Break-away, clicker ones are nice but need to be stored with the scale at zero. Also, DON'T DROP. They will need calibrating every couple of years, also more expensive. Positives of breakaway are that you don't need to see the scale, you will feel and hear it click when you get to the torque you have set. The pointer style are more basic, you will always have to see the scale to know where you are. Cheaper, maybe not as accurate as breakaway, but you will get very close, within tolerance anyway. Calibration? Just make sure pointer is at zero before you start. More differences, pros and cons for each, but I think I hit the main ones. And yeah, a torque wrench is a needed tool now days for your new car as well as if you plan on working on your classic. Hope this helps.
torque wrench
- Thread starter leblanc
- Start date
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How much did you pay for your car? Did you get it for free? No? I bet it cost a lot. And now it's like "oh GOD I just CAN'T go to the trouble to buy a TORQUE WRENCH!!!"
Kinda sounds stupid like that, doesn't it?
And I tell you what. To show you I'm not bein an *** about it, I will go out to our local Harbor Freight if you don't have access to one up there and get you one and ship it to you if you pay for it. A good beam type is all you need. It will literally last forever if you take good care of it.
I looked on Harbor Freight and they do not have a beam type. But I looked on Ebay for you. Found a seller in Vancouver, Wa. They ship free worldwide, at least it says they do. They have great feedback, too. This torque wrench will do anything you want on a Mopar engine. It goes to 150 LB FT, and is BOTH 3/8 and 1/2 drive.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-8-AND-1-2...292?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416f63deb4
$28.90 with free shipping. You cannot beat it.
Kinda sounds stupid like that, doesn't it?
And I tell you what. To show you I'm not bein an *** about it, I will go out to our local Harbor Freight if you don't have access to one up there and get you one and ship it to you if you pay for it. A good beam type is all you need. It will literally last forever if you take good care of it.
I looked on Harbor Freight and they do not have a beam type. But I looked on Ebay for you. Found a seller in Vancouver, Wa. They ship free worldwide, at least it says they do. They have great feedback, too. This torque wrench will do anything you want on a Mopar engine. It goes to 150 LB FT, and is BOTH 3/8 and 1/2 drive.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-8-AND-1-2...292?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416f63deb4
$28.90 with free shipping. You cannot beat it.
The spring scale and lever method is how I set some bearing pre-loads. In those cases there is no nut or bolt head to put a driver on. It works. Not too convenient, but it works.
I like clicker type torque wrenches, but don't own one and don't plan to buy one. No idea of when they're out of calibration. With a beam type it's pretty obvious when it's out and easy to re-zero. If I turned wrenches for a living I'd have a clicker, and have it calibrated annually.
My high school auto shop instructor once demonstrated how inaccurate the "good-n-tight" method is. Used a beam wrench to loosen all of the SBC head bolts that he'd just had a student 'manually' torque to what he thought was 100 ft-lbs. Had another student call out the torque when the bolt first moved. Those bolts that the first student had thought were all pretty close to the same torque were not. There was a 20 ft-lbs. difference between the tightest and the loosest.
I like clicker type torque wrenches, but don't own one and don't plan to buy one. No idea of when they're out of calibration. With a beam type it's pretty obvious when it's out and easy to re-zero. If I turned wrenches for a living I'd have a clicker, and have it calibrated annually.
My high school auto shop instructor once demonstrated how inaccurate the "good-n-tight" method is. Used a beam wrench to loosen all of the SBC head bolts that he'd just had a student 'manually' torque to what he thought was 100 ft-lbs. Had another student call out the torque when the bolt first moved. Those bolts that the first student had thought were all pretty close to the same torque were not. There was a 20 ft-lbs. difference between the tightest and the loosest.
thesiren74
Well-Known Member
I just make one at work,we make medical torque wrenches and screw drivers. It is sweet.
GeorgeH
Well-Known Member
Good-n-tite method can result in stripped-n-loose. Maybe not the norm, but I torque pan gaskets and such, less problems,and don't know that I'd trust a loan-a-tool that was used as a breaker bar.
If you plan on owning your classic car for a while then you should consider investing in a torque wrench. There's a torque specification for pretty well every nut/bolt on the car so you will use it again and again. If you only ever changed the oil and grease on the car, why are you installing an intake? As others have mentioned, it's handy when putting wheels back on. If you need to put all 4 back on, that's using 20 times in one job!
Ah, the old "Stripped and a 1/4 turn" method!
Forgot to mention that the Top Alcohol Dragster that I crewed on years ago had a run on spun rod bearings. Nothing we tried fixed the problem, and Howard's (our sponsor) was getting weary of sending us rods. Turned out that the Snap-On clicker torque was out of calibration. The bearings quit spinning when the rod bolts were torqued correctly!
Forgot to mention that the Top Alcohol Dragster that I crewed on years ago had a run on spun rod bearings. Nothing we tried fixed the problem, and Howard's (our sponsor) was getting weary of sending us rods. Turned out that the Snap-On clicker torque was out of calibration. The bearings quit spinning when the rod bolts were torqued correctly!
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