Torque Wrench Recommendations?

Thanks for all of the recommendations, guys. I really appreciate it. (And thanks for talking to Snap-On guy for me, Dr. Oldz.)

I'm glad that some of you have gotten good results from the HF and Craftsman torque wrenches but I've heard too many horror stories similiar to Connor's story to want to get one of those. The Precision Instruments looks good, as do the Snap-On (and they do appear to be actual 'Snap-On' - sometimes Amazon.com has really good prices) - it's just that they are a bit outside my price range right now 'cause of that damn Blackfire sale. ;)

I think that I'm going to save up a little more and get one of the nicer one's. Rzatch makes a great point. In the meanwhile, my buddy says that his brother has a nice one that I can borrow (brand starts with an 'M' and he said it was similiar to the Snap-On's in quality). I know that it's 1/2 drive but I just have to verify that it has the torque specs that I need.

Thanks again! I'll update this thread with what I end up purchasing once I make the buy.

-J
 
CH.Detailing said:
I used to have one. I was torquing down my lugs for my street wheels after an autocross event a couple of summers ago, set it to the proper spec, torqued til it clicked, and was on my way. A few miles later and I have severe feedback coming through the steering wheel. I pull off, check the lugs, and I find out that they had backed off! The wheel wobble was so bad that it wore out the bore on the wheels and stripped my ARP studs. Thankfully there was a flatbed from my area nearby so I didn't have to wait long for the most expensive taxi ride of my life. I now use a Craftsman.

Maybe my HF wrench was faulty, maybe it had been knocked around one too many times, maybe it was just junk from the start, who knows. But from my experiences I no longer trust them!
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Thanks for the heads up. So far I have never had any problems with mine. But I also have full process I follow when removing wheels. When I put them back on I torque them to spec using the appropriate pattern. I then drive it down the street and back. I then re-torque them one last time to be sure. On my own vehicles I will also re-check them around 3-5 days later to make sur everything is perfect. So far I have had great success. But I have considered buying a higher end unit as well.
 
My opinion on Harbor Freight tools is if you need something for a one time use it may be fine. Maybe you need a special tool for a small project or you wont use it often. I bought an oxygen sensor socket there and it didn't fit well at all. It got in a bind and getting the socket off the sensors was a chore.

I wouldn't buy a precision tool like a torque wrench there.
 
RootsRadical said:
Thanks for all of the recommendations, guys. I really appreciate it. (And thanks for talking to Snap-On guy for me, Dr. Oldz.)

I'm glad that some of you have gotten good results from the HF and Craftsman torque wrenches but I've heard too many horror stories similiar to Connor's story to want to get one of those. The Precision Instruments looks good, as do the Snap-On (and they do appear to be actual 'Snap-On' - sometimes Amazon.com has really good prices) - it's just that they are a bit outside my price range right now 'cause of that damn Blackfire sale. ;)

I think that I'm going to save up a little more and get one of the nicer one's. Rzatch makes a great point. In the meanwhile, my buddy says that his brother has a nice one that I can borrow (brand starts with an 'M' and he said it was similiar to the Snap-On's in quality). I know that it's 1/2 drive but I just have to verify that it has the torque specs that I need.

Thanks again! I'll update this thread with what I end up purchasing once I make the buy.

-J
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If it happens to be either a Matco or a Mac (both Tool Wagon's similar to the "Happy Snappy") you won't go too far wrong. I have one of Matco's it's a nice wrench.

-Little side note here-

Early on in my wrench turning days I could all but declare the Snap On Dealer as a legal dependent when it came to deductions at Tax Time. ;) Getting on their trucks has got to be what it is like to be hooked on crack, I still remember that "got to have it" feeling I used to get.
 
TroyScherer said:
...them back on I torque them to spec using the appropriate pattern. I then drive it down the street and back. I then re-torque them one last time to be sure. On my own vehicles I will also re-check them around 3-5 days later to make sur everything is perfect. So far I have had great success. But I have considered buying a higher end unit as well.
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This is good advice anytime an alloy wheel is installed regardless of the type of torque wrench used.
 
Harbor freight torque wrench..... Sometimes on sale for $10. Just make sure you put it to zero (no tension) when not in use....


Well, i guess you opt to more expensive ones like matco, mac, snap on, cdi.....cant go wrong with those......but im pretty happy with my harbor freight ones:)
 
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I just wanted to say this is a great thread and an awesome showing of how helpful this community is. Thank you everybody!

