Torque Wrench For Engine Work Without Breaking Bank??

[cruiserloser123]

Currently, I have a torque wrench from Harbor Freight...but I am NOT going to use it on my FJ40!! I know that this thing is junk. So any recommendations for a torque wrench ? I will be doing the following:

# Rear Main Seal
# Oil Pan Gasket
# Intake and Exhaust Gaskets
# Timing Cover Plate
# Head Gasket
# 2F Head cover gasket
# Valve Cover Gasket

Also, a torque wrench with foot pounds probably best? ?

Will I need inch pound torque wrench too??

Any torque wrenches out there that won't break the bank? (I.E. NO SNAPON!! )

Will I need 1/2 inch for these jobs above??

Is Craftsman OK?
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=00944595000&vertical=Sears&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

I also know that torque wrenches need to be recalibrated every so often. How often? Is it better to just buy a new one or are there places they do this for a reasonable price.

 

[3jvj]

I'm a big fan of crafstman. Good bang for the buck. All of those snap on blue point only guys are snobs (and foolish). If I were an aircraft mechanic cool; otherwise snap-on also means "another sucker".

 

[Poser]

Sears would be your best bet.....or find a used tool store/pawn shop.


Good luck!


-Steve (another sucker)

 

[vagabond]

I recently rented one at a tool rental place.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

Was at Home Depot today and they had some reasonably priced ones - 1/4 thrue 1/2

 

[Cruiserdrew]

While I do not own, I have touched the Snap-On torque wrenches. Very nice. I'll buy one when I really need it. Otherwise, the Craftsman is OK. Suprisingly, it agrees closely with the $20 Torque wrench from Harbor Freight that I use to torque lug nuts and knuckle nuts. YMMV.

 

[D'Animal]

If I have some free time during my travels and I cannot hit the local swap meets I will hit the pawn shops. The prices are crazy cheap onn Slap On product.

 

[2mbb]

I have two, both are SK brand. One is a 3/8" 25 to 250 in-lbs, the other is 1/2" 20 to 150 ft*lbs. They pretty much do what ever I need to do. When I was getting started doing an engine rebulid, I took my dad's old Sears torque wrench to my machinist and he checked the calibration. He said it was off, and he convinced me to purchase new ones. I'm pretty strict that after using the torque wrench, I back off the micrometer to no load to keep the spring from getting a compression set. I hope this will keep it accurate longer. We never took this precaution with my dad's wrench.

 

[brew8]

Pawn shop, stuff is garanteed, might try you rich cousin for Xmas, Larry

 

[Tigerstripe40]

Pretty much any NEW torque wrench will be accurate.
So if the Harbor Freight unit is NEW, you should be OK

Where teh test comes is after time.
How accurate is the wrench 10 years later?
The Snap ON is most likely to be more accurate than a H-F or even a Craftsman.
But you pay for that.

All torque wrenches need to be calibrated at some point.
And this is not cheap.

When I rebuilt my 3VZ, I found it was cheaper to buy a NEW craftsman torque wrench than it was to have my dad's 20 year old Craftsman torque wrench recalibrated.

HTH

 

[IH8Wood]

I got a good deal on ebay for a snap on. Even after paying to have it calibrated it worked out cheaper than a new Craftsman and it's resale value is higher.

 

[RavenTai]

I got a good deal on ebay for a snap on.

I did the same, I checked the calibration myself they were all right on except for at the extremes.

 

[gdtrfb]

I did the same, I checked the calibration myself they were all right on except for at the extremes.

I
have a Arrgghh, I'm dateing my self here.. 26+year old craftsman torque wrench, allways backed it off to zereo, how do I check the calibration? or do I need to take it somewhere, if so where?
Thanks

 

[RavenTai]

well I had unushual access, we have digital torque wrench testers at work, every time you check out a torque wrench it is tested at the torque you intend to use.

