Quick! Recommend me a Torque Wrench!

[terrible one]

I've decided to go ahead and buy my own torque wrench, but was wondering if any of you guys could recommend one.

Of course I want a 1/2" drive ft. lb. torque wrench, but beyond that. . .

I have heard that beam type torque wrenches are more accurate and don't need to be calibrated as often, but that at weird angles you need a buddy to look at the torque reading as it can be hard to be able to look straight on at the needle when you're in a tough position. But then with the clicker type you can do all the work on your own and only have to listen for the click. . .

The main thing is that I don't know what range would be good for automotive use. Right now I'm going to be putting the front end back together on my Cadillac (ball joints, control arms, etc.) but am looking for something that I can have for a good while and use for everything. 0-150 ft. lbs?

I'm not made of money, but something around $100 is what I'm looking for. Trying to order it pretty quick.

[89MOPAR]

     The click type are definitely easier to use than the beam type.  Although I've been told they drift more after years of use. - not as efficient.
If you can find it and afford it, a dial indicator type is better.   Try Mcmaster-Carr.com 

  An old rule i heard was they are accurate from 25% to 85% of the stated range - but that's old knowledge.
I do know the ones I recently bought were certifed to about 2 % error or less.

I ended up buying a 0-250 inch - pound  - for small fasteners
and a 0- 100 foot pound - for larger stuff.

  You can increase the torque by incresing the effective length of the handle by adding a cheater bar
   Example - your wrench goes up to 100ft-lbs  , but you need 200ft-lbs - if your center of handle to center of socket drive is 12 inches and you add a cheater bar that increases that distance to 24 inches , then when your wrench reads 100 ft -lb , you are actually putting out 200 ft-lb.

Ok, but yes, you are correct - a 0 - 150 ft -lb  wrench will cover 90% of the applications you will probably need on a car.

[terrible one]

Thanks for the information 89MOPAR!

I will definitely later be investing in an inch-pound wrench, but that's a few paychecks down the road haha.

The only thing I am seeing at Mcmaster-Carr are the multi-hundred-dollar electric torque wrenches, etc.

What about a Summit brand wrench? Craftsman from Sears? Husky from Home Depot? Buying local would help but I'm not going to waste my time and money buying something if it's going to be a piece.

[Lowprofile]

I've had my Craftsman Torque Wrench for over 20 years with out a problem.   

Try this link.....    http://www.tylertool.com/cr9mitowr3101.html

Hope this helps bro.

[bull]

Thanks for the information 89MOPAR!

I will definitely later be investing in an inch-pound wrench, but that's a few paychecks down the road haha.

The only thing I am seeing at Mcmaster-Carr are the multi-hundred-dollar electric torque wrenches, etc.

What about a Summit brand wrench? Craftsman from Sears? Husky from Home Depot? Buying local would help but I'm not going to waste my time and money buying something if it's going to be a piece.

Husky is made by Stanley. In fact Stanley makes just about everything short of some of the big name brands. My 3/8" Husky torque wrench is pretty accurate but my Husky 1/2" was off by about 10 ft. lbs. from day one. I think what you need depends on your application. If you're not going to be using it much I'd reccomend getting one that has a good reputation for accuracy. If you're going to be using it a lot I'd get one with all the bells and whistles such as click indicator, reversible head, quick adjust, etc. The best one for continual use IMO is the older Snap On model with the reversible flex head like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SNAP-ON-TQFR25-1-2-FLEX-HEAD-TORQUE-WRENCH_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ43993QQihZ001QQitemZ110160456035QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW I borrowed one like this at work on the brake bay and it was perfect because I was always going from one torque setting to another and you don't have to crank it for five minutes, but Snap On discontinued the reversible head due to problems with accuracy and they didn't want to warranty it any longer. In fact, if something goes wrong with that reversible head they'll replace it with a non-reversible head. At any rate, there are places where you can check your wrench to see if the torque is correct and it obviously doesn't hurt to check them once in a while.

Personally I wouldn't buy a beam type, accurate or not. Trying to read the needle while your arms are shaking at a high torque is a PITA. In fact I think that little feature makes them very inaccurate due to operator error. If this is just for home use I'd just get a nice Craftsman clicker or something similar and verify the settings now and again. The book usually gives you a torque range so the wrenches being off by 5-10 ft. lbs. or so usually isn't that big of a deal unless you work at NASA building rockets or something.

[terrible one]

Thank you very much, Bull.

I guess now it's basically between a Craftsman or a Snap-On. I guess that I could always get the Craftsman and then have it checked and calibrated and then still be less in than with the Snap-On. I don't say that the wrench will see everyday use or anything, but definitely casual. I really am broke, but am particular about the accuracy of the wrench because not only am I putting the front suspension together on my Cadillac, but I'm about to build the engine for that car, and I sure would love to be accurate! Also, I guess I've pretty much decided on a click style, because as I expected, the beam style will be much harder to work with. . .

[Troy]

I bought both (ft/lbs and in/lbs) from Sears. They were on sale for like $24.95 each (maybe around Father's Day?). I figure I don't work on things enough to "guess" correctly so even if they aren't the most accurate I'm still better off. In the past I've generally had someone else do anything that requires exact precision.

Troy

[is_it_EVER_done?]

For what it's worth, heres what I use for torque wrenches.

A beam Craftsman 0-250 ft lbs for high torque work (such as front ends, damper bolts, pinion nuts, etc. The beam types are cheap, accurate and durable, plus you can add a cheater bar on the end without affecting the torque reading so you don't have to strain your muscles while installing ball joints, etc. The key to using a beam type is to make sure the beam is not rubbing on the guide plate, as long as its "floating" you get a good reading even when using a floor jack to apply the torque, such as tightening pinion nuts. Just so you know, a dial type is just a variation of the beam type wherein the beam actuates a dial instead of being direct read, so a dial is not really any better than the much cheaper beam.

A Proto 3/8th's drive click type, ratcheting, swivel head, 20 to 100 ft lbs., for engine work. I used to have a similar Matco that I had for many years, but I loaned it out .....    . I prefer a 3/8th's for this type work as the sockets are physically smaller/shorter, and it makes it much easier to get into tight places.

A 0 to 120 inch pound Snap-On for transmission work and other light but critical work.

In addition, I have a stretch gauge that I made out of an old 2" to 3" micrometer body and a dial indicator (for rod bolt stretch measurements).

It's my opinion that there is no such thing as a "one size fits all" torque wrench. The larger the span of torque range, the greater the inaccuracy. On the plus side, you can have a good name brand beam type and 3/8th's click type for the same price as a wide range 1/2 drive click, and still be within your budget.

[terrible one]

Thank you for the brilliant information.

I'm pretty sure now, due to the generally good reviews of the Craftsman wrenches, I'll go ahead and get a beam type from Sears, and then get a Proto or Snap-On unit for my engine building. Tomorrow I'll check out the local Sears stuff. I've got to have the front end together to where the car will roll onto a trailor by the 31st, and I'm starting with bare frame rails.