Torque wrench question

"MrCrash" (MrCrash) 10/29/2014 at 14:16 • Filed to: None

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I'm looking at picking up one of the Tekton torque wrenches advertised on the main page for when I swap my winter wheels on and for other maintenance stuff, and have two questions for Oppo.

1) Anyone with experience with Tekton? Reviews on Amazon look good, but I'd sooner trust the folks on here.

2) Any reason to go with the 10-150 ft/lb over the 25-250 lb/ft model?

I can't think of any work I've done where I needed an exact torque spec under 25 ft/lb where I'd be able to fit one of these wrenches, but I also can't think of anything I've done or will do that would require over 135 ft/lb. I'm just not sure if there is a good reason to choose one over the other in this case since either would work well for me.

ly2v8-Brian > MrCrash 10/29/2014 at 14:21

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For most things the smaller one will be fine.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > MrCrash 10/29/2014 at 14:22

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Dyslexia and a short attention span are fun sometimes....

My thought process went something like this.

Torque Wrench...Torque, what a stupid movie....Torque Wench...Beer Wrench? What the hell is that?.....Beer....BEER WENCH!!!!!

StoneCold > MrCrash 10/29/2014 at 14:24

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I'd go with the bigger one and also get a smaller one that measures in inch lbs. I don't know how you haven't run into anything that needed inch lbs.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > MrCrash 10/29/2014 at 14:25

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If you have anything that is on the very low end of the range it is better to go with the lighter torque wrench. I had to tighten a banjo fitting on my brakes to 15 ft-lbs so I did it with a 10-150 ft-lb wrench. It was an awkward angle on the backside of the caliper and I never heard or felt it click so I way overtorqued the fitting and ruined the new crush washer and snapped a little protector ear off the caliper. I was able to reuse the old crush washer and haven't had any issues but I could easily have been out a caliper. If you ever foresee having to do anything at the low end of the range (say 25-50 ft-lbs) I would go with the 10-150 ft-lb wrench.

Mattbob > MrCrash 10/29/2014 at 14:26

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tekton tools are pretty shitty in my experience but they get the job done. Should be fine for lug nuts. as long as they are equal torques, the accuracy isn't so crucial +/- 5% or so. Precision over accuracy. as far as which one, I would go with the smaller one. It will be more accurate in the lower ranges. Even if its rated down to 25 ft lbs, they get really inaccurate as you get close to the bottom end. As long as you dont have to go above 150 ft lbs I would stick with the smaller size. Also it's ft lbs, not ft/lbs.

Brian, The Life of > MrCrash 10/29/2014 at 14:29

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Got my torque wrench at Harbor Freight. I have nothing of value to add.

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > MrCrash 10/29/2014 at 14:33

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I'd go with the smaller one. Most of of the time you'll use it in that range. I was going to say it should be more accurate for lower torques, but they claim 4% accuracy for both. Other factors: small one is 18" long, big one is 25" long. The smaller one has an easier to read scale on it. And it's cheaper!

Diesel > ly2v8-Brian 10/29/2014 at 14:47

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TWSS2U XD

ly2v8-Brian > Diesel 10/29/2014 at 14:55

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What are ya?12? Cmon man.

Diesel > ly2v8-Brian 10/29/2014 at 15:00

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Nope, over 30. You can't just leave one out over the plate like that without someone smashing it out of the park.

Too many M's > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 10/29/2014 at 15:17

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I'm a big fan of beer. And the wenches who deliver said beer.

ly2v8-Brian > Diesel 10/29/2014 at 15:59

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True, when the opening is there you slide into home.

uofime > StoneCold 10/29/2014 at 16:16

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anything in inch pounds means finger tight....

use a screw driver and don't try hard if it's a lot of them

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > MrCrash 10/29/2014 at 17:55

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Axle nuts on my honda were 181 ft-lbs, short of that you could get away with the 150.

Destructive Tester > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 10/30/2014 at 14:20

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The standard rule for selecting a torque wrench is to not use it below 20% of their maximum setting (in your case you set it for 10%). Due to the mechanical design of the wrench they really can't reliably be set below that point.

Destructive Tester > Brian, The Life of 10/30/2014 at 14:29

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Don't be too hard on the HF torque wrenches, they're actually a pretty good copy of Proto (Stanley) torque wrenches. I've found the wrenches to be at least as reliable as most of the higher price ones. The single biggest thing to remember about torque wrenches is to NOT try to use them below 20% of their full scale, and ALWAYS set them back to the minimum setting when you're done using them. Leaving a wrench set to full scale can literally ruin one overnight.

Background information: I worked in equipment calibration in the Air Force and have calibrated and repaired literally thousands of torque wrenches. I still check mine periodically (about every 3 months or before rebuilding an engine).

Brian, The Life of > Destructive Tester 10/30/2014 at 16:51

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Yeah that was kind of a joke. I've honestly no complaints with the tools I've purchased at HF.

Destructive Tester > Brian, The Life of 10/30/2014 at 18:02

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I've bought a lot of surprisingly good stuff there myself. You just have to be willing to not buy the cheapest stuff.