Torque Wrench Question

I am replacing the valve cover gasket on my 94 miata this weekend, but I have never used a torque wrench. Can someone tell me what I should look for when I buy one? I would like to get one that I can use for a number of applications, but I don't want to spend a fortune. Any ideas? Also, any tips on what to do (or not do)?

Thanks,

Dmoney

Reply to
dmoney
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never used a torque wrench. Can someone tell me what I should look for when I buy one? I would like to get one that I can use for a number of applications, but I don't want to spend a fortune. Any ideas? Also, any tips on what to do (or not do)?

I would get one that has a click-stop on it instead of the cheaper kind that bends to a certain point on a scale. A 3/8 inch one will work well for your valve gasket and a lot of other things, but you may also need a

1/2 inch torque wrench for doing large bolts, such as on the suspension.

There's not too much involved in using it. Don't use it as a breaker bar (it's tempting to do) and dial the gauge back down to zero or just above when you are going to store it, this relieves the spring tension and keeps it accurate.

HTH,

Pat '96M

Reply to
pws

The cheapy kind are quite OK to use. Just buy a 'name' brand so that the torque scale is 'somewhat' validated. Why buy an 'instrument' with instrument prices just to torque a few bolts every now and then? Just remember to clean all the threads on bolts nuts and studs and apply a teeny bit of anti-seize compound so you get an accurate torque and dont 'gall' the threads; and then, retorque a few days later to correct for strain relief, etc.

Reply to
Rich Hampel

I have two. The first one I bought has a range from something like 10 lb/ft to a hundred and something. It is good for a lot of general purpose stuff.

To do the valve cover, you don't need all that much torque. My '90 shop manual shows the torque for the cover bolts to be around 70 lb/inch. To get lb/ft you simply divide by 12, which is approximately 6 lb/ft. That's below the range of a lot of the lb/ft instruments.

The way around this is to also get a lb/inch wrench as well. If I recall, mine goes up to something like 200 lb/in which is a tad above 16 lb/ft. Of course, the bolts don't know what wrench you are using, so one is as good as the other...assuming the adjustment is within it's range. Also, the lb/in wrench is a 3/8" drive, which makes it directly compatible with a lot of my sockets. The lb/ft wrench is a half inch drive.

Best,

Ken

Reply to
KWS

The click feature is nice when doing shocks. A few of the bolts required me to position my body in a way that would have been difficult, if not impossible to see the scale while working the wrench. Obviously, this is not an issue with a valve cover.

Pat '96M

Reply to
pws

A teeny bit of anti sieze (lube) on the threads may increase the shank tension on a bolt by 80 to 100%. Lube should only be used where specified as it may lead to stretching or breaking bolts. Cleaning is mandatory.

Reply to
TBG

Thank you all very much. This newsgroup has been a wealth of information. I will now go out and purchase my very first torque wrench. Woo-hoo!

Thanks again,

Dmoney

Reply to
dmoney

Also, sometimes there is not enough possible motion for the cheap kind.

Leon

Reply to
Leon van Dommelen

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