Lets talk Torque wrenches

[symsy]

 

Spring means fixing more things  and it seems I have lost many tools in my move from my house. Either that or they are packed still with the rest of the house ..in the box markled the shit you find  kitchen drawer!!!

Again I wanna know about your prefs? What you using when you cant get a big mother wrench in the space and when your lying under the car.. and you want to do a nut and bolt check front to back  of suspension

What you using for , wheel nuts ?

Do you have more than one..?

You buying quality or happy with a cheaper brand?

 

[Niko]

7 minutes ago, symsy said:

 

Spring means fixing more things  and it seems I have lost many tools in my move from my house. Either that or they are packed still with the rest of the house ..in the box markled the shit you find  kitchen drawer!!!

Again I wanna know about your prefs? What you using when you cant get a big mother wrench in the space and when your lying under the car.. and you want to do a nut and bolt check front to back  of suspension

What you using for , wheel nuts ?

Do you have more than one..?

You buying quality or happy with a cheaper brand?

 

stevePGT3 is the best "TOOL MAN" I know

[Mike737]

30 minutes ago, symsy said:

Again I wanna know about your prefs? What you using when you cant get a big mother wrench in the space and when your lying under the car.. and you want to do a nut and bolt check front to back  of suspension

What you using for , wheel nuts ?

Do you have more than one..?

You buying quality or happy with a cheaper brand?

I'm just using the ToolPro stuff from Supercheap. Been using them for a number of years and do the job no worries. I've got a 1/4 and 1/2 drive ones which covers me for most torques except for between 30-40nm. 1/2 drive I use all the time in combo with a big breaker bar for wheel nuts. 

If you've got a tight spot and can't get a big wrench in, use a hammer and regular socket wrench. Sometimes you can also use a adjustable vice wrench on another wrench to get leverage. Ratcheting wrenches are also really hand in tight spaces where a normal socket wrench cant go. Rattle gun can also work well depending on your space and what you are doing. 

[StevepGT3]

https://torquewrenches.com.au/products/323500-warren-brown-deflecting-beam-torque-wrench-30-300nm-1-2?variant=1195541626890&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqaLjn5O83gIVSa6WCh2MXAPhEAQYAiABEgJusfD_BwE

This will cover all your needs, and these deflecting beam style,as opposed to the click ones last pretty much forever as there are no moving parts or ratchets to get affected by dirt, humidity or clumsiness.

[TwoHeadsTas]

33 minutes ago, Mike737 said:

I'm just using the ToolPro stuff from Supercheap. Been using them for a number of years and do the job no worries. I've got a 1/4 and 1/2 drive ones which covers me for most torques except for between 30-40nm. 1/2 drive I use all the time in combo with a big breaker bar for wheel nuts. 

If you've got a tight spot and can't get a big wrench in, use a hammer and regular socket wrench. Sometimes you can also use a adjustable vice wrench on another wrench to get leverage. Ratcheting wrenches are also really hand in tight spaces where a normal socket wrench cant go. Rattle gun can also work well depending on your space and what you are doing. 

My daughter got me a Supercheap Torque Wrench for my birthday last year, which is more than adequate for my needs.  I had a nice Sidchrome 1/2" set that I bought when I first started mucking around with MGs a lifetime ago, but lost this set when it sunk with our yacht on a delivery trip across Bass Strait a couple of years ago (DON'T ASK....).  I replaced it with a Stanley set from Bunning I think it was.  Works perfectly fine, and the have replacement warranties, so if you use it hard and it breaks within the first year or so, then you get a new one anyway.  Perhaps a bit like hoses......

[AdRock]

Here's some food for thought...

I have two torque wrenches. One is about 3 years old from Aldi - a micrometer style - same as what you would get from Super Cheap, repco, etc. I think it was about $30.

I also recently went to a deceased estate sale and found a Warren and Brown deflecting beam torque wrench in the back of a drawer, which appeared to be at least 20 - 30 years old.
I picked this up for $5.

My father in law works at the RAAF, so he took them to work for me to get calibrated - as they have to check their torque wrenches every day before they use them on aircraft.
Turned out that the Warren and Brown version was still spot on after sitting in drawer for however many years and being quite old and some surface rust in places.

The much newer micrometer style wrench ended up being quite out of adjustment after being very much looked after and always stored correctly and in a case. It's only been used previously to do up wheel nuts.

Based on this - I'd recommend spending the extra bucks to get the deflecting beam type which rarely goes out of adjustment. My understanding is that Warren and Brown will also replace the torque wrench if it even ends up going out of calibration.  

*Edit: I just checked their website and this is indeed true... they provide a lifetime warranty.  http://wbtools.com.au/faq/

[Avon]

Aldi sell a 1/2" clicky one for ~$30.  I have no opinion if its good or garbage... but sure is cheap.  There is fair bit of internet chatter around them so they aren't an unknown entity.  Independently tested apparently.

[StevepGT3]

1 minute ago, AdRock said:

Here's some food for thought...

I have two torque wrenches. One is about 3 years old from Aldi - a micrometer style - same as what you would get from Super Cheap, repco, etc. I think it was about $30.

I also recently went to a deceased estate sale and found a Warren and Brown deflecting beam torque wrench in the back of a drawer, which appeared to be at least 20 - 30 years old.
I picked this up for $5.

