Shopping for a Torque Wrench ???
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 430
Likes: 0
From: Bahrain
Shopping for a Torque Wrench ??? What do u guys think of these low cost torque wrenches, like the one in this link http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-900042/
will they do the job? and are they accurate?
or should i spend $200-$300 for a proper torque wrench !!!
will they do the job? and are they accurate?
or should i spend $200-$300 for a proper torque wrench !!!
I got a good deal on a Craftsman. I only paid like $45, when they retail for $80 I think.
Craftsman are not good for use in tight areas. I had to borrow a friend's snap-on for a couple of jobs where the Craftsman wouldn't fit. Other than that, it's been pretty good to me.
Craftsman are not good for use in tight areas. I had to borrow a friend's snap-on for a couple of jobs where the Craftsman wouldn't fit. Other than that, it's been pretty good to me.
Depends on what kind of work you will be performing with it, for precision work like engine building you will want a high quality wrench (I prefer beam type). Then for less precise work like say tightening lug nuts you can get by with less of a wrench, typically click type.
I've got snap on tech wrenches, I got them only because I had a good discount on them at the time. I like them a lot though it was different at first getting used to it beeping and vibrating instead of the normal click, and you can also see how many pounds you just tightened that last bolt to for a few seconds on the screen. Another thing I like about them is that you don't have to load it you just turn it on and its ready in about two seconds then turns itself off when you leave it alone for a minute or so.
Just my 2 cents
I've got snap on tech wrenches, I got them only because I had a good discount on them at the time. I like them a lot though it was different at first getting used to it beeping and vibrating instead of the normal click, and you can also see how many pounds you just tightened that last bolt to for a few seconds on the screen. Another thing I like about them is that you don't have to load it you just turn it on and its ready in about two seconds then turns itself off when you leave it alone for a minute or so.
Just my 2 cents
if you just want to click lugnuts your prolly ok with a cheapy. But I have a craftsmen wrench I bought that I only used once to tighten all my lugs and then next time I went to use it it had grease inside the window you use to set the pressure. The grease came from inside the wrench too nothing i did, it just sat in a case in my box. Warrenty is only 6 months on the handle so I had to raise hell to get a new one.
I suggest looking for a used one on ebay like i did. Got a good deal on a snapon wrench.
I suggest looking for a used one on ebay like i did. Got a good deal on a snapon wrench.
Research CDI torque wrenches, a sister company of Snap on and miles ahead of Craftsman especially if your working on an fbody engine since a lot of the bolt require IN lbs and not FT lbs.
Trending Topics
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine
Verdad Gallardo
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
this is the torque wrench i use for engine work. i love it, owned it for 4 years and never had a problem with it. i have a 1/4" rechargeable ratchet i use for removing smaller bolts(intake, valve covers, exhaust, etc) and i like to use 1/2" ratchets to break head bolts loose then my 3/8" torque wrench to assemble everything.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
I have a 1/2" drive Craftsman Digitork and a Snap-on 3/8". I have had the SO for about 6 months. Only used it one time but I really liked it. Here is the SO:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
I have a 1/2" drive Craftsman Digitork and a Snap-on 3/8". I have had the SO for about 6 months. Only used it one time but I really liked it. Here is the SO:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
Defiantly this on is better since it has a built in angle Gage. Alot of engine torque specs are better to be torqued in degrees, since torque can differ from one bolt to the other due to friction on the threads and friction on the face of the nut.
TECH Resident
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 772
Likes: 0
From: Bahrain
I use 3/8" for normal work, 1/4" for tight places. Snap-on torque wrench is what I used to fasten my heads back on.
I never use 1/2" ratchets, don't know why everyone does though. My 3/8" drive ratchet has an extending handle for increased torque for opening bolts or nuts so I am good there.
Adel, a Britool torque wrench will only set you 60BD, check with Bahrain Workshop Company. Britool makes some of the best tools. A Snap-on is around 90BD for something like 125 ft/lbs.
