which torque wrench

[grumpyvette]

these look great, and theres little doubt they are a quality tool


1: http://www.emaxaction.com/cdi1503mfrmh.aspx
2: http://www.toolsource.com/torque-wrench-microadj-metal-handle-20150-ftlbs-plain-head-p-95221.html

http://www.eaglerod.com/mosmodule/bolt_torque.html

CONSISTENCY and REPEATABILITY ,rather than exact torque, is the key, if your off a ft lb its not catastrophic.
Ive used both a SEARS and a HOME DEPOT TQ Wrenches FOR MANY YEARS. built over 150 engines and had zero problems

consistent technique and consistency in the way you lube and work the torque loads up in stages and having the bolts and studs lubed and cycling, the bolt/stud up to the recommended torque and loosening it and repeating that process several times tends too give much more consistent clamping load results, AND ITS A GOOD IDEA TOO USE ARP FASTENERS


HARDENED washers DESIGNED FOR USE WITH MATCHING ARP HEAD BOLTS under the head bolt heads are ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA, they reduce friction and gauling and spread the clamp loads and tend to make the torque readings far more consistent, especially on aluminum heads and when the correct lubricants are used , use of standard soft iron washers or lock washers are a bad idea


cleaning threads before assembly is always a good idea

check manufactures tech guide info

having consistent clamp loads are mandatory for proper assembly



http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100058237

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00944595000P?vName=Tools&cName=Mechanics+Tools&sName=Torque+Wrenches

btw rod bolts SHOULD have a stretch gauge used but its not 100% mandatory, cycling them up to spec and releasing the tq then repeating several times with a tq wrench, following the APR instructions gets you very consistent results IVE checked the tq wrench results with the stretch gauge

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=ARP%2D100%2D9942&N=700+115&autoview=sku

lets assume your looking for a 3/8" drive inch lb torque wrench to tighten little things like intake bolts, logic should tell you that a decent quality tool will not be dirt cheap, and that you don,t need the best available tool for that use so you start pricing your options
the whole OBJECT of you using a torque wrench is to allow you to maintain consistent TORQUE values, do you really think the HF torque wrench will be consistent, when most other sources what 4-5 times as much, think it thru, obviously you don,t need a lab quality tool, but the cheapest option is not likely to be a rational choice either.


harbor freight ($15)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... number=807

home depot ($74)
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053

sears($69)
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... que+wrench

tool source ($57)
http://www.toolsource.com/torque-wrench ... 5_778.html


GOOD QUALITY ($225)
http://www.toolsource.com/dial-dual-sca ... 94631.html

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp ... P2078_____ ($360)

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/torque-wrench/

WATCH THIS VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgwwOJ0B ... r_embedded
NEVER USE A TORQUE WRENCH LIKE A BREAKER BAR TO LOOSEN BOLTS as it TENDS TO QUICKLY DESTROY ITS ACCURACY & consistency

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgwwOJ0B ... r_embedded

http://www.eaglerod.com/mosmodule/bolt_torque.html

barely functional, and not trust worthy in my opinion
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200263474

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-i ... h-239.html


common, and reasonably accurate
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 944593000P

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053


better
http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... E4Q8wIwAw#

much better
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 0001&aff=Y

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... ir=catalog

Id point out that a bit of thought as to the direction of forces when your torquing your main caps or trying to rotate your engine location will help a great deal, ESPECIALLY WITH THE SMALLER BASE ENGINE STAND DESIGNS
more than one guy has failed to pay attention to that and placed a good deal of force on the end of a torque wrench or breaker bar and flipped the engine, off balance.....trust me when I say your first instinct is to try and catch or push the engine back as it falls and you are not going to win that contest....if 600-800lb of engines headed to the floor you better NOT get in the way, so its best to use a very stable wide base engine stand and pay attention to keeping forces along the engine block center-line.


this picture tends to make me think this guys NOT thinking that factor thru, moving the handle, on the wrench 90 degrees could lower the engines tendency to tip.
viewtopic.php?f=99&t=3511



SBC HEADS

Big Chevy
if you don,t have a particular engines torque sequence its a safe bet that you start with the center head bolts and tighten each , in stages in a spiral outward pattern, then repeat the sequence with each increased torque setting moving in that same outward expanding spiral increasing diam spiral moving from the center to outer bolt locations.

dip the head bolt threads in sealant before installation to prevent coolant leaks



http://arp-bolts.com/pages/technical_installation.shtml

[grumpyvette]

now if you really need to constantly, verify the torque wrench accuracy?