Even if well maintained after 26 years your torque wrench very well could be off. if you can test it though it is a keeper, a lot of older craftsman stuff was of better quality than today

for our purposes you could rig up something and do a reasonably accurate spot check.

maybe lock up an extension in vise or something so that the wrench is perfectly level and hang known weights off of it at a certain distance from the center of the drive,

you could then figure out the torque, you would need to add in the torque generated by the weight of the wrench, find the to center of gravity and weight, you would need to make another allowance for the weight/distance of the part past the center of the drive,

 

[Tigerstripe40]

I
have a Arrgghh, I'm dateing my self here.. 26+year old craftsman torque wrench, allways backed it off to zereo, how do I check the calibration? or do I need to take it somewhere, if so where?
Thanks

Sears will do it.

It's NOT cheap, though.

 

[Grench]

well I had unushual access, we have digital torque wrench testers at work, every time you check out a torque wrench it is tested at the torque you intend to use.

Even if well maintained after 26 years your torque wrench very well could be off. if you can test it though it is a keeper, a lot of older craftsman stuff was of better quality than today

for our purposes you could rig up something and do a reasonably accurate spot check.

maybe lock up an extension in vise or something so that the wrench is perfectly level and hang known weights off of it at a certain distance from the center of the drive,

you could then figure out the torque, you would need to add in the torque generated by the weight of the wrench, find the to center of gravity and weight, you would need to make another allowance for the weight/distance of the part past the center of the drive,

You're right. Somehow I missed that one. We're thinking on the same lines though.

What if you were to change the plane of attack (not actually a pun)? Place your non-moving socket/extension flat on a table.

Your wrench will then need to be supported on something with low resistance. A piece of angle iron tacked to the table should be fine as the edge of it will provide our slide bearing. We now have the wrench positioned in a horizontal plane.

To supply the weights we'll need a line (light rope) and a pully (snatch block) to change the pull from across the bench to down the side.

The big question is, "What is the proper distance from the center of the stationary socket (anchor) to connect the line?"

Then it is just a matter of hanging a bunch of 'standard' weights in controlled increments off of it. See also, water in a bucket.

Redneck enough?

 

[RavenTai]

that would work, I like it

as long as it is a click type wrench you can apply the pressure anywhere along the wrench, beam types must be applied at the pivot of the handle and as deflection of the full beam gives the reading.

so if you had a 24" click type torque wrench and applied 37 pounds 19" from the center of the socket and it clicked you would have:

37pounds x 19 inches = 703 inch-pounds

703 inch-pounds /12 = 58.58 foot pounds

the pulley may add some resistance but as long as the rope was good and flexible not much and close enough for our purposes.


the next item would be accuracy of the weight, water is good as if you know its volume you know its weight, 8.33 pounds per gallon, you would need the tare weight of the bucket and rope (not much)

 

[gdtrfb]

You're right. Somehow I missed that one. We're thinking on the same lines though.

What if you were to change the plane of attack (not actually a pun)? Place your non-moving socket/extension flat on a table.

Your wrench will then need to be supported on something with low resistance. A piece of angle iron tacked to the table should be fine as the edge of it will provide our slide bearing. We now have the wrench positioned in a horizontal plane.

To supply the weights we'll need a line (light rope) and a pully (snatch block) to change the pull from across the bench to down the side.

The big question is, "What is the proper distance from the center of the stationary socket (anchor) to connect the line?"

Then it is just a matter of hanging a bunch of 'standard' weights in controlled increments off of it. See also, water in a bucket.

Redneck enough?

What?? are you an engineer .. seems to me that if I just clamp the extension in to the vise, apply a given weight to the handle (after setting wrench to same) would it not be the same?

 

[RavenTai]

What?? are you an engineer .. seems to me that if I just clamp the extension in to the vise, apply a given weight to the handle (after setting wrench to same) would it not be the same?

no the weight of the wrench would throw it off, you could calculate for the weight though.

 

[gdtrfb]

no the weight of the wrench would throw it off, you could calculate for the weight though.

so... if I added the weight of the wrench to the total of the weight?