Do you use a torque wrench?

Do you guys pay attention to torque values or just "tighten it till it don't move no more"?

Reply to
roger
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If the manual gives a torque value, I always tighten it to that value. This is especially important for things such as automatic transmission fluid pans, engine heads, battery cable bolts and hold down clamp, alloy wheels, etc. Sometimes it doesn't matter too much (for example, my manual gives me a torque for the muffler hanger!)--but I guess I am just a perfectionist.

Reply to
SBB

Depends. If it's going on aluminum (relatively soft), I'm likely to use a torque wrench. I once snapped a bolt on the valve cover of my '95 Integra GS-R. I was just tightening up the nuts that secured the spark plug wire cover, and it snapped. I then found out it was only supposed to be tightened up to 8 ft-lbs.

Also - for a transmission or oil drain plugs, it's hard to get a torque wrench under the car, unless you can place the car on a lift. Sometimes there's barely enough angle to turn a torque wrench, let alone read it.

Reply to
y_p_w

A small clicker torque wrench can be used for drain plugs and other tight places. Always use a torque wrench and anti-seize grease on spark plugs in an aluminum head.

Reply to
Mike Walsh

also: if gasket is involved, I'm likely to use a torque wrench. I went through 3 ATF pan gaskets since I was using a 1/2" torque wrench on the bolts, which was not accurate enough. Each time the gasket leaked since I was torquing too much. I needed a 1/4" one with inch-pounds.

I once snapped a bolt on the valve cover of my

Agreed, but I use 6 ton jack stands, which gets the car high enough so I can use a torque wrench. Also, i use the kind that clicks, so I don't have to read it.

Reply to
SBB

The problem with the clicker type torque wrenches (the ones that stop applying torque past a set limit) is that they cost (a lot) more, and supposedly need to be recalibrated as they lose their accuracy. The cheapest Craftsman 3/8-in clicker wrenches at Sears are $70, and the the lowest setting is 10 ft-lbs. If I was a professional mechanic, I'd definitely get one. I could easily justify the initial and recalibration costs.

I use a torque wrench for spark plugs - it really helps when putting them back in after checking (especially long life plugs). New plugs can often be properly torqued by crushing the new washer for a certain angle after it stops. One other tool I'd highly recommend for spark plugs is a 6-in locking extension. Once you tighten the spark plug, the plug socket is locked onto the extension and can easily be pulled out.

Reply to
y_p_w

you can get them for low price at Harbor Freight or at Homier (HDC). I bought a 1/2" torque clicker wrench by Great Neck with a lifetime warranty for only $25. Works great! I bought a 3/8" one at HDC for $10 I think.

Reply to
SBB

Clickers not only cost more, they are inaccurate compared to plate type due to human error - not stopping when it clicks. When doing heads jobs, use a plate type. It's predictable.

Duct tape works fine.

-- Milo Meineka

Reply to
Indiån §ummer

Both. With experience you learn more about tightening values for various size fasteners. Using a torque wrench is always a good idea. That's why the values are published. Over time, you get an improved feeling for how the bolt is tightening so you ease up as the resistance increases, and kind of work with it to sense when no additional force is required. Some small bolts you're going to place your hand near the head of the bolt and be tightening is what amount to inch pounds, using your fingers to sense the forces as the bolt tightens. Some larger bolts, you're going to have your hand at the end of the wrench and be pulling with a lot more force, but the principle is the same - sensing the forces increasing as the fastener tightens to it reaches the proper tightening point without going past.

Reply to
Daniel M. Dreifus

Reply to
Mike Walsh

Well said. Another thing to watch out for is the length of the bolt from the head to where the threads start. With short free sections, there's not much bolt to stretch, & the force will quickly increase after the head is seated.

Become one with the metal. Read Zen & the art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Not much about maintenance. It may lead you into self-administered electroshock therapy.

-Jeff Deeney-

Reply to
Jeff Deeney

I use a torque wrench for some things and not for others. I have pulled enough wrenches to be able to feel the torque pretty well on common things.

On heads, internal engine parts, etc. I will use a torque wrench. On heads, I follow the tightening sequence, but go up slowly in increments of a few ft-lb at a time.

The old mechanics who assembled engines for Ford and others in the plants didn't use torque wrenches at all. They did it by feel. (Of course,those old engines didn't last a third of what they do today.)

Reply to
HLS

They're also called "beam type".

I've heard one more problem with clicker torque wrenches is that a lot of people use them as cheater bars because they're typically very long. The innards are complex and relatively delicate - i.e. they don't stand up well to that kind of abuse.

Never occured to me. Is there a problem with clearance in the spark plug hole? I've already got the locking extension, and I'd rather not have to clean up any duct tape residue. :-)

Still - if you don't already have a 6-in extension, a locking one would be nice to have for a few bucks more.

Reply to
y_p_w

It would a nice tool to have - I'd certainly like one. However - I'd note that the warranties on them are typically very short, and they won't take the kind of abuse that most hand tools are subjected to.

Reply to
y_p_w

Great Neck Saw makes them with a lifetime warranty

Reply to
SBB

Jeez...don't you guys know how to remove a spark plug socket with just your bare hands, or with a non-locking extension?! :-) Just kidding...

That was actually the very first thing I learned to do working on my car. The first time the socket got stuck on the plug, and I had to call AAA to come and remove it. From that point on, I practiced at home removing the socket with just my bare hands so that embarrassment would never happen again!

Reply to
SBB

not is use it can go for a long time without needing calibration. Also try not to drop it.

the manufacturer says my torque wrench has to be set at 10 ft. lb. (the lowest setting) when not in use. I store it in my car in case of an emergency. maybe not a good idea!

Reply to
SBB

the spark plug socket that came with my cheap Canadian Tire socket set has a rubber insert built in. never a problem getting it off a plug or having a plug fall out of it. to install a plug I insert plug, attach a 3" extension, and start by hand before attaching rachet.

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Reply to
William R. Watt

Yes, I used a torque wrench to snap the bolts on my tranny pan. Always use a torque wrench, the handles are usually longer so you can really snug that nut up good. Just for fun try putting 150 ft/lbs on something, ever see a 1 inch washer sucked 1/2 an inch into MDF? DAMN thats fun!

Reply to
evil2thecore

You can become very good by feel, especially if you do the same thing to the same parts of the same machine with the same tools over and over. Who ends up owning and driving your learning curve -- ah, that's the question!

Mmmm.

Engines *have* gotten better on average in both design and construction, but there were some good ones in the old days (including some survivors that still soldier on after 40, 50, 60 years!) and there are some turkeys now.

What modern manufacturing techniques really do for you is making the typical engine as good (in the sense of living up to the possibilities of its design and conforming to standards) as an especially good example from times past. In other words, the shape of the curve has bulged to the right. You can also routinely set up and repeatably perform operations that only a top man could do, and that slowly, in the old days.

Note also that usage and maintenance had a lot to do with it too -- motor oil in particular has gotten better, and so has the ability to obtain and maintain state of tune, resulting in less abrasive unburned gasoline down the cylinder bores, better control of knock and ping, etc.

An abusive or neglectful owner can still ruin an engine, just as Dad could keep one going strong for 200,000 miles -- but both cases required working at it.

--Joe

Reply to
Ad absurdum per aspera

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