Torque Wrench Question
#22
04-15-2009, 05:50 PM
I have 3 torque wrenches and that's just about what you need to work in a Harley, I have a 3/8 in lbs wrench, a 3/8 ft lbs wrench and a 1/2 ft lbs wrench.
I use the 3/8 ft lbs wrench the most as works from 10-75lbs but sometimes you need inch lbs and sometimes you need a big wrench for over 75 lbs.
Sears wrenchs work great, I wouldn't buy anything less quality than a Craftsman.
I use the 3/8 ft lbs wrench the most as works from 10-75lbs but sometimes you need inch lbs and sometimes you need a big wrench for over 75 lbs.
Sears wrenchs work great, I wouldn't buy anything less quality than a Craftsman.
#23
04-15-2009, 07:50 PM
Cruiser
Join Date: Sep 2007
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I have a HF ft-lbs clicker and a Craftsman inch pound clicker that I had to buy in Pierre, S.D. when this pic was taken behind the motel:
As a side note, a fella could make a lot of money opening a HF store in Pierre, S.D., 'cuz there ain't nothin' there otherwise.
On another board, a guy used to hang out that tested/calibrated things like torque wrenches professionally. He said that the HF ones were actually quite accurate.
As a side note, a fella could make a lot of money opening a HF store in Pierre, S.D., 'cuz there ain't nothin' there otherwise.
On another board, a guy used to hang out that tested/calibrated things like torque wrenches professionally. He said that the HF ones were actually quite accurate.
Sorry for the brief hijack... back to torque wrenches...
#24
04-15-2009, 08:19 PM
Road Captain
#25
04-15-2009, 08:55 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
Hey Jagger,
There's a post somewhere on here. That was in '07. We didn't go in '08, had enough phun fer a little while. In '07, we almost got into it with some Canadians at the camp ground, which is the first in 11 trips to Sturgis that we had any trouble with anyone at all, and I think that the Canadians didn't quite realize that they crossed an international border and we all did not and were from Texas. I don't think they were good at math. They had enclosed trailers and multi-$K paint jobs. Some have suggested they might have been lawyers.
Then on the way home, we stopped to gas up near Mitchell and when I went to start the bike, it was hitting on one cylinder. Using my built in compression tester, AKA, Dr.Hess' Thumb, I determined that a #2 valve was stuck open, probably exhaust. I could make about 55MPH on the front cylinder, so we headed 60 miles to Pierre. Got a motel, dinner, beer, took the Sportster to Wally World, the dollar store and Sears for a few tools like the (HERE'S THE ON-TOPIC PART) an Inch Pound Craftsman Torque Wrench and I started tearing it down the next morning. My crossover pipe was shattered underneath the cover where you couldn't see it. The exhaust valve was down out of the head. Went to the dealer (very nice people) and got a valve guide, valve, gaskets. They pointed me to the machine shop about 2 doors from the motel at an auto parts store as the place they used. Over to them, the guy there tore the head down and the valve guide had dropped out of the head. He could re-use my old valve, but put the new guide in just because.
At the dealer, they didn't have a crossover pipe for a 21 year old FLHT. I asked if they had a MIG and if I could use it. The owner said "yeah, we have one, and no you can't use it." Liability, blah blah. I didn't throw a fit because I was pretty much screwed here either way and being a surgeon has taught me how to selectively use fits when they are most needed. The owner walked off and the counter guy said "Don't worry." A guy comes out and says "come over here." We walked out back and there was a Hobart Handler and an extension cord. I did some of the ugliest MIG welding I've ever done, and that's saying something, but given it was outside in the wind with regular (not flux core) wire, on too long of an extension cord and my HF MIG put that Hobart to shame, the shattered crossover pipe sucked up a half pound of wire and was intact. (Side note, it made it home about 800 miles just fine. I replaced it with a new complete exhaust system from a 07 ultra super classic something or other.)
I got the head back from the machine shop about 1700 and started putting it back together and finished up about 2100-2200 or so.
Here's the pic:
A few loose ends the next morning, like fixing an exhaust leak (stoopid gasket), returning that very nice refridgerator box to the appliance store dumpster next door, etc., and we were back on the road about 1030.
My friends from Texas are going with us to Sturgis again this year. One said maybe we can find some more Canadians.
There's a post somewhere on here. That was in '07. We didn't go in '08, had enough phun fer a little while. In '07, we almost got into it with some Canadians at the camp ground, which is the first in 11 trips to Sturgis that we had any trouble with anyone at all, and I think that the Canadians didn't quite realize that they crossed an international border and we all did not and were from Texas. I don't think they were good at math. They had enclosed trailers and multi-$K paint jobs. Some have suggested they might have been lawyers.
