Torque wrench

[jmacdonald]

I think it's time I bought a torque wrench. My main use will be for working on Cub Cadets. Not having the luxury of buying a real good one. I wondered about an inexpensive one from Sears.
They have on for $29.99 3/8 with an adapter for 1/2 and it has a range of 0-75 ft lbs. Or even a used one on E-bay.

 

[lhinds]

James i have a Craftsman 1/2 drive i bought about 1970. I have checked it with a snap on and it is acurate. I think it goes to 120 ft. pounds.

 

[kphill]

James, I would not buy a used torque wrench. Torque wrenches loose calibration if they are not stored properly. On a click type you unload the pressure when not using it and most people dont. I would buy a new 3/8 drive at Sears and be done with it. Always buy the best you can afford or you will regret it later.

 

[jmacdonald]

Thanks guys. I seem to end up at Sears when buying tools.

 

[jderstine]

To expand on what Kevin Hill wrote
<font color="ff0000"><font face="arial,helvetica"></font>On a click type you unload the pressure when not using it and most people dont.</font>

I will say the same thing another way.

When you are done using the torque wrench, unscrew the setting back to the lowest setting on the torque wrench. Store it in a box or a drawer where it won't be banged around. (It's not a hammer, it's a precision instrument)

This will keep the mechanism more accurate throughout it's useful life.

 

[kphill]

Jeff is absolutely correct. Also stay away from the companies that sell cheap imported tools when buying a torque wrench. This is one area where you still get what you pay for.

 

[dfrisk]

Most small engine work I use a Craftsman 3/8" bending beam torque wrench, think it's 0-75#/ft. The fine print says torque wrenches are only accurate in the top end of their range so you don't want to use a 0-250#/ft wrench on rod cap bolts that are supposed to be 25-30#/ft.

For tightening the nut on the flywheel I use my Digitork 0-250#/ft 1/2" t-wrench.

Also, the Craftsman "lifetime Warranty" does not apply to torque wrenches.

There's other good brands, Proto, Snap-on of course, S-K, Kobalt I've heard good things about, even ALLEN. Recalibration is available locally in most bigger towns/cities, ask a local mechanic or look in the yellow pages and call around. I've seen descriptions on the internet of how people check calibration themselves very easily. Biggest thing you can do to keep a torque wrench in calibration, is what Kevin & Jeff said, but also, NEVER loosen things with a torque wrench. Very good friend of mine who was a heavy truck mechanic for years told me that. SON & I were the ONLY people he trusted around HIS tools because we tool as good of care of them as He did. His MAC roll-around was FILLED wth Snap-on tools, S-O stopped warrantying his S-O roll-around's because the weight of "STUFF" He had in it. I'd guess his roll-around weighed close to 3000#. Probably worth around $50,000.

 

[wmiller]

I agree with Dennis about bending beam torque wrenches. I still use mine that I bought 40+ yrs ago. As long as the pointer is on zero when the tool is at rest it should be accurate. They do/did come in all common torque ranges and a used one will probably be as accurate as a new one. One thing to remember with any torque wrench is that if you use any sort of adapter to get into some odd place,the adapter MAY change the torque being applied. Sturtevant Co. was a popular maker of beam type torque wrench(which mine is). Be aware of the "grade" of bolt as well as its diameter,rod bolts for example are usually "higher grade" than a standard bolt of the same diameter,so different torque values apply. A Cub Cadet"GSS" service manual should have a standard torque data chart for bolts and studs, not assigned a specific torque value in the component service text portion of the manual. Be careful when using replacement bolts,that they are the same or higher grade.

 

[kweaver]

Just do like I did in 1974 (yep last century!) I bought an SK beam 1/2". Then when the "clickers" came out I bought one of those too because sometimes up under a vehicle you can't always get to were you can see the pointer so a click will tell ya when to stop pushing it with yer foot

My SK beam has always been in a chest box with it's very own comfy drawer.
My clicker torque wrench always sleeps with it's tension off ... <font size="-2">I wish I could sleep without tension.</font>

And KEEP THEM CLEAN !

The 'ol lady use to be part of the cleaning crew at Firestone in a town south of us. They make Air Ride plus something else , anyway she brought home a clicker torque wrench one day that had the 1/2" drive twisted off ! Must'a had a cheater pipe on it trying to break loose a bolt ...

 

[jmacdonald]

It sounds like for me the (aged)novice that a new beam torque wrench would be best. Especially after seeing that most beam torque wrenches sellers are charging so much on the shipping that I could by a new one. I appreciate all the comments. I am trying to slowly amass the tools needed to work on my cubs myself.

 

[bkiper]

i would suggest precision instraments split beam torque wrench. no need to back it off wen done. get one on ebay for125.00