Which torque wrench?

esonu

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Just wanted some opinions. I will not be using it often for sure but I am going to be doing some work on my car around February and want things to be accurate. What are you recommendations. I seen one called tekton which got amazing reviews but with its price point it seems too good to be true.
Any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks.
 

Wings65288

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For basic stuff I use those Tektons but when I built my engine I used a Snap-on torqometer.
 

esonu

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Sorry about the vague work. But possible head studs, valve covers, blower install and fuel setup install.
 

01yellercobra

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I work in calibration and have dealt with quite a few different brands. Surprisingly the harbor freight brands are usually pretty accurate. Tekton and CDI are good as well. I have a CDI in-lb wrench that's a couple years old and works great.

FWIW, I have two Craftsman wrenches. One is at least 40 years old and until last year it's held its calibration great. Something broke in the handle and I haven't pulled it apart to see what happened. It's a 10-150 ft-lb. I also have a 25-250 ft-lb that's about 5 years old. It's needed to be adjusted twice and something in the head is now acting up so it doesn't always turn correctly. I'm looking at Husky for my next wrench since I have a Home Depot about a mile from my house.

If you really want to be sure do a search for a calibration lab. There should be a couple around you. I think the last general one I worked for charged $20 for a basic three point cal.

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Black Gold 380R

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I bought one while stationed in Germany. It is calibrated in Newton Meters (nm), but came with a conversion sheet for in-lbs. I used it when I swapped heads on my 89GT. It worked great. I have no idea what brand it is, but is was not expensive at all. Has worked for all the jobs I've used it for and I'm very happy with it.

Looks something like this:

Torque wrench 01.JPG


Torque wrench 03.JPG
 

94slowbra1

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i use a kobalt one from lowes. when i was looking a while ago it got very god reviews and came with a calibration sheet. goes from 50lbs-250lbs, which i needed when i was doing studs on my 6.0 diesel. my two smaller ones are craftsman
 

DSG2003Mach1

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Ive got a 1/2" drive husky from HD that seems to be fine. I've also got the digital adapters from AC Delco I like. You'll definitely need a small inch lb wrench for valve covers and such.
 

papajoewill

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I roll with Utica for most projects. I did get a CDI that I also enjoy.


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esonu

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I have a 1/2 drive from duralast. Anybody have any experience with these? If not I’ll be going with cdi from recommendations since they’re pretty affordable and people speak highly of them.
 

jrichber

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I have the Harbor Freight 3/8" and 1/2" and they both seem to do the trick. There are a few things that require more torque that the 1/2" will go though. Problem is when you get to the 250lbs or more wrenches they price goes up quick.
 

DSG2003Mach1

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I have the Harbor Freight 3/8" and 1/2" and they both seem to do the trick. There are a few things that require more torque that the 1/2" will go though. Problem is when you get to the 250lbs or more wrenches they price goes up quick.

yep, I was very glad we had a big capacity one at work when I replaced the bearings on my spindles at 300/350ft lbs or whatever it was
 

roy_1031

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I just picked up a in/lb CDI off flea bay for a decent price. I’m still waiting on it so hopefully it lives up to the reviews people give CDI.


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Blkkbgt

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If you can still find them kobalt Tq wrenches are a good buy. Decently priced and all metal construction.

From there the icon HF brand is also decent but costs a little more. I haven't been able to confirm it but I've been told they are actually made by CDI.

Have never been a fan of craftsman since they went to plastic handles years ago. I actually broke 2 of them and the second one was out of the 1 year warranty. Had I known that they only have a 1 year warranty I never would have bought one.
 

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