Harbor Freight torque wrench Fail.

[3311]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Here is an easy way to check if your 3/8 is working or not.

Get 1/2" and 3/8" socket which will work on your wheel nut (or one socket and one 1/2/->3/8 reducer). Loosen one nut and tighten it back to 40 ft-lb using your 1/2" torque wrench. Set your 3/8" torque wrench to 45 ft-lb and see if the nut now moves slightly with your 3/8" torque wrench. Set 3/8" to 60 ft-lb and tighten the bolt. Now set 1/2" to 65 ft-lb and use that to make sure the nut moves slightly. Put it back to 80 ft-lb and you are done. Now you have verified that your 3/8 works at least as good as 1/2" and can be relied upon (until you drop it

Use similar technique to verify 1/4" torque wrench. You are making sure that they are withing ballpark and more importantly you will get a feeling of how they click. Also you have to remember that the clicking is very different at low the end of the scale as compared to mid or high and is easy to miss.

I love talking about the torque wrenches; currently HF has all three on sale for $9.99

You could just pick up one of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=digital torque wrench

I pretty impressed with it. It looks cheesy in the pic but it's well made and was/is very accurate.

By the way, the HF ¼ and ½ tq wrenches I have are well within the stated 4%.

I do hate that they are difficult to read but for $9ish bucks each they are are a tremendous value

 

[Vikas]

I take a sharpie and scrub the lettering with it and it become little easier to read.

There is another company (Northern?) who sells similar contraption but also supports torque angle reading. It costs slightly more but it is still under $50. I wish I could remember the URL; I am sure I have squirreled it away somewhere!

 

[blackman777]

this is why I don't touch my engine. I let the professionals with the proper tools and the years of experience do that job. If I did it I'd likely break something.

 

[sciphi]

This doesn't sound like tool failure, it sounds like user error. I snapped off a few lug studs on my Cruze torquing them to the manual-recommended 100 ft/lbs. Turns out my technique was in error, and the manual was wrong. The correct torque should have been 80 ft/lbs, and no extension on the wrench. No problems after that.

 

[Vikas]

Since I am a tool hoarder (and not a real user I play with my tools on the exercise bike in the comfort of my house. It has few bolts which I can try my impact wrench and torque wrench. This is one way to get familiar with the workings of a specific torque wrench and compare their operation.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: blackman777
this is why I don't touch my engine. I let the professionals with the proper tools and the years of experience do that job. If I did it I'd likely break something.



I thought you were a mechanic........

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2869180#Post2869180

Originally Posted By: blackman777
To me (a mechanic) it sounds like a believable car event to me. I never assume a driver is lying. Mechanical items fail all the [censored] time.

 

[3311]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
I take a sharpie and scrub the lettering with it and it become little easier to read.

There is another company (Northern?) who sells similar contraption but also supports torque angle reading. It costs slightly more but it is still under $50. I wish I could remember the URL; I am sure I have squirreled it away somewhere!

Thanks for the tip.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: 3311
You could just pick up one of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=digital torque wrench

I pretty impressed with it. It looks cheesy in the pic but it's well made and was/is very accurate.

By the way, the HF ¼ and ½ tq wrenches I have are well within the stated 4%.

I do hate that they are difficult to read but for $9ish bucks each they are are a tremendous value


How do you determine these tools are accurate??

 

[Vikas]

Either they are all accurate or they are all off by exactly the same amount. Now later is little bit hard to swallow.

 

[blackman777]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I thought you were a mechanic........

You asked this before and I answered it before. I am amechanic in a FACTORY not on cars.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: blackman777
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I thought you were a mechanic........

You asked this before and I answered it before. I am amechanic in a FACTORY not on cars.



Oh, I know I did, but it begged to be asked again based on your response in this thread.

Essentially what you are saying here is that you are qualified to work on mechanical equipment in a factory environment but feel you are too inept to be able to successfully do anything on a car without breaking it?

I'm hoping you realize how absolutely insane that sounds.....

I mean, by this metric, since you aren't an oil expert, you shouldn't be giving any advice on this board. But that doesn't appear to be the case now does it?

You are a posting paradox. A mechanic who isn't a mechanic and believes he can't touch a car without breaking it. A person who is afraid to work on cars, but is posting on a board giving out car advice.

 

[3311]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Originally Posted By: 3311
You could just pick up one of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=digital torque wrench

I pretty impressed with it. It looks cheesy in the pic but it's well made and was/is very accurate.

By the way, the HF ¼ and ½ tq wrenches I have are well within the stated 4%.

I do hate that they are difficult to read but for $9ish bucks each they are are a tremendous value


How do you determine these tools are accurate??


This guy sums it up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUD81N_TlS8

 

[doitmyself]

Thank you, 3311.

 

[Vikas]

How do I make sure the weights are calibrated? Or for example, the scale is calibrated? Do you have couple of the bathrooms scales in the house? If so, can you find what is the variation between them?

