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I'm in the market for a torque wrench. Those of you who have one or have used one, which one do you recommend for use on our cars? 1/2 drive or 3/8 drive? What brand and where can I get it? I looked at a few at Sears last night but I wasn't sure which to get. I'm sure I can find some online for cheaper.
I recently bought 2 Craftsman Microtork torque wrenchs, both 3/8 drive (mainly because thats the size of all my sockets), one in in-lbs (25 to 250in-lbs) and the other in ft-lbs(10 to 75ft-lbs), they work good which makes me happy with my purchase, they also werent that expensive.
I say get a torque wrench that has a dial on it and doesn't click. We have one with a dial on it in our FSAE shop and it works so much better than one of the clicking ones. With a clicking one you can go past where you want to torque and never realize it but if it has a dial you always know where you are. They are probably kinda expensive but I think way worth it.
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Ben
'05 Subaru WRX STi
'93 SE-R Rocketsled (SOLD)
Drive it like you stole it (or at least try to before it breaks)
It's good to have both. I have a dial 3/8 and a clicking 1/2. I use the 1/2 when I need over like 80 pounds and its great for that because of all the extra leverage. My 1/2 is a cheapy Home Depot job for like $30 I think... it gets the job done. The 3/8 for smaller jobs needs to be pretty damn accurate, especially for cam caps and things like that. I'd like to get a real accurate 1/4 drive inch pound one if I could find it for tight spots.
I was looking on harborfreight.com. They had some pretty cheapy ones on there as well as some expensive stuff ($9-$500). I'll check out the home depot ones as well.
I heard about Harbor Freight before. I wonder how good their tools are for the prices they offer them for. There is a Harbor Freight branch close to where I live. I need to check them out someday.
Harris, if you like tools, don't go.. lol. Some of their deals are hard to resist even though the quality is suspect. I can't go there without buying something.
I think HB is good for tools you may use a couple times a year, like bench vises (just got a huge bench vise there for $17) or tools that you wouldn't normally break easy. For stuff I use all the time like socket sets, I buy Craftsman due to the lifetime no hassle warranty.
Harris, if you like tools, don't go.. lol. Some of their deals are hard to resist even though the quality is suspect. I can't go there without buying something.
I think HB is good for tools you may use a couple times a year, like bench vises (just got a huge bench vise there for $17) or tools that you wouldn't normally break easy. For stuff I use all the time like socket sets, I buy Craftsman due to the lifetime no hassle warranty.
LOL! You know what's funny? You're not the only one who's told me not to go. Their deals are really hard to resist. I do need tools because come warmer season, I will begin parting out my car. Borrowed tools only go so far to help me.
Let me get something straight though. HB does not offer any warranties on their tools, or does it? Maybe that explains a little bit about why their items are so cheap. I still need to go get some tools as it is, and Craftsman products are a little out of my affordability range.
I think most of the stuff has a limited warranty. If you don't use tools all that much, then it might be perfect for you. I was there yesterday and I saw a 100 piece socket set with 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 inch drive ratchets for like $40.
I happen to wear out or break some of the tools I use a lot. Craftsman and Snap On are pretty expensive though.
Yea, I'm not really someone who uses his tools a lot. I only toy around every once in a while, but nothing too drastic . Even with the car smashed up and sort of immobile, I'll go every two or three days and look around for something to work on. I'm going to check out HB tomorrow. Wish me and my credit card luck .
A torque wrench is a precision tool, and you get what you pay for. I would recommend Snap-On, but they are not cheap. Also you should get one in/lbs and one ft/lbs. And with Snap-On I was able to get all of mine recalibrated for free, no questions asked. Free repair or replacement, good in the long run.
A torque wrench is a precision tool, and you get what you pay for. I would recommend Snap-On, but they are not cheap. Also you should get one in/lbs and one ft/lbs. And with Snap-On I was able to get all of mine recalibrated for free, no questions asked. Free repair or replacement, good in the long run.
Ditto, you can always find some quality tools at pawnshops every now and then. Just be current on pricing or youll get reamed.
Harbor Freight is cool for what they offer, but try and stay away from the thin wall impact sockets, Ive broken a couple in the set that I got. CH ones from Wal-Mart are much better.
I bought my torque wrench for a Harbor Freight type place called Cummins Tools for $20 and it came with a 1/2" to 3/8" adapter and a 6" long 1/2" drive extension. It's always worked great and it has a large range of operation 10-150 ft. lbs. In fact you can still get it for $20 at www.cumminstools.com Search under torque wrench and you'll find it, they have it in 3/8" drive as well that does 120-960 in. lbs. Normally I'd say don't go cheap on something this important, but as long as you can compare it against someone elses torque wrench every now and then you can see if it's still close to accurate. I'm going to buy one of their cheap Air Impacts because I'm not going to pay the $150 for a good one if I can spend $50 and have it be good enough. I bought a hammer drill from cummins for $20 and it's worked very well and I've had it for 2 years now. I figure it's already paid for itself several times, so if it craps out, no big deal, I can still go back to cummins and get another for $20. I agree that for small stuff that's under 20 ft. lbs. get a dial, you have to go super slow for low torque settings with a clicker or you'll go over, just like Cannibal mentioned, and considering our cars have aluminum heads, you don't want to strip out your VC bolts. I bought my 3 adn 2 jaw three piece gear/pulley puller sets from Harbor Freight for like $10, and as often as you use a tool like that, to pay more just doesn't make sense.
aren't you a torque wrenching sr20 specialist and you don't even have a torque wrench
HAHAH OMG that is old ..lol..
anyways, i buy a few tools from harbor freight, the store is less than 5 mins from me. i have broken tools and havent had any probs getting them replaced, i just wouldnt buy things such as torque wrenches, i actually bought theirs, a cheap click type. i only use it on crude items that dont really matter and have it in my home travel tool carrier, if i leave it somewhere when im working on somebodys car, not a big loss @20 bux. if you have money, i love my brothers set of snap on electronic torque wrenches. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR, i love snap on and mac, and matco as well. just have to watch out, getting an account is too easy, and when they come by with their truck, they are salesman.
best part about the snap-on "techwrench" torque wrenches is that its electronic, it shows the actual torque applied after using and vibrates when u reach the desired torque value
The SnapOn torque wrenches are very nice, if you are serious about tools, its worth the money. I recently picked up a Craftsman 25-250 in-lbs 3/8 torque wrench for $50, and am very happy with it. Much nicer than my 1/2" Pepboys torque wrench that I occasionaly use as a hammer.
. Even with the car smashed up and sort of immobile, I'll go every two or three days and look around for something to work on. I'm going to check out HB tomorrow. Wish me and my credit card luck 
.
