Suggestions for buying a torque wrench

"E. Julius" (soonerfrommi) 04/29/2015 at 15:45 • Filed to: None

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I intend to start getting into wrenching this summer, especially since I will be picking up a motorcycle that won’t be a PITA if it’s out of commission. My dad probably has a janky old torque wrench around somewhere, but I’d like to start building my tool collection and buy one for myself.

What kind(s) should I get, what should I look for as a sign of quality, how much should I spend?

I’d like something that I could use for most of the stuff on my bike, and use on a lot of the stuff on my car as well. As far as quality is concerned, I don’t need the absolute top of the line, but I’d be willing to make a decent investment for a good wrench that will last a long while.

Beyond what most of them are and what they do, I don’t know a lot about tools/tool brands, so go as basic as you feel the need to go.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 15:47

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Get a beam type torque wrench. Will never go out of calibration, you can see the torque as you approach the limit, and you never have to worry about re-setting it to zero when not in use. Dirt cheap also.

http://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-295…

dogisbadob > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 15:47

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Harbor Freight has them for $10, and they’re actually pretty good. 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2-in drives.

They also have a huge 3/4 torque wrench, but it costs a bit more.

1111111111111111111111 > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 15:56

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Don’t forget the cute ones:

E. Julius > 1111111111111111111111 04/29/2015 at 15:57

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Awwww

1111111111111111111111 > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 16:01

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I got these for my bicycles. But equally handy for any precision work. The set was less than $80. Big to 600 inch/lb and small to 60 inch/lb

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > Will with a W8 races an E30 04/29/2015 at 16:08

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I’ll second this. Using something like the Gorilla ratcheting torque wrench makes it too easy to convince yourself that it’s a combination socket wrench/breaker bar.

You don’t calibrate a breaker bar.

uofime > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 16:16

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I asked this same question

I bought the CDI, It is awesome.

WhiskeyGolf > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 16:16

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Keep in mind that if you intend to use it on your car (replacing winter wheels comes to mind), you’ll want a reasonably heavy duty wrench, with a torque capacity of 90 lbs-ft or greater. That means likely spending some serious coin on a 1/2” or 3/4” drive, but it will probably be the last torque wrench you need to buy.

deekster_caddy > Will with a W8 races an E30 04/29/2015 at 16:17

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I agree with this. I’ve had a few click-type torque wrenches and they are nice for auto wheels, but for everything else I’d prefer a beam. The reason I’ve had a few is because the crappy ratchet head fails, or it needs to be recalibrated (which costs almost as much as a new one), etc...

deekster_caddy > 1111111111111111111111 04/29/2015 at 16:18

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It’s actually really important for small engine parts. It’s very easy to overtighten a valve cover bolt. If you just have a 1/2in wrench, it’s very hard to do 11 ft lb...

E. Julius > WhiskeyGolf 04/29/2015 at 16:21

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I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to getting something like that. Would I be able to use it for stuff on my motorcycle as well, or no?

1111111111111111111111 > deekster_caddy 04/29/2015 at 16:21

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I use them religiously after a bad wreck caused by an over torqued bolt. My hands doesn’t know 10 inch pounds from 15.

Birddog > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 16:26

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I’ll second (or third) a Beam type wrench. I still have and use the Craftsman one Pops gave me in 1996. Don’t drop it and keep it clean.

WiscoProud > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 16:28

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I recently purchased a Tekton 1/2" torque wrench off of Amazon for an upcoming project (and I wanted it). Feels pretty heavy duty to me, and the case it came with was nice. rated for 10-150 ft/lbs. Cost was only $40 too.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00…

WhiskeyGolf > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 16:31

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I would assume the wrench has a low minimum torque requirement and with a couple drive adapters you could work on smaller bolts.

Racescort666 > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 16:53

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I have 2 suggestions:

1. Don’t ever use a torque wrench as a breaker bar, only use it to tighten nuts/bolts and only torque within the capacity of the bar.

2. Don't mistake in-lb for ft-lb

Snuze: Needs another Swede > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 17:19

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I have a dial type, and my dad has a few click types. Both are fine, but I know my dial needs to be recalibrated. The clicks can be good if you are only using them occasionally and use them only for their intended purpose.

The beams are nice because they don’t really need calibration, just be careful with them.

