16 replies to this topic

[Shawbags]

Hi all just looked at Halfords torque wrench and the one that goes up to 200nm 147ftlb is £80 , now as the crank nut is tightened to 150ftlb and 200nm is 147 ftlb is the 3lb's difference going to matter , also £80 for a torque wrench that will only be used occasionally is more than I wanted to pay , can you guys give me some info on good wrench that you may have used yourself at a lower price please , cheers Shawbags.

[firstforward]

I have one of these and it is very accurate and I would highly recommend it.

 

https://www.machinem...l torque wrench

[Shawbags]

cheers never seen one like that before .

[Spider]

I know that you don't want to have to buy 2 or 3 torque wrenches, especially as you'd only use them a few times, however I'll add to that while they all have these big ranges, it's never a good idea to use them at the extreme ends of those ranges, best only ever go to within 15% of the ends of the range. They are not terribly accurate at these ends and talking to the guy who does my calibrations, he says more often than not, using it once at the very high end will put the entire range out.

 

I did try for many years to get away with just a 10 - 150 ft/lb 1/2" drive wrench, but just as the calibration man said, it buggered it and I actually broke a few head studs as a result. I now use 2 wrenches, I have a 3/8" Drive that covers 90% of stuff and I also have a 3/4 Drive for the Gearbox, Hubs and Flywheel.

[ajmount88]

I bought this (http://www.amazon.co...y torque wrench) a few weeks ago when my old Aldi one let me down for the second time (first time my wheel nearly fell off, second time I stripped the thread on my sump plug). For £30, it's got a wide operating range, and is calibrated. Never seen one like the machinemart one, but it looks an interesting alternative.

Edited by ajmount88, 14 March 2015 - 08:06 PM.

[Shawbags]

I know that you don't want to have to buy 2 or 3 torque wrenches, especially as you'd only use them a few times, however I'll add to that while they all have these big ranges, it's never a good idea to use them at the extreme ends of those ranges, best only ever go to within 15% of the ends of the range. They are not terribly accurate at these ends and talking to the guy who does my calibrations, he says more often than not, using it once at the very high end will put the entire range out.
 
I did try for many years to get away with just a 10 - 150 ft/lb 1/2" drive wrench, but just as the calibration man said, it buggered it and I actually broke a few head studs as a result. I now use 2 wrenches, I have a 3/8" Drive that covers 90% of stuff and I also have a 3/4 Drive for the Gearbox, Hubs and Flywheel.

thanks for the advice , that's thrown me right out now LOL , I know that these tools can be somewhat unpredictable so I might go for two that are a little cheaper and go by the reviews I can find , do you think that the 3 nm I discussed in my post would make much difference , as my son is a mechanic I might borrow he's , cheers.

[Spider]

 do you think that the 3 nm I discussed in my post would make much difference , as my son is a mechanic I might borrow he's , cheers.

 

 

No, it won't make that much difference. While the wrenches themselves can be very accurate, the over all process in not that accurate that +/- 3 ft/lbs will make any difference on 150 ft/lbs.

 

<edit: As your son has one (some?), why buy your own?  I would think it's about time you got some payback!>

Edited by Moke Spider, 14 March 2015 - 09:03 PM.

[megamini_jb]

I have a Draper one. Good range. Think I paid £35, it's great!

[ChopperHarris]

Just as an aside, if you don't have hands on experience of FT, mechanics term "fecking tight" start tightening by hands on to a point and then learn how the torque wrench adds more. Learn the difference between tightening into ally  etc. For me its the difference between a kid that uses a calculator to arrive at a ridiculous answer that must be right because it says so, without knowing how to do simple maths, and a time served mechanic,  Understand what keeps bolts tight.

[ChopperHarris]

http://www.engineerl...every-situation

[Shawbags]

do you think that the 3 nm I discussed in my post would make much difference , as my son is a mechanic I might borrow he's , cheers.

 
No, it won't make that much difference. While the wrenches themselves can be very accurate, the over all process in not that accurate that +/- 3 ft/lbs will make any difference on 150 ft/lbs.
 
<edit: As your son has one (some?), why buy your own?  I would think it's about time you got some payback!>

too right about the payback but you know what mechanics are like with there tools lol , I will strip and rebuild the first engine and if all goes well I will be doing another one so if I can get a decent wrench or wrenches at the right price I would probably buy them myself.

[Gremlin]

Just as an aside, if you don't have hands on experience of FT, mechanics term "fecking tight" start tightening by hands on to a point and then learn how the torque wrench adds more. Learn the difference between tightening into ally  etc. For me its the difference between a kid that uses a calculator to arrive at a ridiculous answer that must be right because it says so, without knowing how to do simple maths, and a time served mechanic,  Understand what keeps bolts tight.

Spot on! as some would say

[ChopperHarris]

Ta Gremlin...torque wrench is useless is you don't know the basics, feck all point in tightening everything up right if its assembled wrong...anyhoo a 30 quid aldi one will do for anything less than engine/gearbox assembly

[Spider]

 

 

do you think that the 3 nm I discussed in my post would make much difference , as my son is a mechanic I might borrow he's , cheers.

 
No, it won't make that much difference. While the wrenches themselves can be very accurate, the over all process in not that accurate that +/- 3 ft/lbs will make any difference on 150 ft/lbs.
 
<edit: As your son has one (some?), why buy your own?  I would think it's about time you got some payback!>

 

too right about the payback but you know what mechanics are like with there tools lol , I will strip and rebuild the first engine and if all goes well I will be doing another one so if I can get a decent wrench or wrenches at the right price I would probably buy them myself.

 

 

Yes, I do know what those sons mechanics are like!

[AlexMozza]

I have 2.

15-100nm and a 70-300nm.

Both snap-on, and cost rather a lot!

 

But they are very accurate and give loads of confidence :)