Torque wrench rabbit hole

[Laker]

Forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere. I'm looking to get a torque wrench for simple maintenance like replacing valve head covers, sump plugs, etc. and have gone down the rabbit hole looking at the different dial, click and digital wrenches.

Do you have a recommendation for a wrench that will be used by a novice 2-3 times per year?

 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Just a simple beam type will be fine.

[John A]

Get the best quality that you can afford. OTC makes some that I like

[lti_57]

For those things you mention I never torque them.
Out side of axles, engine internals, and transmission bits  I dont use a torque wrench.
never have
But we are all different in our approach  to this.
Beam Torque wrenches are good
 Actually Harbor freight make a nice  click type on

[pete roper]

If you’re worried about stripping threads on things like rocker cover bolts, (I can see why, lots of people do,I’ve never understood how though?!) go for a 1/4 drive, inch/pound tool. It will almost certainly be good enough for 6mm bolts and drain plugs and the like.

Generally speaking I only use a torque wrench for big end bolts and head studs. Everything else I do by feel or, in the case of big stuff, a dirty great rattle gun! 

Pete

[lucian]

I agree with chuck,  I much prefer my old beam style over my fancy click job for light torque settings. And no worrying about having it calibrated. In fact I often check the click wrench with the beam style for peace of mind. Either way you want one that is 3/8 drive and o to 80 or so ft lb range.  The broader the range the less accurate they will be on light settings .

[RinkRat II]

Just a simple beam type will be fine.

:1:
        http://www.sears.com/craftsman-3-8-in-dr-beam-style-torque-wrench/p-00932999000P?sid=IDx01192011x202447059&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqbzRpNfC2gIVEtNkCh3esg9KEAQYAiABEgJx8_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CPHv16vXwtoCFQWEYgodb4sP3w
 Either Sears or Ace hardware carry these

     Paul B

[oldbike54]

 Chuckie told me something like "usually the bolt strips out right before the proper torque is reached" 

 The problem with using a torque wrench on things like rocker box covers is that you are using a bloody great long cheater bar on a bolt that torques to what , 6 LBS FT ?

 Oh , hard to beat a beam type for when you need one . Otherwise I use a 1/4 IN drive ratchet or a short wrench on small fasteners .

 Dusty

[pyoungbl]

Beam type is great under many conditions.  If you have a clear sight to the beam, if you can maintain constant pressure, if the lighting is OK.  A click type is generally as accurate and only a little more expensive.  Click type does not care about sight lines or lighting.  I have both and have not used the beam type in at least a decade.  Understand that a torque wrench is only accurate over the middle 80% of its range.  If you are doing drain plugs, valve covers or other non critical parts the torque wrench is just there to keep you from stripping a bolt so getting close to the exact torque is still OK.  It is not  until you are working on critical bolts that an accurate torque wrench is critical.  At that point you want the best torque wrench you can find.  Most experienced mechanics do not use torque wrenches for not critical bolts.  The key word is 'experienced mechanics'. They have already figured out what is too much torque and done so the hard way.  You can avoid making those discoveries by using a torque wrench until you have a feel for what is enough but not too much.  Drilling out a busted bolt is a real PITA!

Peter Y.

[ray bear]

tighten the bolt up till it starts to  turn easy and give it another quarter of a turn   

[Laker]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback!

[Wayne Orwig]

Beam type will be stable for decades.
But one that is good for large drain bolts may not work well at lower values, like valve covers. So you may need two.
Also, once you have done it a few times, and have an idea how the right torque 'feels', you really won't need it often.
 

[pressureangle]

I am a torque wrench;
Snob
Addict
PITA

All mine are Snap-On, and I calibrate them myself.

I torque all critical fasteners, all symmetrical fastener groups (wheel lugs etc)

I get a little crazy when you can't properly torque something, like cylinder heads (Norton, H-D, Aermacchi)

That said, unless it is a critical, fine-thread fastener, I QUIT torquing anything smaller than 3/8". Particularly simple stuff like valve covers, dry side covers, pinch bolts etc. I've spent way too much time and money repairing stripped holes. Small fasteners in aluminum parts torque to spec only a few times before they pull out. That's a complete mischaracterization, but it's completely true. lol.