My father in law works at the RAAF, so he took them to work for me to get calibrated - as they have to check their torque wrenches every day before they use them on aircraft.
Turned out that the Warren and Brown version was still spot on after sitting in drawer for however many years and being quite old and some surface rust in places.

The much new micrometer style wrench ended up being quite out of adjustment after being very much looked after and always stored correctly and in a case. It's only been used previously to do up wheel nuts.

Based on this - I'd recommend spending the extra bucks to get the deflecting beam type which rarely goes out of adjustment. My understanding is that Warren and Brown will also replace the torque wrench if it even ends up going out of calibration.

I checked the wheel nuts on a mates car that had been done up to spec with a micro style wrench, they were at least double what they were supposed to be, needless to say that the culprit is now in landfill somewhere.

[AdRock]

2 minutes ago, Avon said:

Aldi sell a 1/2" clicky one for ~$30.  I have no opinion if its good or garbage... but sure is cheap.  There is fair bit of internet chatter around them so they aren't an unknown entity.  Independently tested apparently.

See post above. 

 

[StevepGT3]

the words cheap and torque wrench should never be used in the same sentence when referring to yours or your car

[Mike737]

5 hours ago, StevepGT3 said:

https://torquewrenches.com.au/products/323500-warren-brown-deflecting-beam-torque-wrench-30-300nm-1-2?variant=1195541626890&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqaLjn5O83gIVSa6WCh2MXAPhEAQYAiABEgJusfD_BwE

This will cover all your needs, and these deflecting beam style,as opposed to the click ones last pretty much forever as there are no moving parts or ratchets to get affected by dirt, humidity or clumsiness.

Dam Steve, that is a thing of beauty. I feel like I've just been schooled.

I had looked at deflecting beams before and found them a little daunting particularly since it's easy to over torque, but that one looks easy to use.

[Fraz]

5 hours ago, StevepGT3 said:

https://torquewrenches.com.au/products/323500-warren-brown-deflecting-beam-torque-wrench-30-300nm-1-2?variant=1195541626890&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqaLjn5O83gIVSa6WCh2MXAPhEAQYAiABEgJusfD_BwE

This will cover all your needs, and these deflecting beam style,as opposed to the click ones last pretty much forever as there are no moving parts or ratchets to get affected by dirt, humidity or clumsiness.

Yep, had one of these for over 20 years. Still working perfectly

[StevepGT3]

21 minutes ago, Fraz said:

Yep, had one of these for over 20 years. Still working perfectly

Me too, got mine in the mid 80`s and it still looks and works as new,

[9r]

14 hours ago, Fraz said:

Yep, had one of these for over 20 years. Still working perfectly

Same here. I have 4 in all of which 3 are Warren & Brown.  The W&B deflecting beams are well worth the investment as you have them forever, great feel and they are still made in Australia. As Steve mentioned there are no moving parts (unlike the micrometer click style) in these types of torque wrench.

The micrometer click style works off a simple spring which loses tension over time even if you wind back the wrench to 0nm after each use it still will go out of spec and need regular recalibration.

My core sockets and spammers  are still my Australian  Sidchromes I brought 40years ago which are still as good as the day I got them

[Niko]

just to throw in a bit of nostalgia here.....I come from a Repco family, and Warren & Brown were once part of Repco.

My mum used to assemble the torque wrenches at the Warren & Brown factory in Cross Street, Footscray in the 80's...

Mum loved working there, great Aussie company.

Just a bit of useless info I thought I'd throw in....

[Harvs11]

19 hours ago, Mike737 said:

Dam Steve, that is a thing of beauty. I feel like I've just been schooled.

I had looked at deflecting beams before and found them a little daunting particularly since it's easy to over torque, but that one looks easy to use.

I got A W&B when I was putting my motor back together. I didn’t trust the dial ratchet type I have for wheel nuts. 

The audible/visible indicator is easy to use and the scale for setting the torque is pretty clear.  You just have to remember to push the indicator pin back in each time. 

Worth buying for piece of mind.  Especially if you’re  screwing into soft alloy. 

3 hours ago, Niko said:

just to throw in a bit of nostalgia here.....I come from a Repco family, and Warren & Brown were once part of Repco.

My mum used to assemble the torque wrenches at the Warren & Brown factory in Cross Street, Footscray in the 80's...

Mum loved working there, great Aussie company.

Just a bit of useless info I thought I'd throw in....

Not useless, good to know you didn’t follow your Mum to the spanner factory.  ?

[Niko]

48 minutes ago, Harvs11 said:

I got A W&B when I was putting my motor back together. I didn’t trust the dial ratchet type I have for wheel nuts. 

The audible/visible indicator is easy to use and the scale for setting the torque is pretty clear.  You just have to remember to push the indicator pin back in each time. 

Worth buying for piece of mind.  Especially if you’re  screwing into soft alloy. 

Not useless, good to know you didn’t follow your Mum to the spanner factory.  ?

I used to sell them at REPCO Footscray

[brian in buddina]

where do you go to get a torque wrench calibrated if you don't work for the RAAF?

[Stepo]

23 hours ago, brian in buddina said:

where do you go to get a torque wrench calibrated if you don't work for the RAAF?

ACS is your go to company for all things that need calibrating:

https://www.auscal.com.au/