:autopia:
 
Rocket said:
My opinion on Harbor Freight tools is if you need something for a one time use it may be fine. Maybe you need a special tool for a small project or you wont use it often. I bought an oxygen sensor socket there and it didn't fit well at all. It got in a bind and getting the socket off the sensors was a chore.

I wouldn't buy a precision tool like a torque wrench there.
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These days I wouldn't be quite so quick to say that about all of HF's tools. Within the past year or so it seems they've really improved the quality of their "professional" grade offerings. A lot of stuff is right on par with Craftsman tools at this point, and even has the same lifetime guarantee.
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
These days I wouldn't be quite so quick to say that about all of HF's tools. Within the past year or so it seems they've really improved the quality of their "professional" grade offerings. A lot of stuff is right on par with Craftsman tools at this point, and even has the same lifetime guarantee.
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I neither mean to defend or bash HF in this post. I have a few of their tools. Though Harbor Freight would never be my choice for anything requiring critical tolerance or precision and this might be considered critical tolerance, I have no doubt their products will serve their purpose for most "backyard" applications.

You mentioned Craftsman and this came to my mind. I think I may have told this story before, forgive me if it is redundant. My father has had a small engine repair business for the better part of 30 years. He always bought Craftsman (plug in) 1/2" drive electric impact hammers for removing blades and the "heavy side" (which isn't saying much) of anything small engine. He'd go through one of these impacts every two years or so. They were a bit pricey, about $150 as I remember. We looked at the HF equivalent ($49) one day and he decided to give it a go. When we got home we pulled it out of the box and the instruction sheet, including the exploded view diagram was identical to the Craftsman sheet he had for his previous impact. I mean identical as to the number of parts, names and part numbers. He still buys these from time to time but continues to buy the HF at 1/3 the price. They have been no less reliable than the more expensive Craftsman twin.

All this said, my point to this response is simply to say that in my opinion, the best warranty in the world is the one you never need to use.
 
GearHead_1 said:
Early on in my wrench turning days I could all but declare the Snap On Dealer as a legal dependent when it came to deductions at Tax Time. ;) Getting on their trucks has got to be what it is like to be hooked on crack, I still remember that "got to have it" feeling I used to get.
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I think that's how I ended up with my big Snap On box in the garage. I didn't need one this big but the one on the truck was so pretty I had to have one so I placed an order.
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
These days I wouldn't be quite so quick to say that about all of HF's tools. Within the past year or so it seems they've really improved the quality of their "professional" grade offerings. A lot of stuff is right on par with Craftsman tools at this point, and even has the same lifetime guarantee.
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It's been a while since I've been to HF but I will say this about Craftsman. I broke a ratchet not long ago and went to get it replaced. The new one looks identical but it sure doesn't feel as good as my old one. I think quality isn't as good as it once was. It almost made me wish I had gotten the replacement part instead of a whole new ratchet.
 
Update:

I ended up choosing the Snap-on Industrial Brand CDI Torque 1503MFRMH 1/2-Inch Drive Metal Handle Click Type Torque Wrench (Torque Range 20 to 150-Foot Pounds) which I purchased through Amazon.com. It listed at $148 when I purchased it but it had been selling for as much as $197 when I first started watching it a month ago. $148 was the lowest I'd seen it for, so I'm pretty happy. Not to mention, I had $70 in Amazon Visa reward points available, so I got a nice wrench for $78!

Here's an article on Torque Wrench recommendations that I found to be helpful. I'll leave a link here for those interested: Torque wrench buyers guide

-J
 
RootsRadical said:
Update:

I ended up choosing the Snap-on Industrial Brand CDI Torque 1503MFRMH 1/2-Inch Drive Metal Handle Click Type Torque Wrench (Torque Range 20 to 150-Foot Pounds) which I purchased through Amazon.com. It listed at $148 when I purchased it but it had been selling for as much as $197 when I first started watching it a month ago. $148 was the lowest I'd seen it for, so I'm pretty happy. Not to mention, I had $70 in Amazon Visa reward points available, so I got a nice wrench for $78!

Here's an article on Torque Wrench recommendations that I found to be helpful. I'll leave a link here for those interested: Torque wrench buyers guide

-J
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Great Purchase !!!

Nothing like having peace of mind that all those close tolerance things you use it for and those big things like wheel nut/stud torque values are going to be right on !

The next / first time you tear down and rebuild an engine, that great tool is going to be there to help you get it right the first time.

Enjoy !!!
Dan F
 
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