[SED]

The smallest torque wrench that will do the job is the best.  (Pete Roper's suggestion)  A beam type is best.  It's just a spring with a known spring rate.  (several people)  It's cheaper and more robust (Guzzi content).

A large wrench will break small bolts even if readings suggest it will work - especially click types (been there, done that). You also need to reduce the reading for click types so the spring is not stored under tension.

After breaking a couple of bolts with a 1/2" click type I finally bought a 3/8" beam type and use for for almost everything.  But like others have said I don't generally torque fasteners that are not critical.

[Moto]

I prefer a beam type since it doesn't go out of calibration.

But they're almost useless when they're upside down and you can't get under them to see the scale. Using an inspection mirror never ends well in my experience.

Why doesn't anyone make a beam type that can be read from both sides? It's not hard to imagine how this would work.

Or have they? Anyone seen one?

Moto

[pressureangle]

I prefer a beam type since it doesn't go out of calibration.

But they're almost useless when they're upside down and you can't get under them to see the scale. Using an inspection mirror never ends well in my experience.

Why doesn't anyone make a beam type that can be read from both sides? It's not hard to imagine how this would work.

Or have they? Anyone seen one?

Moto

My Grandfather had one of these in his box, but it didn't end up in mine.

[Groover]

I prefer a beam type since it doesn't go out of calibration.

But they're almost useless when they're upside down and you can't get under them to see the scale. Using an inspection mirror never ends well in my experience.

Why doesn't anyone make a beam type that can be read from both sides? It's not hard to imagine how this would work.

Or have they? Anyone seen one?

Moto

That would be nice. It is an acrobatic act every time I need to read that upside down...

I also prefer beam style. Gives you that proper feel satisfaction that the bolt is tight.

[bmc5733946]

When I went to work for the Michigan Dept. of Transportation, one of the things I found in the toolbox I was issued was a Williams brand beam type torque wrench with a clicking component attached. I found it very useful. Recently I searched for quality and accuracy ratings for electronic add on torque wrench adapters. The only ratings I was able to find at the time cited one from Harbor Freight as most accurate. Regardless when looking for a torque wrench try to find one where the readings you need are roughly in the middle of the range of the wrench. Torgue wrenches, especially click type are generally most accurate in the center of their range.

Brian

[John A]

My Grandfather had one of these in his box, but it didn't end up in mine.

I got my Grandads beam OTC, 1/2 inch wrench but my miserable cousins got the smaller ones.
One thing I found curious is that when I would tighten the case perimeter bolts by feel, 1/4-20 on aircraft piston engines, they would be over tight. They only were sposed to be something like 80 inch-pounds but felt right about ninety to a hundred . In aviation there's more things to bite you in the ass than its possible to imagine.

[Chuck in Indiana]

I broke two studs on the Aero engine when I didn't realize my high dollar Matco torque wrench was failing. Made some new studs and retorqued everything with my old beam wrench. There is a lot to be said for the beam wrench, they never go out of calibration. I agree, though, that at times they can be a PITA to use. I replaced my Matco with the mentioned above HF 3/8" clicker. Checked it against my beam wrench, and it's fine. So far. <shrug>

[bmc5733946]

Found one of the Williams clicker type beam torque wrenches. Hard to describe how it works, has a sliding component to adjust to required torque along the side, clicks when the slide falls of a ramp built into beam. Very easy to calibrate against a regular beam type. Pretty cool for seemingly early, kind of crude, click type.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/152984988805

Brian

[bmc5733946]

Oops, wrong again dumba**!  Oh how the aging mind does fail us!  Here's one for real.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Williams-Torque-MEASURRENCH-S-57-New-in-Box-OLD-STOCK-1-2-200-Foot-/391516876595

Brian

[ajpjive]

Alongside my beam type, I picked up one of these: https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-ARM602-4-Digital-Adapter-4-147-6/dp/B004VYURT0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524078982&sr=8-1&keywords=ac+delco+digital+torque&dpID=41BTEH7ezyL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Rather easy to read, handy in some tight spaces, and it works rather well.