http://www.maxprocorp.com/store.asp?pid ... 7AodbQzOYA

http://www.stockcarracing.com/howto/scr ... index.html

http://www.circletrack.com/techarticles ... index.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_5622566_calibra ... rench.html


http://www.sacskyranch.com/torquew.htm


http://www.shoplet.com/Armstrong-tools- ... LS06964637

[grumpyvette]

just a bit of info, most click type torque wrenches are advertized as being accurate to within 2%-3%, so if the engine spec sheet calls for head bolts to be tightened to 65 ft lbs your torque wrench should be more than capable of consistently giving you a reading within 2-3 ft lbs of the value and while its true torque might be slightly off it will be very close, and if its higher or lower , but consistently so, it won,t make much difference on most engine head bolts.
I happen to have these three 1/2' drive torque wrench,s available to to test with and torque head bolts so just as a test , I torqued the head bolts in several stages and took a few notes while testing , I first set all the torque wrenchs at 30ft lbs,then tightened 3 head bolts with each wrench, then rotated thru each tool re-tightening ,each bolt previously tightened with the other tools or effectively cross checking with each of the other two tools, for consistency and any differences, then repeated at 45 ft lbs and at 60 ft lbs , each time checking..then went back at each torque level and rechecked every bolt.
the result was rather interesting.
the HF wrench as would probably be expected was not all that consistent, some times it tightened a bit more (30ft lbs) usually a bit less than the other two
the sears and HUSKY both proved rather more consistent and there was zero doubt the HUSKY torque wrench was both easier to set and use and far less likely to have the setting change during use than the sear torque wrench.
Now to be fair Ive had the sears torque wrench for several more years than the HUSKY torque wrench, and I purchased the HF just to experiment with.
the result was that the HUSKY torque wrench was both more consistent, repeatable and easier to use!



HUSKY $79 (worked rather well, over all I was pleased)
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R ... reId=10051

SEARs $50( (still worked decently even after 10 years in service, but Id suggest buying the HUSKY)
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-micro-cl ... eviewsWrap

HARBOR FREIGHT $20(better than no torque wrench, but didn,t match the other two)
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-i ... h-239.html

[grumpyvette]

just a bit of info, most click type torque wrenches are advertized as being accurate to within 2%-3%, so if the engine spec sheet calls for head bolts to be tightened to 65 ft lbs your torque wrench should be more than capable of consistently giving you a reading within 2-3 ft lbs of the value and while its true torque might be slightly off it will be very close, and if its higher or lower , but consistently so, it won,t make much difference on most engine head bolts.
I started a minor project requiring me to instal some cylinder heads on a big block chevy, so before I started I called a neighbor over who has a certified torque wrench,he has checked very frequently at his employer, to ask if I could borrow his as a cross check, just to check the results vs my three current torque wrenches, just because I was in no rush and rather curious.
I happen to have these three 1/2' drive torque wrench,s available to to test with and torque head bolts so just as a test , I torqued the head bolts in several stages and took a few notes while testing , I first set all the torque wrenches at 30ft lbs,then tightened 3 head bolts with each wrench, then rotated thru each tool re-tightening ,each bolt previously tightened with the other tools or effectively cross checking with each of the other two tools, for consistency and any differences, then repeated at 45 ft lbs and at 60 ft lbs , each time checking..then went back at each torque level and rechecked every bolt.
the result was rather interesting.
the HF wrench as would probably be expected was not all that consistent, some times it tightened a bit more (30ft lbs) usually a bit less than the other two
the sears and HUSKY both proved rather more consistent and there was zero doubt the HUSKY torque wrench was both easier to set and use and far less likely to have the setting change during use than the sear torque wrench.
Now to be fair Ive had the sears torque wrench for several more years than the HUSKY torque wrench, and I purchased the HF just to experiment with.
the result was that the HUSKY torque wrench was both more consistent, repeatable and easier to use!
RELATED THREADs
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=1222

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=6931

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=50&p=12528&hilit=leak+studs#p12528

HUSKY $79 (worked rather well, over all I was pleased)
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R ... reId=10051

SEARs $50( (still worked decently even after 10 years in service, but Id suggest buying the HUSKY)
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-micro-cl ... eviewsWrap

HARBOR FREIGHT $20(better than no torque wrench, but didn,t match the other two)
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-i ... h-239.html

after I got done checking, I called my friend who owns that $300 certified torque wrench, on the next block over he uses at work rather frequently that I know he has had tested for consistency,recently, that I used just to check against my torque wrenches, I told him I was pleasantly surprised, the results showed my husky and sears torque wrenches were within a single ft lb of the reading his wrench got.(I also told him Id be right over to return his wrench!)
that was with the bolt threads dipped in sealant and the heads and washers dipped in ARP lube, installed in clean block threads with the bolts previously carefully cleaned with carburetor cleaner and a power wire brush removing any previous crud fro the threads,then degreased

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/gearwrench-e ... 315801209P

[grumpyvette]

http://www.dragzine.com/tech-stories/en ... -accuracy/

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/cc ... h_testing/

http://www.essortment.com/verify-accura ... 06267.html

http://www.stockcarracing.com/howto/scr ... ue_wrench/

http://www.wikihow.com/Calibrate-a-Torque-Wrench