Best place to buy torque wrench?

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totalburnout

totalburnout

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No, I don't want to beat anyone with a torque wrench...

but, yes I would like to know the best place to buy one.

Went to Autozone, bought one. Found out that it measured 120ft lbs -960ftlbs. Who the fuck needs a wrench that would measure those extremes?

I want something either 0-80ft lb or 0-120ft lb. 3/8in drive. NOT 1/2inch drive!


Sears had a cheap wrench for $20 but it looked like ass and their was a meter at the bottom of the wrench rather than the numbers on the handle. Their decent craftsman torque wrench was $75.
 
lol mabe it wont tear up one thing that you wont to spend good money on is a tork wrench
 
If you only buy one good tool, make it your torque wrench.

If you really have to get the cheap ones, I suppose they're ok for things like lug nuts and maybe suspension, but never work on your engine with it.

This is a nice one for general engine work, but it can't go high enough to torque your axle nuts. This one can, but has a minimum of 50ft lbs.

Personally, I like 1/2" drive torque wrenches... I can always use an adapter for 3/8" sockets, and have the 1/2" available when I need it.
 
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for my quality one, I have a Craftsman 3/8's trq wrench. It was like 60 back in the day. Then for my crappy one, I have a 1/2 MIT tools on that I probally paid like $20 for.
 
reckedracing said:
i've got both 1/2 inch and 3/8

i got my 3/8 at sears/craftsman for inch lbs and i love it
how are you gonna do 71 inch pounds when your torque wrench does 5 lbs to 80 lbs?
just used it lastnight for an isuzu pickup cam caps

this is the one i have
60 bucks

Craftsman 44593 Torque Wrench, 3/8 in. Drive at Sears.com
Click to expand...

Increments are .5lbs, not 5lbs.

It starts at 5lbs, which there isn't anything that I'll need to torque that lightly anyway so there's no difference. A shifter bushing is 8 1/2 lbs, I'll be able to do that with this wrench.

Other wrenches only go in 1lb incrememnts.

It says its accurate within +/- 4%. That should be good enough for anything but doing a head swap and frankly the WRX is never getting a head swap.
 
the fine print on that +/- 4% on most torque wrenches is

Accurate to 4 percent on clockwise or right-handed reading greater than or equal to 20 percent of capacity.
Click to expand...
.
so you're only within 4% if you're over 20lbs

Increments are .5lbs, not 5lbs.
Click to expand...
i never said anything about incriments

It says its accurate within +/- 4%. That should be good enough for anything but doing a head swap and frankly the WRX is never getting a head swap.
Click to expand...
look through the manual and see what calls for inch pounds
your base inch lbs is gonna be 60, and thats if you trust a 13 dollar torque wrench to do 5lbs

just a heads up
you're better off buying something that will last a lifetime

what are you torque'ing anyway?
 
reckedracing said:
the fine print on that +/- 4% on most torque wrenches is

.
so you're only within 4% if you're over 20lbs


i never said anything about incriments


look through the manual and see what calls for inch pounds
your base inch lbs is gonna be 60, and thats if you trust a 13 dollar torque wrench to do 5lbs

just a heads up
you're better off buying something that will last a lifetime

what are you torque'ing anyway?
Click to expand...


Spark plugs, suspension, lug nuts, exhaust components.
 
I metrology/calibration for a living. I have calibrated probably thousands of them. Hands down the best are going to be snap-on, but you are going to pay for them. The ones with the needle and the gold dial are best (front looks like a pressure gauge), +/- 2% rdg, last a long time. Some Proto and CDI (owned by Snap-on) isn't too bad. Sturtevant Richmont are good, Craftsman hold up for the money. I wouldn't buy anything from Williams, Harbor Freight or Armstrong, have seen many of these fail right out of the box.

Just because it has a needle and a dial (like a pressure gauge) doesn't mean it isn't any good, they are usually more accurate and last longer than the click style wrenches. The problem with this style is when you have to try and read it in a small space. Most companys make a wrench that actually bends (maybe like the Craftsman you looked at) and moves a needle around, these are usually +/-4% and can be hard to read sometimes also.

If you want them to last awhile, don't torque them past the click point and do not losen bolts with them. That is the #1 way they break or go out of tolerance.
 
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I got a Mac Tools one from my friend's dad since he got a brand new Snap-On one for $20 from a guy who was moving and couldn't take anything with him...score!

When I got the Mac tools one it was only a few months old and used only a few times. I like it. I've torqued down a bunch of heads till this day with no problems.
 
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