[F-22]

Torque wrenches are good for torquing down things evenly, like a cylinder head, con-rods, clutch springs...

But hobby torque wrenches are rarely accurate, and even if they are you should always assume they are not. Especially for small diameter fasteners that strip very easily. Professional torque wrenches cost far too much to even remotely consider for home use, and  even those need to be recalibrated atleast once per year which is not cheap either. And ideally you'd have at least 3 torque wrenches, for small, medium and large fasteners. The ones with a very large range of values are usually inaccurate at the extremes (at high and especially low values such as for M6 fasteners that are so common on motorcycles).

They are nice to have, but I'd never use them for things like spark plugs (just slightly more than it takes to crush the washer is fine, as long as they don't leak or unscrew there is no reason to torque them down more), small frame fasteners or even M6 engine cover fasteners. Threads in aluminium strip very easily.

Besides all this, one way or another oil or grease can get into your threads. Many people (myself included) use anti-sieze on fasteners (f.e. copper grease). With that, the actual torque required to fasten down something changes, as it requires less force to fasten a lubricated nut/bolt. Just lots of things that make torque wrenches inaccurate... I rather just tighten everything by feel. It is usually a lot less than what is actually required, but I never had a problem either. If I use a torque wrench on a small M6 bolt, I always have a feeling it is just about to snap.

[Stevex]

I've got 3 torque wrenches to cover from 4 to 150 NM; they're made by Norbar, don't know if they're available in the US.
I bought all mine on ebay, advertised as rarely used, and their excellent condition indicates this.
They are all click type.
As I work in Aerospace I've checked them all at 10NM increments on a calibrated torque check instrument and throughout their ranges they are still  unbelievably accurate, despite their age.
I'm guessing the majority of stripped threads are when fasteners aren't torqued, but 'guessed'.

[Noguzznoglory]

Matco tools (and maybe some others) offers a digital torque adapter. You put it between your ratchet and socket and it gives you a digital readout. I have one but haven’t tried it yet.

[Rough Edge racing]

 I have several , click and beam styles....Just because you're using a torque wrench doesn't mean you don't pay attention to the force you apply and how the fastener "feels" as it's tightened.....

[rider33]

I have an ever expanding collection of torq wrenches.  Some are beam which is fine as long as you are careful about where set them (do NOT cram them into a tool chest as they CAN go out of adjustment) and can see the little dial clearly.  Some read the low end of ranges (like small bolts or bicycles) others read high ranges (like bolts on tractors and such). The ones I like the least are the click ones,  I don’t know why but those have given me the most trouble over the years (not a big believer in spring driven gauges). The one I like the best is a good quality digital wrench.  It lets you set the range as you need it (ft. pounds, inch pounds, newton meters, etc) and is very easy use even if you are under something and can’t quite see it.   As with all tools generally speaking, the better ones are more expensive to buy but less expensive to own.  You’d be surprised how much shearing off a bolt in the block can put a crimp on your day....

[Rod]

I bought the Harbor Freight click-type torque wrench and proceeded to break the heads and strip a couple engine bolts. Maybe it was my misuse, but try as I might I could not get the click to happen. I even returned it and got another one. Same deal. So maybe it was me, but I now have two beam-type wrenches and will stick with those. If I were to buy a click-type or a dial-type I would spend the money. Harbor Freight is good for some things, not so much precision tools.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Some are beam which is fine as long as you are careful about where set them (do NOT cram them into a tool chest as they CAN go out of adjustment) and can see the little dial clearly.

Must be a different type than mine. It's just a lever with a pointer. You could run over it with at truck, bend the pointer back to zero, and be good to go.