Torque Wrench
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,764
Likes: 50
From: Gilbert, AZ
My son is a diesel mechanic and his employer pays for the cost of re-calibrating his torque wrenches once or twice a year. His get used every day and are subject to much more wear and tear than most of ours will ever be subjected to.
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 279
Likes: 3
From: N. Alabama
I bought two HF wrenches back in the winter when they were on sale, one 1/2 inch drive and one 1/4 inch drive for less than $45 bucks. I have two older Thorsen needle bars. The HF look and feel as good as my sons Craftsman tq wrench's. We checked them all against the Thorsens and found no difference, except the price.
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 659
Likes: 2
From: Lansing
torque wrenches appear to be made by the same companies no matter who has their name on them. I have an S-K and it's identical to one of the craftsman wrenches. Set the wrench to 18 ft/lbs and you should be fine. Even if your wrench is a bit off, you will be within tolerances. I bought a wrench that goes up to 250 in/lbs for my harley. Most small bolts are in this range.
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,655
Likes: 9
From: Northwest Arkansas
If you purchase a ratchet type torque wrench that clicks at the set ft pound it may be off,additionally they should be calibrated annually.With that in mind I would recomend a non ratchet type wrench with a bar for reading the torque.This way you will always know if it is off and be able to adjust for it when you use it!
Road Captain
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 731
Likes: 2
From: Montreal Quebec Canada
there are lots of goods things to buy @ harbor freight, they have plenty of inexpensive junky things, for $1-$3, but i have to say they have plenty of things are work well and excellent value, i buy all my sockets there, they have some cheap sets and some better sets, the torque wrenches, i bought one at an auto parts store, paid $65 for it, the harbor freight one is identical and $19.99, i am in the import business, and i am convinced and can tell harbor freight has many items that look and feel identical to lots of tools i find at sears and others, the only difference is no name on the harbor freight ones, and yes their torque wrenches are just fine for a part time wrencher, and I have plenty of their tools in my case.
Road Captain
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 731
Likes: 2
From: Montreal Quebec Canada
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Tourer
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 307
Likes: 1
From: S. Florida
Been wrenching for over 25 years, CDI makes great torque wrenches. They are suppliers for Snapon. Watch e-bay. You may need lbs. and in. if not you can calculate the conversions. My last 3/8 CDI had both in and NM. Look at your repair manual for the torque ranges. You don't want to buy an over kill....
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 9,242
Likes: 3,262
From: west Michigan
Some of these guys are talking about "clicker" type torque wrenches. You can probably get by with a "beam" type. Sears sells them for about $30.00. There's not much to break on them unless you run over it with a car or truck. I've had mine for over thirty years. It's good that the MOCO publishes torque specs for almost every
part with threads because some guys don't have "the feel".
part with threads because some guys don't have "the feel".