Do i need a torque wrench for caliper washers, or

[ziggy]

Hi all. Almost ready too my front calipers. 1998 toyota corolla. Ive watched chrisfix on youtube, and he used a torque wrench, for the bracket bolts, and banjo bolt. I watched ericthecarguy, and all he used was a regular wrench. At a dilema here. wanna make sure it dosnt leak! got 12 washers from dealer. have done brakes, taken caliper off myslef many times. bled brakes good enough. but doing a banjo bolt tighten, so copper washers are sealed....new to this. is a torque wrench required? ericthecarguy used wrench, and just gave it a good nudge too tighten, then said you should be good to go.

 

[EdwardC]

Do you have a torque wrench? If so, I don't see why not. I'm of the opinion that after doing enough wrenching, you tend to know by feel that things are tight enough. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably use the torque wrench on the banjo bolts just to be sure, on the other parts, do what you've always done.

 

[ziggy]

yeah thats my feeling, thinking. i do have a torque...3 actually. one is afan type, a smaller lbs inches, and the other a husky ft lbs. how much torque is needed for this cars banjo bolt torque tension? i am thining, gunna use my fan type, and see where it stops before the bolt breaks loose. i do know its gunna be reveresed..so see if i can do it. howmuch torque for banjo bolt with new washers for a 98 corolla?

 

[OneEyeJack]

It's your car. If you have or can get a torque wrench and can spare the extra time you might want to consider it. It won't hurt and it might help.

 

[GenesisGuy70]

Yea I mean if you have the tool to do it, why not? I've never used a tq wrench and never had an issue though.

 

[eljefino]

Tighten the banjo bolt by feel, or by spec if you have it. Clean it with a paper towel and brake cleaner. Wrap it in another paper towel, and stomp on the brake. If it leaks, tighten a little more. Hacks do this job all the time, reusing the copper washer. If you use a new one, you'll be golden.

 

[ISO55000]

Originally Posted By: ziggy

Hi all. ....new to this.

Hi I'm only addressing you because of that one statement in the interest of safety for both you and your vehicle. "by the book" every fastener must be torqued to proper tension in order to hold whatever securely and not loosen as well as prevent secondary damage from misalignment, uneven stress and whatever. The torque wrench is an accepted tool for that. That being said, this is really applicable to what we refer to in industry as "critical fasteners" but the rest are not as important. Now with the exception of a designated critical fastener, every wrench twister over the years develops the "feel" for tightness that is adequate for the situation. Not knowing how "new" you are ( we all started at the beginning) I would suggest you first hand tightening the fastener to what you "think" then checking it with a TW and take note of the difference. Eventually you too will develop the calibrated bicep as well and be adequate for everything but a true critical fastener. Also I would recommend paying special attention to the threads ( male and female) for dryness and cleanliness ( as well as deformation) to make sure you don't gall/stretch them or get a false torque because of contamination or hydraulic effect.

 

[slowdime]

Originally Posted By: ziggy

yeah thats my feeling, thinking. i do have a torque...3 actually. one is afan type, a smaller lbs inches, and the other a husky ft lbs. how much torque is needed for this cars banjo bolt torque tension? i am thining, gunna use my fan type, and see where it stops before the bolt breaks loose. i do know its gunna be reveresed..so see if i can do it. howmuch torque for banjo bolt with new washers for a 98 corolla?

Smoke em if you got em I don't have a TW myself, for stuff that's got a gasket, I go finger tight in a star pattern, then follow the same pattern and go fairly tight and even but not to the point of deforming the gasket.... For 'mission critical' stuff I go gorilla tight within reason. If I had a torque wrench I'd use it! So torque on, my friend!

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: ziggy

i am thining, gunna use my fan type, and see where it stops before the bolt breaks loose. i do know its gunna be reveresed..so see if i can do it.

You will NOT find the correct tightening torque by doing that.

 

[Bgallagher]

When it comes to brakes and suspension items I always torque everything down. Cheap insurance knowing everything is as tight as they should be.

 

[asand1]

Replacing the calipers on my car a couple months ago, I did use a torque wrench and used Nissans spec -straight from the Field Service Manual. It leaked anyway, so I loosened and tightened again by hand. No more leak now. On a banjo I would not trust the torque spec to do it the first time, but it will give you an idea what it should be to start with.

 

[bdcardinal]

I always use a torque wrench on them. It was fairly critical on my Mustang since I was changing to Stoptech braided lines and the torque values are different.

 

[Warstud]

Correct Torque = No Leaks

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: Bgallagher

When it comes to brakes and suspension items I always torque everything down. Cheap insurance knowing everything is as tight as they should be.

+1 me too

 

[ziggy]

well..ido have a torque wrench..but its in inch lbs.40-200. haynes manuel states for banjo bolt, 22 footlbs. thats 264 inch ilbs.. guess im off too home depot! they have husky footlbs. i think its 20-250 ft lbs.1/2 drive. i saw thiers digital adapters/..converts any wrench into a torque wrench amazon has a red ac delco one, for like $52 how about a digital torque adapter?

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: ziggy

well..ido have a torque wrench..but its in inch lbs.40-200. haynes manuel states for banjo bolt, 22 footlbs. thats 264 inch ilbs.. guess im off too home depot! they have husky footlbs. i think its 20-250 ft lbs.1/2 drive. i saw thiers digital adapters/..converts any wrench into a torque wrench amazon has a red ac delco one, for like $52 how about a digital torque adapter?

The 1/2" Husky torque wrench is not what you need. It's too big for that job. Many torque wrenches are only rated as accurate from 20-100% of scale, even if they include numbers below the 20% mark on the scale. If you look in the manual for that Husky I bet it says it's only rated accurate from 20% or above, which in this case is 50 ft-lbs. In fact, the specs on the Home Depot page for the 1/2" torque wrench say the minimum is 50 ft-lbs. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-1-2-in-Click-Torque-Wrench-H2DTW/202916180#specifications

Quote:

Wipes clean easily 50 ft.- lb. minimum torque 250 ft.- lb. maximum torque Twist-lock ring for secure locking mechanism Large size markings are easy to read Made of alloy steel

Their 3/8" drive model would be a better choice. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-3-8-in-..._-202916179-_-N

 

[ziggy]

i was just looking online. i saw that. advance auto had a 3/8 drive torque, for $19.99 20-100 or 150 ft lbs one of those 2. regarding the digital adapter..you use on any ratchet..it would seem to me it would be more precise. anything digital than mechanical will be more precise. what does everyone think?

 

[ziggy]

thiers an ac delco digital torque wrench adapter, 3/8 drive,on amazon. can get it by tomorrow. covers 20-147 ftlbs. or a 1/2 drive adapter, dont remember the specs...bu am guessing 1/2 drive would be too much for a bnjo bolt anyway.. couldnt find one for a 1/4 drive. advance auto has a 3/8 drive for $19.99 dont remember to torque,,think it was 10-140 something foot lbs..

 

[ziggy]

if i but the ac delco adapter, for 1/2 drive, use a tool adapter to convert1/2 too 3/8,for tightening caliper guide bolts, caliper too frame bolts,, would that work?or would the cobversion adapter cause looseness? aka not torqued right?

 

[Eddie]

If you need to ask you probably should use one to be safe and avoid future problems. Even an inexpensive beam type is better than guessing IMO. Ed