How Important are these things. i do a little wrenching, nothing major. do you really have to torque spark plugs?

 

Mechanic by trade here. Somethings really do need to be torqued, such as main and rod bearings etc.... Most stuff is just fine using the German torque method (Gudentight).

 

Spec for the rear axle in my service manual says 95-105FT LBS.
As far as wrenches go your going to want a 1/2" drive for that (it fits the socket or special wrench).
Front axle is 60-65.

To the OP,
Check your service manual closely. Many values are in IN LBS.
Pay attention 12IN LBS =1FT LB and 12FT LB = 144 IN LBS.

 

unload torque wrench. didn't know that. thanks again HDF

 

You will also want an inch pound torque wrench for most fasteners on the bike... And like others have stated to read carfully the torque range... If you use your ft lbs wrench instead of and inch lbs wrench then you are gonna strip or break something.

 

not a bad price for sears, but harbor freight has their brand for a lot cheaper. i got 3 different torque ranges for $10, $20, and $30 i think. so far, i have had zero complaints with them.

 

Dial it all the way back to zero and even past zero before you put it away. That unloads the tension on the mechanism.

 

I had to chime in on this one. Good job getting a torque wrench. 10-75 ft/lbs should cover most jobs. As a mechanic Ive worked with a lot of guys over the years. The thing that takes time to learn is the "Feel" of how tight bolts should be. Some guys pick it up right away (some guys never seem to learn it) If nothing else a torque wrench will train you how tight 20 foot pounds feels as compared to 50 or 75 foot pounds.

And don't listen to the "Tighter is better" theory. Bolts stretch. After you've stretched them past their limit they are useless. Back in the day guys used to put headers on cars and wonder why the mounting bolts always broke off going down the road. If you look at most car manifolds now you'll see long studs with sleeves on them. That's for expansion and contraction of the metal. It's the guys who put everything on with the 1/2" breaker bar that are always scratching their head wondering why their bolts are constantly loose.

Use that torque wrench, use the right color of lock-tite, manuals will usually tell you what color to use (you don't need red for EVERYTHING). Be carefull where you use Chrome bolts, They aren't as strong as say Grade 8 bolts. Gases get trapped in the bolts during the chroming process (Google "Hydrogen Embrittlement" sometime).

Have fun wrenching!!

 

Actually the Sears 10-75 ft lb torque wrench is supposed to be stored at under 25% capacity (under 19 lbs) and not below the lower limit of 10 lbs.

 

Hell, I'm still workin' with one of these antiques.


Unloads to zero automatically