I just checked, the Pittsburgh Harbor Freight is 1/2" drive, not 1/4" and goes from 10 ft/lbs to 150 ft/lbs. Also I have been leaving it at the last setting, which is usually 85-100 ft/lbs because putting lug nuts is usually the last thing we do. I realize now that is a no-no and that you are supposed to release the tension on them when you are done.
After I stripped the drain plug, I put the old one back in and decided to do it in stages, so I set the wrench to 15 ft/lbs, and got the click as I was tightening. Set the wrench to 30, and got no click after about 1/4 turn so I stopped. That is when I decided to put the wrench on another bolt and see if I could get the click, and that is when I snapped the bolt... sigh...
I have a craftsman micro torque, 3/8 that goes from 25 to 250 in/lbs, so I think I will get another 3/8 20-75/100 ft/lbs.
It was too easy to strip that drain plug and twist the bolt head off with that long handle (even though it was totally my fault and I learned a good lesson today). So all in all not a bad day; it could have been a lot worse if I had cracked the oil pan...
For affordable pricing, I'd check out craftsman, cobalt, and Husky and find the one with the best reviews.
Lowe's carries Cobalt (hmmm actually they carry Kobalt... I wonder if it is the same thing... price looks good and I used to have a socket set from them before it got stolenlost by my movers.)
I see several good Craftsman ones that are very reasonable as well.
Craftsman or NAPA would be the first two places I would look.
There is a NAPA right down the road, I will check there.
That is a good thread; thank you.
I don't want to rag on you because your message here is Very important....It sounds like you are using the torque wrench far to much ,so much that your not in touch with the knowledge or sense of when a bolt is snug, tight and over tight.... If you ever were to watch a mechanic he will only use a torque wrench where precision is required ie: torquing the bolts on a cylinder head. Never on a common bolt for general applications, and your right if it at all feels wrong Stop. Only buy Quality tools for precision work $10.00 for a torque wrench? This is going to be the worst tool in your box... Maybe spend time training your senses by leaving the torque wrench in the tool box or use it to check your work. Lucky for you no real damage like stripping or cracking your oil pan.
I would agree with most of this. I am new to working on vehicles and trying to use the right torques and settings so I don't screw it up, and make it less subjective. Using the $10.00 wrench was probably the biggest mistake. If someone were to ask me "what happens if you tighten a bolt and then use a long lever (like the 1/2" wrench) to keep turning it" the answer would be pretty obvious. But on my back under the truck holding the wrench up at an awkward angle and fixating on the thought "it will click any second, aaaannny second now..." but it doesn't feel like I am pushing very hard (due to the long lever)... then whoops
Good lesson learned and luckily I didn't break anything other than a drain plug and a small bolt
These look very nice!
Yes, the harbor freight torque wrenches are complete junk. Even brand new they hardly ever work and maybe not more than a couple of times.
I agree! I should not have expected precision or accuracy for $9.99... Well now at least I have a large 1/2" drive socket handle...
Dude what are you talking about?
1. The harbor freight 1/4 inch torque wrench is in inch pounds not foot pounds
2. It's only rated for 20 -200 inch pounds. That's about 1.5 - 16 foot pounds. It never would have snapped at 30 ft lbs.
3. If everything you say is accurate. The failure was more probably due to it being such a delicate instrument you probably weren't even feeling it "click" because you were expecting too much weight from it to begin with.
It is 1/2" drive not 1/4" my bad...
Thanks everybody, working on the FJ (and my son's Miata) is a new experience for me, greatly assisted by forum folks like yourselves. Thank you!
Steve