Torque Wrench: recommended replacement

[OptimusPrimeSr]

I had a $35/$40 craftsman 3/8" torque wrench that I broke while using to try to loosen the lug nuts on a friends car...yeah yeah, I was in a pinch.


Sooo, I'm in the market for a new one. It doesn't have to be fancy, but I'd like to be able to use it for pretty much anything important. Here are the upcoming jobs that I'll need it for...

- trans. fluid and filter replacement
- new brake master cylinder replacement
- new oil pan gasket replacement

1. recommendations?
2. will I be able to get by with a torque wrench that measures down to 10 ft/lbs, or will it need to go lower? If it needs to go lower, what types of jobs would require it to go lower?

Thanks! - possibly more questions to come.

[86AccordLxi]

Tsk tsk, not supposed to be loosening stuff with a torque wrench. Buy a breaker bar or get a piece of pipe that you can slide over the end of a 1/2" drive ratchet.

Anyways, I'd say pick up another craftsman torque wrench. I wouldn't trust a cheap harbor freight special.

And you really shouldn't need a torque wrench for the jobs you have listed there.

[Pico]

since it's a Craftsman, aren't they lifetime warranty.
You can bring back to Sears and get a replacment. I dont think they need a receipt for warranty exchange. I could be wrong about the replacement exchange but it's worth a try.

[OptimusPrimeSr]

since it's a Craftsman, aren't they lifetime warranty.
You can bring back to Sears and get a replacment. I dont think they need a receipt for warranty exchange. I could be wrong about the replacement exchange but it's worth a try.

yeah that was my understanding when I bought it from sears, but after a quick searches after it broke, I found out otherwise.

[OptimusPrimeSr]

And you really shouldn't need a torque wrench for the jobs you have listed there.

based on my research, putting an oil pan back on after replacing the gasket without residual leaks can be a real bear if not torqued to spec...

[ZackieDarko]

SnapOn digital

mmmmmm best tool EVER even vibrates when you hit the ft/lb or in/lb your select

[Hauntd ca3]

snap on are rip off artists
there are better for less
sykes and pickvant are good
get a 1/2 and a 3/8 drive one
1/2 are better for the bigger thigs like head bolts/flywheel bolts

[Tdurr]

SnapOn digital

mmmmmm best tool EVER even vibrates when you hit the ft/lb or in/lb your select

damn skippy! i got 2 of them for sale. 300 each. from 5-100ft/lb

I also got a regular snap-on one for 110 for my 3geez members(hehe) it goes from 10-70 i think...

[ZackieDarko]

snap on are rip off artists
there are better for less
sykes and pickvant are good
get a 1/2 and a 3/8 drive one
1/2 are better for the bigger thigs like head bolts/flywheel bolts

"rip off" or not they make the best TQ wrench I have EVER used digital/non-digital

AND it makes little beeps which are neat

[russiankid]

If I were to get a new torque wrench, I'd get a digital one. To do an oil pan, you need one that goes under 7 ft/lbs. Most torque wrenches are not accurate at their highest and lowest settings.

[AZmike]

A lot of what Harbor Freight sells is junk. However, their torque wrenches seem to work well. Everyone I've read about that had his calibrated or tested found that the error was less than 4%. I've tested my 3/8" against a known good beam-style wrench with excellent results before each use on critical fasteners (con rods, head bolts, etc.).

For the oil pan you probably want a 1/4" torque wrench so you'll be in the right range as mentioned above.

[Dr_Snooz]

If money were no object, I'd buy a Snap-On. No questions asked. Money is an object however, so I use a Home Depot (Harbor Freight equivalent) cheapie. It goes from 0-150 lbs. It's a half-inch, click type and it works wonderfully. I've never broken anything with it and never had anything rattle loose. I use it to remove lug nuts and to torque lug nuts to exactly 80 ft-lbs. I wouldn't worry so much about accuracy as your wrench would have to be wildly inaccurate to cause problems. You will probably lose more accuracy the first time you drop it or leave it set overnight than it will have out of the box. You absolutely need a torque wrench to do your oil pan properly.

I use a torque wrench on every bolt. Every bolt from the cruise control actuator mount bolts to the CV spindle nut. Every bolt.

[Hauntd ca3]

"rip off" or not they make the best TQ wrench I have EVER used digital/non-digital

AND it makes little beeps which are neat

not sayin they are bad tools, just way over priced is all.
have had a few snap on spanners and screw drivers and they no better than tools quarter the price.
if anything i prefer my $20 spanner set to my old snap on ones which were ten times the price

[2oodoor]

not sayin they are bad tools, just way over priced is all.
have had a few snap on spanners and screw drivers and they no better than tools quarter the price.
if anything i prefer my $20 spanner set to my old snap on ones which were ten times the price

Other tool companies make tools for them so the main benefit is excellant customer support, uniformity, and guarunteed quality.
I have a mix of brands for my hand tools but I must have a snap on ratchets and test lights.
I would use an inch LB torque, or one that is capable of going into inch lbs and ft lbs. I do use a snap on for that though since it was convienient to get one from them. Sears is ok too, again, convienient.

[A18A]

digital tq wrench :O I WANT ONE

[mykwikcoupe]

armstrong is all i own for torque wrenchs and ive got a 1/4-1/2-3/8 and i love them all. the price is less than snap on and the only thing they wont do is torque in reverse like some of the snap ons. the good news though is unless your working on a ford you dont use many reverse thread bolts.

Sears sucks, snap on is over priced and they wont honor there warrenties for me. harbor freight is great for cheap one time use tools but dont trust on something like torque specs.

