Tools & Fabrication - Decent 3/8 click torque wrench for $50 or under?

Are there any decent 3/8 click torque wrenches for under $50?

I don't want to take a chance on the cheap one from Harbor Freight. Even though it has a lifetime warranty i'd probably be there every few weeks returning it.

cheap and accurate are in the the same phrase of cheap and good , its non existant , if you want a cheap but accurate buy a beam and needle style from sears , they hardly go out of calibration , the only one I know of was dropped and run over by a car . and the ones in my tool box are over 30 years old and acurate as the day I bought them .

I have a 45 dollar one from advance auto its within a ft lb of my 150 dollar storm.

I have one from auto zone and it works good, but i would check out harbor freight some of there stuff isnt bad. I have alot of things from there and they all still work. I havent returned anything from there yet.

It depends on what you want to use the wrench for.

If you need something super accurate for setting up short blocks or valvetrains, then there's not much (brand new) for $50 or under that's going to fit the bill. I have seen some steal deals on guys selling used Snap On, Matco, Craftsman, etc... TQ wrenches for CHEAP. A little while back I bought a Blue Point 3/4 drive TQ wrench that goes up to 600 ft lbs from a guy desperate for money for $75........The wrench sells new from Blue Point for $600.

If you don't need something super accurate, the HF wrenches are fine. I've got one in my toolbox as an emergency back up, and it's within 1ft lb of my Blue Point 3/8" tq wrench.

the cheap autozone and jegs torque wrenches are the same as the harbor freight one, I would just go pick it up from harbor freight if you decide to go with that one since sometimes it's on sale for like $10

on the other hand I don't use mine for anything under 50ish ft/lbs, I really don't trust the click mechanism enough. the lower the torque the less it "clicks" and I've stripped out a few bolts accidentally because it wasn't noticeable enough. I bought a sears beam style for $25 that is much better for lower torque specs, and the harbor freight is for torquing lug nuts only now.

if you do enough head installs or motor work, its worth it to spend some more on a accurate torque wrench.you can get a used Snap on digital torque wrench for $250 on ebay.

It depends on what you want to use the wrench for.

If you need something super accurate for setting up short blocks or valvetrains, then there's not much (brand new) for $50 or under that's going to fit the bill. I have seen some steal deals on guys selling used Snap On, Matco, Craftsman, etc... TQ wrenches for CHEAP. A little while back I bought a Blue Point 3/4 drive TQ wrench that goes up to 600 ft lbs from a guy desperate for money for $75........The wrench sells new from Blue Point for $600.

If you don't need something super accurate, the HF wrenches are fine. I've got one in my toolbox as an emergency back up, and it's within 1ft lb of my Blue Point 3/8" tq wrench.

How do you check your tq wrench to see if its accurate. Ive had mine for a while and I would love to see where it stands in terms of accuracy

, the HF wrenches are fine. I've got one in my toolbox as an emergency back up, and it's within 1ft lb of my Blue Point 3/8" tq wrench.

Oh no don't say that out loud.....somebody is bound to not like it :devil:

Whats amazing to me is simply this: OP wants a torque wrench thats good, but cheap. But doesn't want one from HF. So people start spouting off bullshit places that they have bought their "under $50" torque wrenches that are supposedly decent. I bet if you lined up every "under $50" torque wrench they'd all look identical. By identical i mean made by the same Chinaman company. So in the end, its all the same shit, just buy the one from the store that has it the cheapest and go on about your business and stop trying to "avoid HF wrenches bc they are pieces of shit" kinda attitude.

I said "decent" not "good". I'd say that's somewhere between shitty and good :P

I'll probably end up getting a cheap beam-type because they seem to be more accurate than the cheap clickers. And i need it to go as low as 15lbs and all the cheap clickers won't go that low.

Beam style is likely the best for a budget. I have several clicker types and they have done fine so far from what I can tell.

I think craftsman has one for around $60

the cheap autozone and jegs torque wrenches are the same as the harbor freight one, I would just go pick it up from harbor freight if you decide to go with that one since sometimes it's on sale for like $10

on the other hand I don't use mine for anything under 50ish ft/lbs, I really don't trust the click mechanism enough. the lower the torque the less it "clicks" and I've stripped out a few bolts accidentally because it wasn't noticeable enough. I bought a sears beam style for $25 that is much better for lower torque specs, and the harbor freight is for torquing lug nuts only now.

Stop ham fisting it and the stripped bolts will end. The click from a HF wrench is loud enough to be heard over a radio and you can feel it in the handle

you can test and compare your torque wrench accuracy using a friends calibrated snap on.

How do you check your tq wrench to see if its accurate. Ive had mine for a while and I would love to see where it stands in terms of accuracy

My tool truck guy checks them for me. He was extremely impressed with the HF wrench and said he's never seen a cheap wrench so accurate.

I do NOT use the HF as a primary wrench, but it's a great back up especially for $19.99.

I ended up buying a Craftsman beam style at Sears for $20. Seemed to do the job.

Stop ham fisting it and the stripped bolts will end. The click from a HF wrench is loud enough to be heard over a radio and you can feel it in the handle

at above 50 ft/lbs yes, as I get lower with mine it gets less and less noticeable until eventually it gives almost no indication at all