I never use 1/2" ratchets, don't know why everyone does though. My 3/8" drive ratchet has an extending handle for increased torque for opening bolts or nuts so I am good there.
Adel, a Britool torque wrench will only set you 60BD, check with Bahrain Workshop Company. Britool makes some of the best tools. A Snap-on is around 90BD for something like 125 ft/lbs.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 374
Likes: 1
The fact is that none of them are that accurate unless they're regularly calibrated, and the beam type are more accurate than the click type (most people overtorque with a click type anyway but going fast with them, getting a positive click while still exerting force).
The real issue is repeatability, since in most cases, you're using a torque wrench to get things tightened evenly and being even 10 or 20% off in actual value doesn't really matter, which is a good thing because I only know of a few people that regularly get theirs calibrated.
That said, a buddy of mine got access to a calibration setup and we collected a bunch of torque wrenches (he had a old click snapon and a newer didgital one, and a matco, we also came up with a dozen more ranging from a few super cheap HF ones to assorted vintages of craftsman ones, I had a few IBM issue ones that were originally used to service their tape robots).
We found all the digital ones were not repeatable, and the 2 snap on ones we couldn't even get calibrated accurately. The only commonly available ones that were repeatable and accurate were the cheap HF ones (and obviously, a craftsman beam type). Otherwise, the IBM ones were really good (I keep forgetting the brand name, but they're custom made for IBM, they have an IBM logo on the box) and a maybe 30y/o snapon and maybe a 25y/o craftsman were at the top of the list.
That being the case, I swear by my
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-hal...rench-239.html
they're usually on sale for $9, and we didn't find one out of 4 that were more than 3% off or showed more than 2% variability WRT to repeatability. None of the more common big names were even 2x that
I'm pretty sure that a lot of the cheap ones are the same wrench being sold under a different name, I haven't confirmed it but they all look identical, come in identical cases...
The real issue is repeatability, since in most cases, you're using a torque wrench to get things tightened evenly and being even 10 or 20% off in actual value doesn't really matter, which is a good thing because I only know of a few people that regularly get theirs calibrated.
That said, a buddy of mine got access to a calibration setup and we collected a bunch of torque wrenches (he had a old click snapon and a newer didgital one, and a matco, we also came up with a dozen more ranging from a few super cheap HF ones to assorted vintages of craftsman ones, I had a few IBM issue ones that were originally used to service their tape robots).
We found all the digital ones were not repeatable, and the 2 snap on ones we couldn't even get calibrated accurately. The only commonly available ones that were repeatable and accurate were the cheap HF ones (and obviously, a craftsman beam type). Otherwise, the IBM ones were really good (I keep forgetting the brand name, but they're custom made for IBM, they have an IBM logo on the box) and a maybe 30y/o snapon and maybe a 25y/o craftsman were at the top of the list.
That being the case, I swear by my
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-hal...rench-239.html
they're usually on sale for $9, and we didn't find one out of 4 that were more than 3% off or showed more than 2% variability WRT to repeatability. None of the more common big names were even 2x that
I'm pretty sure that a lot of the cheap ones are the same wrench being sold under a different name, I haven't confirmed it but they all look identical, come in identical cases...
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 430
Likes: 0
From: Bahrain
I use 3/8" for normal work, 1/4" for tight places. Snap-on torque wrench is what I used to fasten my heads back on.
I never use 1/2" ratchets, don't know why everyone does though. My 3/8" drive ratchet has an extending handle for increased torque for opening bolts or nuts so I am good there.
Adel, a Britool torque wrench will only set you 60BD, check with Bahrain Workshop Company. Britool makes some of the best tools. A Snap-on is around 90BD for something like 125 ft/lbs.
I never use 1/2" ratchets, don't know why everyone does though. My 3/8" drive ratchet has an extending handle for increased torque for opening bolts or nuts so I am good there.
Adel, a Britool torque wrench will only set you 60BD, check with Bahrain Workshop Company. Britool makes some of the best tools. A Snap-on is around 90BD for something like 125 ft/lbs.
hehe