[russiankid]

I got sockets from Harbor Freight that have taken a huge beating, and they're still good. They are, however, 1/2" drive impact sockets.

[ghettogeddy]

yeah that was my understanding when I bought it from sears, but after a quick searches after it broke, I found out otherwise.

naw take that bitch in the only thing i can think of thats craftsman that isent under the lifetime warranty is the power tools

[snoopyloopy]

first, i'd try taking it back to sears and try there. (unless you'd waste as much time as it'd cost replace.) if that fails, then depends on how much you use your tools. i got all my torque wrenches from (gasp!) harbor freight, and they've all seemed decent to me so far. especially considering that i use them almost never. for the jobs you listed, i don't think i even torqued my bmc (seeing my wrench is kinda big). i'm assuming you're auto though since you said you're replacing trans filter? if that's the case, you might run into a few bolts that you want to torque in that whole process. and for the oil pan gasket, i'd definitely torque the bolts to the block.

[DBMaster]

I use a torque wrench on every bolt. Every bolt from the cruise control actuator mount bolts to the CV spindle nut. Every bolt.

Man, I thought I was compulsive. LOL

[OldSkoolA20accord]

sears took my craftsman torque wrench back when it broke. i didnt even buy it there.

[markmdz89hatch]

While I'm not all that nuts when it comes to torque'ing down everything to exact specs.... ...in fact, there's only a very small handful of parts that I do stress on getting to exact specs, and oil pan gasket is definitely one of them.

I'm with Roo on getting an in/lb 1/4" wrench for the oil pan, as that needs a very low tq, and with too much tq, you'll have a hell of a time getting a leak free job.

Anyway, I have a friend that works for snap-on, and he does agree that they are very expensive, but the benefit, as has already been said here, is their customer service is great, and their quality control on the tools they produce, or have produced for them, is great.

What I'm a big fan of with Snap-On is that I can buy a tool from them, and pay weekly or monthly on it until it's paid off. I just give them my cc or debit card info, and they automatically charge me a set amount until it's paid off. Makes it hurt less imo.

That said, I have a cheapie harbor freight 1/2 clicker (up to 150 ft/lb) that I use on basically nothing, but have it incase I need it, and I have to admit I'm not upset at all with its quality. I'm confident in using it when I have to, and for the $20 it cost me, if I break it I'm not going to cry over it. I have used my kick ass S*K 250 ft/lb clicker (it's a huge wrench) for axle nuts, flywheel bolts, etc, and it's proven very useful, and for the price (i think it was 130) I feel I got a good tool for a good price.

hmm.... I wonder if we should start a sub-forum in mechanical for tool reviews?

side note, for lugs, I never use that stupid lug wrench as it's bulky and always gets in the way of everything. Instead my weapon of choice is my 24" long 1/2" breaker w/ a long 19 impact socket. ...for those ugly stubborn beasts I break out the answer to anything, my trusty 42" long 3/4" breaker. I have yet to find anything that beat that wrench.

[markmdz89hatch]

sears took my craftsman torque wrench back when it broke. i didnt even buy it there.

Given that Sears (I know KMart now too, but that's only because Eddie used KMart to buy Sears) is the only one that sells Craftsman tools, because they own the name, and they have a lifetime warranty on tools (not always electronics), if it's broken and you bring it to them, they usually always replace it with the exact or comparable tool. Good luck

[Hauntd ca3]

While I'm not all that nuts when it comes to torque'ing down everything to exact specs.... ...in fact, there's only a very small handful of parts that I do stress on getting to exact specs, and oil pan gasket is definitely one of them.

I'm with Roo on getting an in/lb 1/4" wrench for the oil pan, as that needs a very low tq, and with too much tq, you'll have a hell of a time getting a leak free job.

Anyway, I have a friend that works for snap-on, and he does agree that they are very expensive, but the benefit, as has already been said here, is their customer service is great, and their quality control on the tools they produce, or have produced for them, is great.

What I'm a big fan of with Snap-On is that I can buy a tool from them, and pay weekly or monthly on it until it's paid off. I just give them my cc or debit card info, and they automatically charge me a set amount until it's paid off. Makes it hurt less imo.

That said, I have a cheapie harbor freight 1/2 clicker (up to 150 ft/lb) that I use on basically nothing, but have it incase I need it, and I have to admit I'm not upset at all with its quality. I'm confident in using it when I have to, and for the $20 it cost me, if I break it I'm not going to cry over it. I have used my kick ass S*K 250 ft/lb clicker (it's a huge wrench) for axle nuts, flywheel bolts, etc, and it's proven very useful, and for the price (i think it was 130) I feel I got a good tool for a good price.

hmm.... I wonder if we should start a sub-forum in mechanical for tool reviews?

side note, for lugs, I never use that stupid lug wrench as it's bulky and always gets in the way of everything. Instead my weapon of choice is my 24" long 1/2" breaker w/ a long 19 impact socket. ...for those ugly stubborn beasts I break out the answer to anything, my trusty 42" long 3/4" breaker. I have yet to find anything that beat that wrench.

the only bits i actually ever worry bout torque specs with is bits that a directly tied to the engine running and staying in working order.
engine internals,flywheel,oil sump,cam pulleys and associated tensioners.
every thing else you sort of know if its tight enuff by feel.

i must admit that snap ons customer service is good.
our rep is always sticking his head in the door( prob chasing another sale tho)
to see how things are goin.

think there is room for a tools review section eh.

[2oodoor]

hmm.... I wonder if we should start a sub-forum in mechanical for tool reviews?

.

no, but seriously?




don't joke around like that....