Need a torque wrench..suggestions?

[twocool]

Every torque wrench thead needs a "don't use one on your oil plug" warning!   

Why you say dat?

14.5 to 18 lb-ft

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[redhawkdancing]

somebody always strips the crap out of that thing. The best theory I've heard is the oil lubricating the threads make them too slippery for the torque setting to be accurate! 

[twocool]

somebody always strips the crap out of that thing. The best theory I've heard is the oil lubricating the threads make them too slippery for the torque setting to be accurate!

Well, you would think that if they used a torque wrench, and knew how to use a torque wrench and knew the torque spec...then there would be no problem.......but of course all of the above is "wishful thinking" on my part!...

Yes, oil can screw up the torque setting...I would figure that when they give the torque spec for the oil drain plug, they would figure on it being "oiled".....and  spec. accordingly... 

I have dealt with parts which give a torque spec "with lube"...  sometimes a specific lube is required...other times it is spec'd "dry".........

Sometimes oil drain plugs are spec'd like, "tighten until resistance, then 1/4 turn more.  With a crush washer you can "feel" and see the crush-washer crush...no tighter is necessary!  On my Honda scooter, the drain plug had a rubber O-ring....again good seal without tight...


But the over-tight drain plug and the over tight oil filter is why I gave up on having anybody else do my oil changes.......Tighter is not better!!

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[slipperymongoose]

I'll say this now STAY CLEAR of snap on torque wrenches! People seem to think that cause it's snap on its the best not true, they cannot hold their calibration and you can't keep them within the 3% variation you need. Beam wrenches are good enough you need to keep your action smooth and not 'jerk' the wrench. That will also cause your readings to be out. The best ones I've found so far that I like are sidchrome, jbs, and norbar. They make both types beam and ratchet and they hold there calibration very well.

[noworries]

US tool prices just make us little Ozzie bleeders totally envious to the max!

[burning1]

Paralax error renders beam type wrenches pretty inaccurate in all but the best conditions.

[Adfalchius]

I bought a Craftsman TW on Black Friday- great price.  BaltimoreGS suggested the next best time to buy tools is Father's Day- tons of sales.

I was browsing this site: http://www.jlwinstruments.com/torque-tips.htm and found some interesting tidbits on torque wrenches- including a somebody gold plating a torque wrench in the hopes that it wouldn't be tossed about carelessly (where's my bedazzler?)

A couple mechanics have stressed this to me: "Storing adjustable click style wrenches above the lowest setting will cause premature main spring wear."

Duly noted!  And I'll keep mine in the house instead of the garage  .

[slipperymongoose]

Hmmmmm so true when you get your wrench you need to look after it a bit better than the rest of your tools.

[burning1]

I've heard a lot of good things about split-beam type torque wrenches, although I haven't personally used one. Precision Instruments is said to be a good brand. Prices are reasonable for the quality, but a lot higher than a Craftsman wrench.

I've heard very good things about the accuracy of digital torque wrenches.

Personal experience is that a pair of craftsman - the inch pound and smaller of the foot pound wrenches are sufficient for most moto work. I've owned a couple cheap wrenches, and felt that they were a complete waste of money.

[warlock214]

Thanks for the input everybody!

[twocool]

Paralax error renders beam type wrenches pretty inaccurate in all but the best conditions.

To each his own.....most click type are + - 3%.......parallax is not this bad....in fact in every use I've had in 40 years I was able to look "straight" at the scale.  Also with my Craftsmans the design of the pointer is such that the little line on the pointer comes extremely close to the scale, so that parallax is oh so teeny tiny, even if viewed off center....and nonexistant if looked at straight.

On top of all that, you can easily compensate for parallax with a beam type.....With a click type you would need a calibration chart for all settings to compensate for all possible errors....

Also, in just about every case the actual torque spec has a range far greater than the psooible error of a click type or a beam type, so just shoot for the mid range...

As a good friend says, "We're not making Swiss watches here"....For a motorcycle, any of the common types of torque wrenches will work well.  Each has it's strong and weak points.  If the user understands the limitations, no problems!

Cookie

[slipperymongoose]

I'll throw a couple of pics up of the torque wrenches I use at work here.