What you are trying to ascertain is that your measurements are reasonable and within the ballpark and have no gross error. If you are trying to do laboratory experiments in you home, you need lot more.

 

[redbone3]

Send your wrench to a calibration lab for calibration. I co-own one and do torque wrenches everyday. Call Testwave Calibration Laboratory at 775-356-8378 (Sparks, NV)

 

[tom slick]

How much does it cost for a calibration?

 

[3311]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
How do I make sure the weights are calibrated? Or for example, the scale is calibrated? Do you have couple of the bathrooms scales in the house? If so, can you find what is the variation between them?

What you are trying to ascertain is that your measurements are reasonable and within the ballpark and have no gross error. If you are trying to do laboratory experiments in you home, you need lot more.

I measured out a 1 gallon of water, then 2 gallons of water, weighed them with a digital fish scale which turned out be dead on.

Using weights turned out to be a pain so just used the digital fish scale and measured the pull.
I took a dozen or so measurements with each wrench, enough to satisfy myself that the wrenches were more accurate and consistent than me. The digital HF torque adapter is very accurate. After using that adapter for while it turned out to more consistent to use than the fish scale.

I also used the torque adapter, ground down a socket and recalibrated my 3/8” Husky that I have had 15ish years. It was way off(15% or so) but I got it within 4%.

Laboratory no, but accurate enough to verify the tools were in spec. The wrenches were well within the 4% and the I believe the 2% accuracy/calibration certificate with the HF torque adapter.

 

[blackman777]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: blackman777
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I thought you were a mechanic........

You asked this before and I answered it before. I am amechanic in a FACTORY not on cars.
Oh, I know I did, but it begged to be asked again based on your response in this thread.

Because you hate me (I suspect) and ask these questions (three times so far) because you like harassing me.

Quote:
Essentially what you are saying here is that you are qualified to work on mechanical equipment in a factory environment but feel you are too inept to be able to successfully do anything on a car without breaking it?

I'm hoping you realize how absolutely insane that sounds.....

I mean, by this metric, since you aren't an oil expert, you shouldn't be giving any advice on this board. But that doesn't appear to be the case now does it?

You are a posting paradox. A mechanic who isn't a mechanic and believes he can't touch a car without breaking it. A person who is afraid to work on cars, but is posting on a board giving out car advice.

Would you like me to leave?
Am I no longer welcome here?
Because I really don't feel that you want me around anymore. Also, frankly, the details of my personal life are not your business. For example if I was gay, that would also be NONE of you business. Or if I am Muslim? None of your business. And whether I fix my cars myself, or let the dealer do it? None of your business.

But I will go ahead and answer the last one: (1) I am better off to go to work on Saturday, and work extra hours earning ~500 dollars, while paying the dealer to take care of my broken car (for say $200 labor), thus netting $300 in my pocket. (2) The alternative is taking the day off, buying a bunch of tools I would need (that's minus a few hundred), fixing the car myself, probably screwing it up like Poster #1 did, and essentially losing 200-300 dollars in the process.

I choose (1) over (2).

 

[3311]

Originally Posted By: blackman777
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: blackman777
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I thought you were a mechanic........

You asked this before and I answered it before. I am amechanic in a FACTORY not on cars.
Oh, I know I did, but it begged to be asked again based on your response in this thread.

Because you hate me (I suspect) and ask these questions (three times so far) because you like harassing me.

Quote:
Essentially what you are saying here is that you are qualified to work on mechanical equipment in a factory environment but feel you are too inept to be able to successfully do anything on a car without breaking it?

I'm hoping you realize how absolutely insane that sounds.....

I mean, by this metric, since you aren't an oil expert, you shouldn't be giving any advice on this board. But that doesn't appear to be the case now does it?

You are a posting paradox. A mechanic who isn't a mechanic and believes he can't touch a car without breaking it. A person who is afraid to work on cars, but is posting on a board giving out car advice.

Would you like me to leave?
Am I no longer welcome here?
Because I really don't feel that you want me around anymore. Also, frankly, the details of my personal life are not your business. For example if I was gay, that would also be NONE of you business. Or if I am Muslim? None of your business. And whether I fix my cars myself, or let the dealer do it? None of your business.

But I will go ahead and answer the last one: (1) I am better off to go to work on Saturday, and work extra hours earning ~500 dollars, while paying the dealer to take care of my broken car (for say $200 labor), thus netting $300 in my pocket. (2) The alternative is taking the day off, buying a bunch of tools I would need (that's minus a few hundred), fixing the car myself, probably screwing it up like Poster #1 did, and essentially losing 200-300 dollars in the process.

I choose (1) over (2).
You have got issues.

 

[blackman777]

Overkill admitted, in private email, he does in fact want me to stop posting because he thinks I'm unqualified to opine. Which is funny. Because he's a "network engineer" which has nothing whatsoever to do with mechanical devices.