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"hls" wrote in news:f8QPi.6146$ snipped-for-privacy@nlpi068.nbdc.sbc.com:

To me, the very best features of clicker wrenches are that you do not need to be in a position to be able to see any kind of readout, plus they have a ratcheting head. These features are mightily advantageous to the home grease monkey working with a car barely a foot off the ground.

My Sears Craftsman clicker ($90) is advertised as being accurate to 4%, plenty good enough for most types of work the home grease monkey will screw up.

GM 6094M, GM 4718M, GM LL-A-25, GM LL-B-25 Ford WSS-M2C153-H, WSS-M2C939-A, WSS-M2C930-A, WSS-M2C931-A Chrysler MS6395N, MS10797, MS10796, MS10798 Honda HTO-6 VW 502, 503, 503.01, 504, 505, 505,01, 506, 506.01, 507 BMW LL-98, LL-01, LL04 Mercedes 229.1, 229.3, 229.31, 229.5, 229.51

For any of the above, an API SM oil is no guarantee that it would also meet the [above] OEM specs although meeting any of the above OEM specs pretty much assures that the oil also meets API service grade SM.

Sadly true. Odds are, your car is getting the wrong motor oil.

There are calibrated impact guns that put out consistent torque. I have never seen on in an auto shop, probably because they are expensive and are generally good for a limited torque range. They are primarily used in production lines where consistent torque has to be applied all day and there is no call for the huge torque that service impact guns can produce. I have one and set it so it just seats the lug nut, then I lower the car and finish with a torque wrench, which usually takes about a quarter turn. On the negative side, that fancy impact gun doesn't have the oomph to loosen really stuck bolts.

The people who work on cars at tire companies and quick lube places generally don't invest a lot of money in tools, probably because they don't make a lot of money, and they don't make a lot of money because they don't have a lot of skills. I have little faith in the abilities of the people who work in those places so I avoid them.

I have been getting batteries and tires at Sears because their techs get a very good deal on Craftsman tools and so at least they have what they need to do the job correctly. The Sears Auto Center near my house always installs wheels with a torque wrench and they make a note on the customer's receipt that wheel torque should be re-checked after 100 miles. I did re-check the torque once, and it was right on.

Did you know that it is possible to over-tighten a nut or bolt with a properly set torque wrench? I see it happen quite often.

Very easy if you don't stop at the click or the correct number on a dial type. Also can happen if you oil a stud or bolt when the torque calls for a dry interface. The opposite can also happen, If the spec calls for oiled surfaces and you torque them dry the torque will be lower than spec.

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Yeah, I passed by Sears and Walmart today. Both auto centers use torque wrenches. I saw personnel at both places using them.

I think I'll pass on the $25 torque wrenches at O'Reilly and AutoZone, and either buy the $80 Craftsman torque wrench at Sears (on sale right now until Oct. 20th for $60), or buy the Kobalt torque wrench at Lowe's for $90 (no sale right now).

Both are made in the U.S.A., though there are other Kobalt products made in China. The Craftsman's case and packaging were made in Mexico, but the wrench itself was made in the U.S.

Looks like Danaher made the Kobalt.

Both tighten to a maximum of 150 foot-pounds, and are 1/2 inch.

There's an electronic Craftsman torque wrench for $230 (not on sale) that tightens to 250 foot-pounds, and has an accuracy of +/- 3 percent CW, whatever that means. It has a digital display, but $230 is too costly for me.

I think I'll buy that $80 Craftsman on sale for $60 until next Saturday. Do you think it will be really that more accurate than the $25 AutoZone and O'Reilly torque wrenches? They all look similar with only slight differences.

The $80 Craftsman is probably more accurate than the $25 Autozone and O'Reilly ones, but if all you are going to do is tighten lug nuts, the cheap ones should be good enough.

If all you are going to do is tighten oil drain plug, then you don't need a torque wrench.

I know, it's mostly alarmist crap - heck, I live for the smell of a good burnout... but at the same time, what's BAD about wearing gloves while doing an oil change or a respirator when painting?

Ray

FWIW, I had mine calibrated last year for $25 at the local Tool World. One less tool to blame when I break something.

Ray

Four easy ways to avoid that, at least for wheel lug nuts, that have worked for me are:

1. Use graduated tightening (e.g., first tighten all lug nuts to 40, then all lug nuts to 60, then to the specified torque).
2. Pull slowly on the wrench, rather than pushing on it, to avoid jerking the wrench.
3. Stop pulling as soon as the click is felt, there will be a second click that will be heard and felt as the force is released.
4. If rechecking torque on already secured bolts, use 10 or 20 ft.-lbs. less (i.e., initially tighten to 80 ft.-lbs., but for future torque checks use 60 or 70 ft.-lbs.). If the bolt moves at the lesser torque, it will obviously have to be loosened and retorqued to the proper amount; otherwise, it can be considered "good" (at least until the next torque check).