Then on the way home, we stopped to gas up near Mitchell and when I went to start the bike, it was hitting on one cylinder. Using my built in compression tester, AKA, Dr.Hess' Thumb, I determined that a #2 valve was stuck open, probably exhaust. I could make about 55MPH on the front cylinder, so we headed 60 miles to Pierre. Got a motel, dinner, beer, took the Sportster to Wally World, the dollar store and Sears for a few tools like the (HERE'S THE ON-TOPIC PART) an Inch Pound Craftsman Torque Wrench and I started tearing it down the next morning. My crossover pipe was shattered underneath the cover where you couldn't see it. The exhaust valve was down out of the head. Went to the dealer (very nice people) and got a valve guide, valve, gaskets. They pointed me to the machine shop about 2 doors from the motel at an auto parts store as the place they used. Over to them, the guy there tore the head down and the valve guide had dropped out of the head. He could re-use my old valve, but put the new guide in just because.
At the dealer, they didn't have a crossover pipe for a 21 year old FLHT. I asked if they had a MIG and if I could use it. The owner said "yeah, we have one, and no you can't use it." Liability, blah blah. I didn't throw a fit because I was pretty much screwed here either way and being a surgeon has taught me how to selectively use fits when they are most needed. The owner walked off and the counter guy said "Don't worry." A guy comes out and says "come over here." We walked out back and there was a Hobart Handler and an extension cord. I did some of the ugliest MIG welding I've ever done, and that's saying something, but given it was outside in the wind with regular (not flux core) wire, on too long of an extension cord and my HF MIG put that Hobart to shame, the shattered crossover pipe sucked up a half pound of wire and was intact. (Side note, it made it home about 800 miles just fine. I replaced it with a new complete exhaust system from a 07 ultra super classic something or other.)
I got the head back from the machine shop about 1700 and started putting it back together and finished up about 2100-2200 or so.
Here's the pic:
A few loose ends the next morning, like fixing an exhaust leak (stoopid gasket), returning that very nice refridgerator box to the appliance store dumpster next door, etc., and we were back on the road about 1030.
My friends from Texas are going with us to Sturgis again this year. One said maybe we can find some more Canadians.
#26
04-16-2009, 08:11 AM
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Topeka, KS
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Hey Jagger,
There's a post somewhere on here. That was in '07. We didn't go in '08, had enough phun fer a little while. In '07, we almost got into it with some Canadians at the camp ground, which is the first in 11 trips to Sturgis that we had any trouble with anyone at all, and I think that the Canadians didn't quite realize that they crossed an international border and we all did not and were from Texas. I don't think they were good at math. They had enclosed trailers and multi-$K paint jobs. Some have suggested they might have been lawyers.
Then on the way home, we stopped to gas up near Mitchell and when I went to start the bike, it was hitting on one cylinder. Using my built in compression tester, AKA, Dr.Hess' Thumb, I determined that a #2 valve was stuck open, probably exhaust. I could make about 55MPH on the front cylinder, so we headed 60 miles to Pierre. Got a motel, dinner, beer, took the Sportster to Wally World, the dollar store and Sears for a few tools like the (HERE'S THE ON-TOPIC PART) an Inch Pound Craftsman Torque Wrench and I started tearing it down the next morning. My crossover pipe was shattered underneath the cover where you couldn't see it. The exhaust valve was down out of the head. Went to the dealer (very nice people) and got a valve guide, valve, gaskets. They pointed me to the machine shop about 2 doors from the motel at an auto parts store as the place they used. Over to them, the guy there tore the head down and the valve guide had dropped out of the head. He could re-use my old valve, but put the new guide in just because.
At the dealer, they didn't have a crossover pipe for a 21 year old FLHT. I asked if they had a MIG and if I could use it. The owner said "yeah, we have one, and no you can't use it." Liability, blah blah. I didn't throw a fit because I was pretty much screwed here either way and being a surgeon has taught me how to selectively use fits when they are most needed. The owner walked off and the counter guy said "Don't worry." A guy comes out and says "come over here." We walked out back and there was a Hobart Handler and an extension cord. I did some of the ugliest MIG welding I've ever done, and that's saying something, but given it was outside in the wind with regular (not flux core) wire, on too long of an extension cord and my HF MIG put that Hobart to shame, the shattered crossover pipe sucked up a half pound of wire and was intact. (Side note, it made it home about 800 miles just fine. I replaced it with a new complete exhaust system from a 07 ultra super classic something or other.)
I got the head back from the machine shop about 1700 and started putting it back together and finished up about 2100-2200 or so.
Here's the pic:
A few loose ends the next morning, like fixing an exhaust leak (stoopid gasket), returning that very nice refridgerator box to the appliance store dumpster next door, etc., and we were back on the road about 1030.
My friends from Texas are going with us to Sturgis again this year. One said maybe we can find some more Canadians.
