Hi
I like to start doing more of mine own maintenance and minor repairs. I like to buy maybe 2 torque tools. Need one to torque wheel lug nuts and another to get in limited space areas. Also what brand do you advise and where to buy them?
Jim Lombardi

 

Jim, I would recommend getting 2 different range torque wrenches. Get a 0-150 (or 0-250) ft-lb torque wrench using 1/2" drive components. This will be good for pretty much everything for a vehicle when it comes to suspension, wheels, motor, etc. The second one I would recommend is a 0-100 in-lb torque wrench using 3/8" drive components. Between these two, there won't be much that you can't do.

As for brands, this is where quality is going to come into play and spending a little extra is going to pay off for the reliability. So, going with something like Snap-On or older Craftsman will be good. I foget the brand I got as I bought it through a military surplus and I know it is goos stuff as I have abused the living snot out of them and have done me good.

Something else I will tell you to look for is a dial style torque wrench vice a "snap style". Yes, the dial style will cost you more, but it has a few advantages. The biggest being if you don't stop with a snap style as soon as it clicks, what torque did you go to? You have no idea. With the dial, you will know. Also, the dial types tend to keep their calibration longer and not drift as much. The advantages of the snap style are they are cheaper and if you are in a spot where you can't see the torque wrench, you can still get an accurate torquing. So, your call. Me personally, I go with dial style torque wrenches in my garage. But then, I have received training on more methods of torquing than I care to admit to am even certified to "torque by feel".

 

OH yeah, I would also recommend investing in a good set of impact sockets. They will take the abuse of the torque wrench a lot better than some cheapy set bought at a no-name store. THe in-lb torque wrench it isn't that big of a deal, but the large torque wrench, it is money well invested. It will also give you something to use if you ever step up to an electric impact wrench or pneumatics.

 

Never use them as a ratchet and don't use them to loosen the bolts or nuts. They are just for tightening the nuts and bolts to spec.

 

For the smaller of the torque wrenchs, of the usually available operating ranges, the 40-200 inch pound is a fairly good match for the requirements around the engine. 100 inch pounds might be limiting in that torquing spark plugs will be out of range. There will be a coverage gap between the smaller and larger wrench. This is due to the fact that it is generally not recommended to used a torque wrench set to the lower 20 percent of its operating range due to accuracy problems. A 50-250 inch pound wrench, or even 300 inch pound would be ideal, but they are rare.

You want the smaller wrench to be in the 10-12 inch length sizes. Some of the cheaper brands are closer to 24 inches. The problem is that even the shorter wrenches almost require pulling with a couple of fingers to feel the click because the effort is so low. A 24 inch wrench would be even harder to control. It is a big change from working on cast iron and steel.

On any click type torque wrench, they must be stored in a relaxed state. They must also be exercised if they have been put away for awhile. Ten pulls at 50 percent rating is about right. You can clamp a spare bolt in a vise to do this.

Two good brands are CDI(Snap-on) and Proto because they hold their calibrations. Sturtevant-Richmont and Warren&Brown are at the top of the heap.

The current Sears Craftsman has a problem with breakage of the setting ring.

The beam type wrenches hold calibration because all you have to do is center the pointer if it has drifted. But, they are difficult to read at an angle due to parallax error.

Also remember that a lubricated thread requires significantly less torque to reach the designed fastener stretch. For example, a NGK plug with a planned dry torque value of 220 inch pounds will only require 110 inch pounds when lubed to reach 5/8 rotation from finger tight on a new plug going into clean threads.

edit: with the click type, do not count on hearing the click. instead you want to feel the click as the mechanism releases at the setting. this is not a full release, you can keep on applying torque past the click setting and strip a thread. the best way to figure this out is on a bolt clamped to a vise so that you get a feel for it.