Old mechanic in Houston warned me about torque wrenches, he was spot on

A retired United guy I met at a parts counter told me to stop trusting the click on my cheap torque wrench and start checking it against a beam type every few months. I figured he was just being old school, but after 6 months my calibration felt off on some lug nuts. I tested it and it was clicking at 78 ft-lbs when I set it to 90. I mean, that could have caused a wheel to come off or damaged a hub on a Cessna we were working. Has anyone else had a wrench slip that far without dropping it?

2 comments

2 Comments

veramiller21d ago

Gonna disagree with you here. Those cheap click wrenches have a spring inside, and springs don't just drift for no reason. Dropping it, cranking past its range, or leaving it set at 90 for months will mess it up faster than any beam gauge will catch. I've had the same Harbor Freight clicker for eight years, never checked it, and it's still dead on against my Snap-on. Check your technique first, maybe you're pulling fast and hitting the click before it fully settles. 78 at a set of 90 is a big jump, sounds like something specific happened to that tool, not every cheap wrench.

jana_ellis9521d ago

Ha, so we're all just trusting Harbor Freight against Snap-on now?