Cheap Torque Wrench? (Amazon)

[cjhillman]

Anyone bought a torque wrench off amazon for around £20-£40 ? Looking for something cheap and good to torque up my Capri suspension , guessing 1/2” drive too... seen a few on Amazon and I have gift cards haha!

[Phil H]

At that sort of price range, I suspect they're all the same one with different stickers on.

[welshpug]

indeed all much the same, used a few, have a mac tools one I bought used a good fee years ago now.

[ChasR]

Has anyone checked the calibration of these items off the shelf?

That's one thing I'l give my Halfords ones. I'm really surprised but all of them were within 3% of the figures throughout the range after 10 years.

That said, I have always relieved the tension off them when not in use.

[BenzBoy]

A torque wrench is one of those once-only purchases, so to me there doesn't seem much sense in buying something bottom dollar. I'm not saying you should go nuts and buy a Snap-On or Mac, but something middle of the road will give a lifetime's service if you're not a mechanic using it day in day out.
I bought a Sealey torque wrench from Halfords in 1998, still going strong 22 years later. Always unwound it after use, never used it as a breaker bar (God forbid!!).

[cjhillman]

Feb 17, 2020 20:43:14 GMT BenzBoy said:

A torque wrench is one of those once-only purchases, so to me there doesn't seem much sense in buying something bottom dollar. I'm not saying you should go nuts and buy a Snap-On or Mac, but something middle of the road will give a lifetime's service if you're not a mechanic using it day in day out.
I bought a Sealey torque wrench from Halfords in 1998, still going strong 22 years later. Always unwound it after use, never used it as a breaker bar (God forbid!!).

I did notice there was a small Sealey wrench on Amazon. I havent bought anything yet as i had to buy a spanner that was nearly as much as these things

www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-AK623-Calibrated-Micrometer-Multicoloured/dp/B000R9XZF6/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1FLXUXJ86O8LH&keywords=torque+wrench+3%2F8&qid=1581974243&sprefix=torque%2Caps%2C245&sr=8-9

I should check what halfords have in actually

[ChasR]

Someone here may do you a Trade card deal for you if they are feeling helpful .

[cjhillman]

Feb 17, 2020 21:38:08 GMT ChasR said:

Someone here may do you a Trade card deal for you if they are feeling helpful .

oooh like the sound of that! Just looking at the torque range on the halfords ones and the 3/8 looks the closest to all the capri ones. although the cheap one i was looking at promises a wider range. I think 20-80 would be perfect.

[ChasR]

I've ended up getting two in the end.

I have the small one which also comes in handy on my pushbike.

The larger one has come in handy for checking wheel bolts, and also brake carrier bolts, and driveshaft nuts etc.

[bricol]

When you say "checking wheel bolts . . ."

Do you really mean "doing up wheel bolts"?

A mate at Uni a long time ago had a tyre fitter whang his wheel nuts/bolts back on with a large windy gun . . they then produced a torque wrench and "checked" them all . . .

Of course, if you whang all the botls/nuts up to breaking point minus 100Nm, then slap a torque wrench on set to 50Nm, the wrench "clicks" . . . Job done, all "checked".

So when he got a puncture . . . took a 6ft length of scaffold over the wheel brace to get them undone. fitter paid for new ones! And I guess, set the windy gun to a lower torque.

[melle]

The internet is full of reviews of cheap torque wrenches; some rave about them and some say they're rubbish. I have no experience with them as I've never had the need for one. Over the years I've collected about half a dozen '60s–'80s Britool ones, some I had calibrated and some I never bothered. They haven't cost me much and they've always done the job. I think what's even more important than actual torque, is repeatability.

Mine are this type:

[ChasR]

Feb 18, 2020 7:13:19 GMT bricol said:

When you say "checking wheel bolts . . ."

Do you really mean "doing up wheel bolts"?

A mate at Uni a long time ago had a tyre fitter whang his wheel nuts/bolts back on with a large windy gun . . they then produced a torque wrench and "checked" them all . . .

Of course, if you whang all the botls/nuts up to breaking point minus 100Nm, then slap a torque wrench on set to 50Nm, the wrench "clicks" . . . Job done, all "checked".

So when he got a puncture . . . took a 6ft length of scaffold over the wheel brace to get them undone. fitter paid for new ones! And I guess, set the windy gun to a lower torque.

I did indeed mean do them up.

My method is normally to do them up gently with a windy up up to around 70Nm; my rattle gun can go to roughly that if you know how via the setting, and time used for etc.. Then I'll go the rest of the way with a torque wrench.

I sometimes go at them with a breaker bar ( a firm lean) if a torque wrench is not available.

Exception to that are Porsche wheel nuts (they're ally and IIRC torque figure is 60Nm on those) and Citroen nuts ; they are 56Nm due to how thin the wheels are on a 2CV. Narutally, the last owner did them up to something silly and cracked the wheel centres slightly. So much for 'tight is tight'....