1/2" torque wrench

SnapOn, of course!

pa-glazier said:

Who offers a 1/4" torque wrench? I haven't seen one.

Click to expand...

SnapOn, and if you are really serious about working on scoots, rather than being a shade tree mechanic, you will eventually need at least 3 torque wrenches.

SnapOn offers the following pretty-much-necessary torque wrenches ranges in ratcheting, click-type torque wrenches:

1/4" 10 to 50 inch pounds
3/8" 40 to 200 inch pounds
1/2" 30 to 200 foot pounds
Each wrench costs approximately $250. But wait, there's more.

For those of you sharp-eyed individuals who caught it, 200 inch pounds=16 1/2 foot pounds. That leaves you an uncovered range of 16.5 to 30 foot pounds with these three torque wrenches. Not important you say? :dunno:

The 06 Harley-Davidson Touring service manual calls for the following torque specs. Note that the second or higher number indicates the initial torque the fastener should be tightened to. The first and lower number indicates the torque setting that should be used when checking to see if the fastener has retained its orignal torque setting. That way, there's no need to break the Loctite when checking fasteners.

-Engine oil drain plug-14 to 21 foot pounds
-Chain tension nut torque-21 to 29 foot pounds
-transmission drain plug- 14 to 21 foot pounds
-fuel filter hex jam nut- 15 to 20 foot pounds
-spark plugs- 12 to 18 foot pounds
-battery hold down clamps screw- 15 to 20 foot pounds

There IS a SnapOn wrench in that range, a 3/8" ratchet from 5 to 75 foot pounds. Another $250! :crying:

And finally, for those REALLY small fasteners (the master cylinder reservoir cover specifies a torque of 6 to 8 inch pounds), yet another range which is not covered by our existing set of, now, 4 torque wrenches.

For this low range, SnapOn offers a 3 to 15 inch pound torque screwdriver. Also, as I recall from my SnapOn dealer, about $250 bucks! :nono:

I bought the 1/4" and 3/8" inch pound ratchets to go with a 1/2" foot pound ratchet I purchased some years ago when I was building a small block Chevy. I haven't popped for the low range torque screwdriver yet and probably won't. :nope:

One final point. If you do use the click-type torque wrenches, you must set them back to zero after use. If you don't, it's about the same as leaving the magazine for your automatic pistol full of shells for a long period of time. It will weaken the spring in both.

I am one of those folks that looks to pawn shops for some items and torque wrenches is one of them. I have purchased some very fine wrenches for pennys on the dollar. You got to assume that the wrenches were stolen from someone but hey, they are for sale and someone is going to get a good deal.

I tend to go for the newer looking ones and if it is semi-critical, I will compare it with another wrenche to see if it is in the ball park. (This is done by putting one wrench in a vise, coupling the heads, and comparing torques.) If it is a critical torque like aircraft components, there are certification agencies that will calibrate your wrench and certify it.

The last pawn shop deal was a brand spanking new Craftsman 3/8" wrench for $25. It was a click type, not digital.

One forum member spoke of problems with beam type wrenches. I would like to say that the professional versions of beam type wrenches are extremely accurate and were used for years and years in highly critical applications. In fact, for many users, beam types are much easier to use because of the problems reading and setting the values on the click-type wrenches.