THSCC Forums

I don't trust my HF 1/2" click type wrench and need to buy something else. Mostly likely two different ones to cover torque ranges. I am most likely NOT going to buy any click tyles. A few questions...

1. Anyone know anything about something like this...

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... 0944599000

2. Any reason to get a "dial" type over a regular "beam"? I am guessing that a dial is just a beam with a dial indicator attached. I am thinking a cheap beam for lower values and a nicer dial for larger values.

3. Who is the best bang for the buck (not HF)? Craftsman? Snap-On? Someone else?

4. I see that sometimes people use their air gun to roughly torque stuff. How do you get an idea what torque your gun will apply? Guessing? Documentation? Torque a nut and then try to remove using something like a beam style wrench to see what value it breaks free at? Some other method? I am curious about the air gun approach as this weekend I am going to need to retorque the crank pulley on my Civic after I replace the timing belt and it is supposed to be about 180 fl/lbs or so.

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

I disagree with your assessment that you need a cheaper one for lower values. The higher the torque means to me that it could be off by ± 20 lb/ft and not hurt anything, but having a larger discrepancy at lower torques could mean an improperly torqued bolt, and either breakage (ask me how I know this) or something that can come loose.

Dial indicator beams would be more useful IMHO for intricate engine builds rather than what you'll ever need it for.

But if you don't trust the clicker, try this: loosen then torque one of your wheel studs with the clicker, then verify with someone else's beam. If it's off by more than 10%, then it becomes a hammer. Otherwise, you're wasting your money.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

whats wrong w/ clicker types? i have a craftsman 25-250 ft/er and a craftsman 10-250 in/lb'er and i like em both. and the big one has really been abused

*shrug*

Just an FYI- Craftsman torques wrenches are NOT covered by their "lifetime" hand tool warranty- it's in the fine print on the package, can't remember but I think it's either 90 days or maybe 1 year.



Depending on what you are torqueing, my personal preference is to buy one of those cheap-o ~$20 HF or Autozone 1/2" clicker type wrenches. I usually check it against someone else's wrench to make sure it's not WAY off and so far, so good.

If it gets out of calibration or breaks (usually the latter)- I spring for another $20 wrench and do it all over again. I then have another 1/2 breaker bar too (the old broken torque wrench)!!!!

Bret.

You can have the Craftsman's recalibrated for about $15 the last time I did it. - AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

Aaron,

Is that through Sears?

FYI to you folks "calibrating" against "someone else's" wrench. What basis to you have that their wrench is any more calibrated than yours?

To be actual "calibration" it really needs to be done against a reliable credible standard . . . generally all the way back to NIST (if I recall).

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

Only some Sears stores will send it off... why, I don't know. The Glenwood store wouldn't, but the one in Cary did. Very odd. This was about 3 years ago. I need to do it again by now for sure - AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

thats right, Bret.

their lifetime warranty is on hand tools and torque wrenches are considered a 'precision instrument' hah

there's a company off blue ridge road and western blvd that calibrates all sorts of things. i wonder if they do torque wrenches. i can't remember the name for crap, and i even interviewed for a job there once. precision something or other i think.

Dan,

I know the place you are talking about, but I also can't remember their name. We have sent all our torque wrenches and calibration guages from work there (stupid FAA, have to have everything just right!!)

I'll try to get the name of the place when I go in on Monday.

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza

HEHE, don't be surprised if the cost of calibration is more than a new Craftsman torque wrench.......



Bret.

I probably agree with you Wes. I just did a bad job explaining my reasoning. I am thinking of getting the Dial Indicator beam for specifically something like an engine rebuild. But when I say a "cheap" beam I am thinking something like a craftsman that (according to them) is going to be maybe +/-3% with the better dial model being +/-2%. The expectation here is that the cheap craftsman beam is going to be more accurate than the uncalibrated HF clicker as well as probably stay calibrated longer.

Last year when I was replacing the intake manifold on my mother-in-laws ford I was torquing the bolts that held the trottle body to the manifold. Probably not as important as some internal part like a rod bolt, but I wanted to try to torque it correctly in stead of doing the "that feels good" torque setting. Anyhow the HF clicker let me down. I can't remember the torque value, but it was low. I was torquing down the bolt and I was pretty sure it should have clicked, but I kept pulling. It eventually snapped the bolt. Just to let you know, I always back down the wrench to zero when not in use and have never dropped it, etc.

I am not one of those who run HF tools into the ground, but I just don't trust my HF wrench anymore for anything over than lug nuts and even then only if it seems to feel right when it clicks. I was at HF today and I almost bought one that was on sale so I could take it apart to see how it works. It would be nice to be able to calibrate on your own. Not that I would use a self calibrated wrench for anything serious.

So I may just buy the cheap Craftsman dial beam for the lower values until I can afford to get a nicer one. And that if I am going to buy a nicer one, that I might get one that maxes out in the 150-250 ft/lb range first.

Anyone have any suggestions on where to buy locally? I have Craftsman covered at Sears. What about Snap-On?

_________________
Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

Richard,

Years ago I was told by our Lab supervisor that Snap On wrenches were available with calibration certificates and could be recalibrated periodically. Craftsman could not. See this link and the referenced links for more information. http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... oup_ID=954

FYI I have two very old Craftsman click type torque wrenches which I periodically (once a decade or so ) compare with my even older beam type Craftsman wrench. So far the bolts don't strip and the engines I assembled with them "worked".

Here is some good info: http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/OBJECTS/49100/49079.PDF

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

The Advance Auto 1/2" torque wrenches last about two to three years for me. But they have a lifetime warranty. I'm on the third or fourth one now and I've only paid for one wrench so far. So far Advance Auto folks have been great about replacing the wrench with a new one with no questions or hassle.

The wrenches usually break while torquing a lug nut down during a wheel change. That's really all I use it for. The only real down side that I know of is that my co-driver banged his head against the fender when it broke the last time. There for awhile, I thought I was going to have to get a new fender. Just kidding Dick!


I finally got smart enough to just tape the receipt to the inside of the torque wrench case so that when I break it, I don't have to look everywhere for the receipt.

Miles,

Actually my only concern was your fender . . . might have been due to the minor blow to my head.

Given the chance of the torque wrench case being rained on, I would put the receipt in a plastic bag. At least it isn't likely to "go for a swim"

I'm still using the 1/2 drive Craftsman click type wrench I bought about 30 years ago. It has torqued a lot of lug nuts plus lots of other fasteners. I also have a 3/8 drive Craftsman clicker for smaller stuff that is probably only 20 - 25 years old. I have no idea when I bought the beam type wrench . . . but it is even older. Of course I still have Craftsman tools I bought for a summer job assembling Kenworth Truck frames in 1966.

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

For now (short term) I bought two craftsman beam types. One is 0-75 and the other is 0-150. Still shopping for long term solution.

Anyone have comments on something like this...

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... 0944599000

_________________
Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.