasionally wheel bolts on German cars.

scubajeeper · Mar 25, 2015

Make sure on the click style that you dial it back to it's lowest setting when you are through using it. If you keep tension on it all the time it will lose calibration.