There's a post somewhere on here. That was in '07. We didn't go in '08, had enough phun fer a little while. In '07, we almost got into it with some Canadians at the camp ground, which is the first in 11 trips to Sturgis that we had any trouble with anyone at all, and I think that the Canadians didn't quite realize that they crossed an international border and we all did not and were from Texas. I don't think they were good at math. They had enclosed trailers and multi-$K paint jobs. Some have suggested they might have been lawyers.
Then on the way home, we stopped to gas up near Mitchell and when I went to start the bike, it was hitting on one cylinder. Using my built in compression tester, AKA, Dr.Hess' Thumb, I determined that a #2 valve was stuck open, probably exhaust. I could make about 55MPH on the front cylinder, so we headed 60 miles to Pierre. Got a motel, dinner, beer, took the Sportster to Wally World, the dollar store and Sears for a few tools like the (HERE'S THE ON-TOPIC PART) an Inch Pound Craftsman Torque Wrench and I started tearing it down the next morning. My crossover pipe was shattered underneath the cover where you couldn't see it. The exhaust valve was down out of the head. Went to the dealer (very nice people) and got a valve guide, valve, gaskets. They pointed me to the machine shop about 2 doors from the motel at an auto parts store as the place they used. Over to them, the guy there tore the head down and the valve guide had dropped out of the head. He could re-use my old valve, but put the new guide in just because.
At the dealer, they didn't have a crossover pipe for a 21 year old FLHT. I asked if they had a MIG and if I could use it. The owner said "yeah, we have one, and no you can't use it." Liability, blah blah. I didn't throw a fit because I was pretty much screwed here either way and being a surgeon has taught me how to selectively use fits when they are most needed. The owner walked off and the counter guy said "Don't worry." A guy comes out and says "come over here." We walked out back and there was a Hobart Handler and an extension cord. I did some of the ugliest MIG welding I've ever done, and that's saying something, but given it was outside in the wind with regular (not flux core) wire, on too long of an extension cord and my HF MIG put that Hobart to shame, the shattered crossover pipe sucked up a half pound of wire and was intact. (Side note, it made it home about 800 miles just fine. I replaced it with a new complete exhaust system from a 07 ultra super classic something or other.)
I got the head back from the machine shop about 1700 and started putting it back together and finished up about 2100-2200 or so.
Here's the pic:
A few loose ends the next morning, like fixing an exhaust leak (stoopid gasket), returning that very nice refridgerator box to the appliance store dumpster next door, etc., and we were back on the road about 1030.
My friends from Texas are going with us to Sturgis again this year. One said maybe we can find some more Canadians.
#29
04-16-2009, 10:15 AM
I'll give a +1 for the Harbor Freight torque wrenches, which IMO are the best tool values available anywhere. You can get a 3/8"- and 1/4"-drive wrench for $35.
I have three TQ wrenches, an ancient Torsen (non-clicker torsion bar) and the two HF wrenches. At one time I also had a $350 Snap-On 1/2" wrench, and I had all four tested for accuracy. The Snap-On was the worst of the lot and Snap-On wanted $40 to have it adjusted to specs. The Torsen was better, but the two HF wrenches were dead-on except the 3/8" was 1# off at its limit (150 ft/lbs), well within their spec of ±4% accuracy. I've had the Torsen for 38 years and both HF wrenches for about 10.
Considering the accuracy, price, and a lifetime warranty I don't know how you could do better. BTW, Craftsman offers a 1-yr. warranty on their TQ wrenches and they cost much more. Also, check out the Craftsman site for owner feedback on their wrenches, which is not encouraging.
I have three TQ wrenches, an ancient Torsen (non-clicker torsion bar) and the two HF wrenches. At one time I also had a $350 Snap-On 1/2" wrench, and I had all four tested for accuracy. The Snap-On was the worst of the lot and Snap-On wanted $40 to have it adjusted to specs. The Torsen was better, but the two HF wrenches were dead-on except the 3/8" was 1# off at its limit (150 ft/lbs), well within their spec of ±4% accuracy. I've had the Torsen for 38 years and both HF wrenches for about 10.
Considering the accuracy, price, and a lifetime warranty I don't know how you could do better. BTW, Craftsman offers a 1-yr. warranty on their TQ wrenches and they cost much more. Also, check out the Craftsman site for owner feedback on their wrenches, which is not encouraging.
Last edited by iclick; 04-16-2009 at 10:18 AM.
#30
04-16-2009, 10:36 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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I have the Harbor Freight in/lbs clicker style, think it was around 20.00 bucks. No problems with it. Use a Craftsman 3/8 & 1/2 torsion bar style, great value, no issues with these either. Store them in their containers and reset the HF to zero each use and they perform great. My .02 worth.