Needmoargarage > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 18:02

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In my experience, beam types tend to be cheaper and reliable, but are a major pain on certain components if you don’t have great visibility of the gauge. Click types are quick and nice for awkward spaces but tend to be more expensive and the cheaper ones can have calibration issues. I went with the Kobalt 1/2” torque wrench from Lowes. Not super pricey, but does have calibration certification and a supposed lifetime warranty. I wanted something accurate enough to work well, but didn’t want it to be too expensive in case it got ‘misplaced’ at a track day or something.

Make sure you get one for the correct range torques you need. If you get a click type, be sure to drop the torque setting low when not in use to keep it calibrated!

Frank Grimes > 1111111111111111111111 04/29/2015 at 23:05

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check this out. its so wierd that the harbor freight ones are actually really accurate.

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/additio…

1111111111111111111111 > Frank Grimes 04/29/2015 at 23:12

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Yeah. I’m not opposed to HF at all. Sole things the do right. But what I find interesting is that everyone has replied with ft lbs when I’m talking inch pounds.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > E. Julius 04/29/2015 at 23:16

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I use click types at work. IMO they are more repeatable than beam types and easier to use. They do require more care though. On phone now, will try to remember to revisit this tomorrow when on keyboard.

Frank Grimes > 1111111111111111111111 04/30/2015 at 00:31

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personally i would just go with a craftsmen.

they got both 3/8 and 1/2 and for $39.99 is a killer deal

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-micr…

Meatcoma > E. Julius 04/30/2015 at 13:02

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most motorcycle torque specs are in/lbs and autos ft/lbs. Converting them is easy.

if your torque is 24ft/lbs then multiple 24*12 for in/lbs if it’s 36 in/lbs then divide 36/12 for ft lbs.

Knowing that, if your foot weighs 6 lbs and you have 2, and you step on a landmine and lose 3.2 toes, should you get a 3/8 or 1/2 inch torque wrench in ft/lbs or in/lbs?

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > E. Julius 04/30/2015 at 15:15

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I prefer the click type torque wrenches because they are much more repeatable, especially in situations where you don’t have a perfect view of the beam type. If you don’t have a clear view of the beam types you can be in a position where it is literally impossible to tell if you’re putting the correct torque on. With the click type you set them to the proper torque and then you will feel and hear the click. This works no matter how buried the torque wrench is and no matter how little room there is above it, and even if you are using it from the bottom side. I ran into this situation when torquing a banjo bolt on my brake calipers. There was no way to get my head on the proper side so I had to do it blind. With the beam types, even if you have a clear view of the wrench you can still screw it up by having your head not dead nuts perpendicular to the beam.

You do need to take more care of a click type. Obviously you have to set it to the proper torque for each use. You also need to set it to the lowest setting when you’re done with it so the calibration doesn’t get screwed up. Since there are fine mechanical bits involved there is also the possibility that it will break. Because you don’t use a torque wrench for general wrenching the chances of that are pretty low. The most important thing to remember is NEVER LOOSEN ANYTHING WITH A TORQUE WRENCH . The only reason torque wrenches are reversible is so that they can torque left handed threads. Don’t ever use the torque wrench to loosen anything. This will screw the calibration. If you take care of a click type by remembering to set it to the minimum torque when you’re done using it and never using it to loosen anything you will get years of trouble free use out of it.

As for brands, at work we have a 3/8” drive Williams 10-100 ft-lb and a 1/2” drive CDI-Torque 50-250 ft-lb wrench. Both appear to have come from the same factory. The finish and hardware on them appears to be identical. The Williams was several hundred dollars (many years old, I don’t remember for sure) from an industrial supply house, the CDI-Torque was about $150 from Amazon or $300 from Graingers. Both came calibrated and in nice blow molded cases that we use for storing them. Stay away from Craftsman, I bought a small microclick wrench and the settings are incomprehensible.

One thing to consider with a click type torque wrench is that the bottom 25-30% of the range is useless. Our small wrench claims it is 10-100 ft-lbs, but in reality the lowest usable torque is 25-30 ft-lbs. If you take that into consideration when choosing your range you will be fine.

E. Julius > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 04/30/2015 at 15:33

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Lots of good information, thanks!

The Compromiser > E. Julius 04/30/2015 at 18:15

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I just picked up a beam wrench to work on the motorcycle. Rare to see anything over 100Ft/lbs. Rear wheel is 60 or something.

I work with tq wrenches. We have digital ones. They are stupid expensive. And I can never ger the ratchet ones set right, or to stay correct. Should stop using them as hammers

for Michigan > WiscoProud 05/14/2015 at 22:56

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Used this when I did the head gasket on my Civic. Works great.