Torque wrench setting visuals

[Brybo86]

So this is Pittsburgh 1/4in torque wrench.
When I set it to zero that is closest to the line for the desired setting, it seems like the ring is a little bit below the line.
So should I use the ring to determine the setting or should I use the zero or the five or the 10 to determine the setting?
If I tighten it by about 5 then the ring lines up with the bottom of the mark.

I was just tightening the bolts on the VVT solenoid valve on my Honda Pilot and it seems like my 3/8 Craftsman torque wrench is WAY too tight at a desired setting
This Pittsburgh seems a lot more accurate but the visuals seem a little off.

 

[jkasch]

On my two Pittsburghs, the desired setting is just barely covered by the dial. They are hard to read if the light isn’t right.

 

[Nukeman7]

So this is Pittsburgh 1/4in torque wrench.
When I set it to zero that is closest to the line for the desired setting, it seems like the ring is a little bit below the line.
So should I use the ring to determine the setting or should I use the zero or the five or the 10 to determine the setting?
If I tighten it by about 5 then the ring lines up with the bottom of the mark.

Use the zero setting, not the 5 or 10 mark. The Pittsburgh torque wrench machining tolerance is not very precise is why there is a gap between the ring and the index marks.

I was just tightening the bolts on the VVT solenoid valve on my Honda Pilot and it seems like my 3/8 Craftsman torque wrench is WAY too tight at a desired setting
This Pittsburgh seems a lot more accurate but the visuals seem a little off.

Be real careful not to overtorque the 10mm attachment bolts on Honda VVT solenoid valves. They should be tightened to ~110 inch-lbs or ~9 ft-lbs. Overtightening can permanently warp the solenoid valve body where a new gasket won't ever seal again.

 

[D60]

You have no choice but to assume the zero is accurate. Otherwise all the tick marks on the rotating handle are meaningless.

 

[Brybo86]

Use the zero setting, not the 5 or 10 mark. The Pittsburgh torque wrench machining tolerance is not very precise is why there is a gap between the ring and the index marks.

Be real careful not to overtorque the 10mm attachment bolts on Honda VVT solenoid valves. They should be tightened to ~110 inch-lbs or ~9 ft-lbs. Overtightening can permanently warp the solenoid valve body where a new gasket won't ever seal again.

The official tsb and service manual says 6ft lb / 72 in lb

 

[Nukeman7]

The official tsb and service manual says 6ft lb / 72 in lbView attachment 253574

That is correct...I mistakenly cited the torque specs. for the K24 motor's VTEC solenoid.

 

[Rand]

Assume 0 is accurate. go by that and the closest mark on handle.
ie your torque wrench should be 50 in lb in that pic.
OTOH its not likely that 15in-lb would be catastrophic to a bolt.
so if its 6 or 7ft-lb not a that big a deal just dont be way off.

 

[The Critic]

so if its 6 or 7ft-lb not a that big a deal just dont be way off.

Exactly. Just snug them down with a short 1/4" dr ratchet.

 

[Lenny5160]

I've gotten this wrong before in Reddit threads. I initially would have agreed with the previously posted answers.

According to the instructions for the wrench, once you get PAST the 65 on the handle (higher than the mark), when the '0' comes around, that is where the wrench is supposed to be set for 65 lb/in.

 

[TheOilWizard]

I assume 0 is accurate. A torque wrench of this price range, it's not going to line up perfectly.

 

[Brybo86]

So using a digital luggage scale (I know this is far from a calibrated tool) I tested it with a 10lb dumbbell and got 9.98 and occasionally 10.00

I set the 1/4in Pittsburgh torque wrench to 72 using 0 as the first pic I posted(the one that appears lower than the line)
Pulling at the 8in mark on torque wrench I consistently got the torque wrench to break at 9.1
9.1x8 /12 is 6.06in/lbs which seems pretty good.

Using my zero as (5) as indicated in 2nd pic plus 7indicated gave a consistent 10.2 x8 /12 is 6.8in/lbs

So per this cave man test the lower 0 seems the be the correct mark

In reality 6 or 6.8 probably doesn't matter

 

[Brybo86]

.... Goodness my Craftsman 3/8 5-80ft lbs digitork(DigiCrap)

using the same rudimentary luggage scale this is what I got.

I guess I know what I'm going to ask Santa for this Christmas....

Horrible!
no wonder I thought I was going to strip my valve cover bolts at 8.4 ft/lbs...it was probably more like 13.5ft/lbs!
Torqued the 10mm... like a 12mm

Didn't get close to accurate until the upper end of the range.

 

[Chris142]

On my two Pittsburghs, the desired setting is just barely covered by the dial. They are hard to read if the light isn’t right.

My snap on is no better

 

[TheOilWizard]

Using a 3/8" torque wrench for ~8 ft/lb probably isn't optimal. That was a job for the 1/4". I think they are less accurate when being pushed to the minimum. Notice how it got more accurate as the torque increased.

 

[Hirev]

Wow Brybo86 that sucks.

Before I retired had access to several certified torque wrench testers. More than a few torque wrenchs really struggled below 15 - 20 ft/lbs range right where you need accuracy in many automotive and motorsports applications. That harbor freight Quinn 3/8 in. Drive 5.9-59 ft. lb. digital torque adapter is very close and a good way to verify your torque wrench settings and or accuracy.

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[dubber09]

You just need to know at what value the wrench is calibrated, actual numbers will be close to dial numbers in proximity to that calibrated number, the farter you go up or down from there the more discrepancy you get, usually.
What I mean is if it was calibrated at 50ft-lb (on a 10-150fl-lb wrench) then when you dial to 60ft-lb you should be close to that and may be off by a single digit, but dialing to 150ft-lb you may end up at actual 200ft-lb.

 

[jkasch]

Wow Brybo86 that sucks.

Before I retired had access to several certified torque wrench testers. More than a few torque wrenchs really struggled below 15 - 20 ft/lbs range right where you need accuracy in many automotive and motorsports applications. That harbor freight Quinn 3/8 in. Drive 5.9-59 ft. lb. digital torque adapter is very close and a good way to verify your torque wrench settings and or accuracy.

​

The first generation HF digital torque adapter was garbage. It needed new batteries every time you went to use it. I tossed it. The new version works very well.

 

[redbone3]

You just need to know at what value the wrench is calibrated, actual numbers will be close to dial numbers in proximity to that calibrated number, the farter you go up or down from there the more discrepancy you get, usually.
What I mean is if it was calibrated at 50ft-lb (on a 10-150fl-lb wrench) then when you dial to 60ft-lb you should be close to that and may be off by a single digit, but dialing to 150ft-lb you may end up at actual 200ft-lb.

Torque wrenches (mechanical) are generally +/- 4% or +/-3% of setting from 20% to 100% of full scale. Below 20% they either have no stated accuracy or a greatly reduced accuracy. When a mechanical torque wrench is calibrated it is checked at the lowest setting, at least one spot in the central region, and at full scale. If it is adjusted, the adjustment is generally done at 20% of full scale, because that is where the tolerance is numerically the tightest.

 

[Hirev]

What I've found is torque wrenches (mechanical) with a wide range are generally off at the lower end, my 10-170 ft lbs. torque wrench is a good example of this. Yet I have two lower end 5 - 45 ft lbs 3/8 torque wrenches that do well throughout the narrow range.