As the owner of cars with canister filters, I wear heavy gloves because otherwise I get burned on the damn canister. Working on cars with conventional filters, I wear thin rubber gloves because it makes it easy to get the filter off by hand without a wrench. Keeping oily gunk off my hands is an added bonus.

--scott

Not sure which kind of car you're referring to, but the typical old Fram C4 cartridge type filters usually had a bail on them so you could lift them out without grabbing ahold of the filter itself.

Sadly, when Studebaker bought the housings from Fram, they neglected to spec a drain petcock so you have to suck out the dirty oil with a suction gun to do a "complete" oil change.

nate

Oh, yes! I forgot those! No, I was referring to the 1970s and 1980s BMW filters. I actually made a tool from a wooden rod with a loop of nylon webbing on it, that allows me to grab the filter and pull it up from the top without making a mess of thing or burning myself. On the BMW, the canister containing the filter comes off, not just a cover, so all the residual oil left in the canister can be poured out.

Easy enough to change with a drill and tap.

--scott

I mention the following shopping bargains in case anyone else is in the market for torque wrenches and floor jacks, essential tools for rotating your own tires.

I saw a 1/2-inch torque wrench at Home Depot that tightens to a maximum of 250 foot-pounds for $70. The brandname is Husky and it's made in Taiwan. I wonder if I should get this instead of the $80 Craftsman on sale for $60 at Sears? The Craftsman only torques to 150 ft.-lbs. (not 250), but it is made in the U.S.A., except for its case and packaging which were made in Mexico.

The Craftsman floor jack at Sears that is low-profile and raises 2.5 tons to 15 inches appears to be the exact same model as the Black Jack at Walmart. The Walmart one costs $30, and the Craftsman costs $50 ($45 on sale). Both made in China, and both apparently identical. I'll probably buy the 2.25-ton A.C. Delco at O'Reilly since it lifts a half-inch more to 15.5 inches for $35.

The Michelin jack at Sam's Club lifts 3.5 tons, not the

4 to 6 tons I mentioned last time. It lifts very high to 22 inches for $65, but isn't really transportable like the A.C. Delco, which come with its own carrying case.

The 1/2-inch 150 foot-pound torqe wrench at AutoZone has a brandname of Great Neck, and is made in Taiwan. The O'Reilly wrench is also made in Taiwan. Both retail for $25. The O'Reilly sales guy said theirs has a lifetime warranty (don't know about the AutoZone one). The O'Reilly wrench has a brandname of Precision something.

A 3-ton pair of Sears Craftsman jack stands costs $20; $17 at Walmart. Note these are 3-ton pairs, not 2-tons. The 3-ton stands at Harbor Freight are also about $20 and have a range of 11.75 inches to 16.75 inches.

I stopped by Harbor Freight for the first time. Nice store and very busy. They sell a 150 ft-lb, 1/2-inch torque wrench for $20 ($15 on sale). It comes in an orange case and is made overseas (probably Taiwan again--don't recall). It hurt me to pass on that bargain. But I'll probably buy the Craftsman while it's on sale for $60 until Oct. 20th, unless someone can convince me the 250 foot-pound Husky for $70 at Home Depot is a better wrench to buy.

There's a 3/8-inch Craftsman wrench at Sears called the Digi-Tork that on sale for $100 (regular $120). It has a small level-like window that displays the torque. Despite its name, it's not digital like the $230 Craftsman that has an accuracy of +/- 2 percent CW and

+/- 3 percent CCW, whatever CW and CCW mean.

Happy shopping.

CW = clockwise CCW = counter-clockwise

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Thanks!

Ray, I would have guessed you rotate your own tires, since you change your own cars' oil.

I do know that both Sears and Walmart offer /free/ /lifetime/ tire balancing and rotation after you pay for your first, initial balancing and rotation. The cost at the two stores is between $30 and $45, but then, forever after, your balancing and rotations are totally free for that set of tires. The tires don't even have to come from Sears or Walmart.

Is that the reason you let Sears rotate your cars' tires? Do you ever do it yourself?

My local Target store doesn't carry a lot of motor oil, but it does have some. What surprised me was all the 5w-30 Mobil 1 quarts were API SL, the old standard. The only API SM they had for Mobil 1 was 10w-30.

An unsuspecting consumer would easily pick up the old stuff. It was priced the same as the SM, $6 per quart