whatudrivin

The title says it all. I am going to be buying a 3/8" and a 1/2" ft/lb torque wrenches tonight. Sears has some decent deals online for these at $72 each. I always buy craftsman hand tools because of how easy it is to get new ones when you break them but these do not have a lifetime warranty. They are covered for 1 year.

So any other brands that you guys prefer?

SeanR

Snap-on/CDI for me. I've had several Craftsman ones and they never hold proper calibration. They will be fine for the average home user though.

catamount

I grew up with Craftsman tools. My dad to this day pretty much swears by them and ocassionally at them. He's passed down a number of them to me and they'll probably get passed down to my kids.

In the last few years I have purchased a number of Kobalt tools from Lowe's. Given that I am a typical home user and shadetree mechanic, Kobalt tools have proven solid.

aj986s

I'd had a Craftsman "click" style torque wrench for many years. But then the plastic view window got harder to read (partly due to my own failing eyesight.. ) and eventually the rotating handle to adjust settings, started to fail. The available Craftsman tools at the time did not impress me. Craftsman tools aren't what they used to be.

I purchased one of these Precision Instruments from Amazon going on 2 years ago, and I've been very happy with it. My favorite feature is, because its a split beam, you don't have to dial back/unload the spring as I had to do on my Crafstman torque wrench.

http://www.torqwrench.com/tools/C.php


I also have a couple of HF <$20 torque wrenches that I take to the track; less worry about loss or damage. I periodically check them against the Precision Instrument.

Kevin in Atlanta

Recently bought a inch pound 3/8's click version from Sears for ~$69. Pleased with it so far.

Ducman82

i have teh 3/8 one. works fine for me, but i dont own a shop

Tom in Austin

$20 HF 'click' specials ... now, is there a way to precision test a torque wrench so see how far out it is? I have tightened lugs to 96 ft-lbs so many times, I can feel it in my bones, but maybe that fine instrument has gone off a wee bit over the years ???

Ed Scherer

I've got a full set (1/4": 2401CI3; 3/8": 1002CF3; 1/2": 2503CF3) of CDI Computorq 3 (index | PDF) torque wrenches.

Not cheap, but very nice. No regrets. I think I got all mine from an eBay seller—a reputable one with a store front—years ago.

The only thing I don't like about them is that I find myself sometimes hitting the buttons unintentionally when working in strange positions.

Audio-visual feedback as you're approaching the target torque setting is a very nice feature.

That said, I use a cheap clicker (I don't even remember the brand) for wheel nuts.

SeanR

Yep, those are the ones I like.

whatudrivin

I'm just looking for one to use on my car when getting her put back together and for this weekend as I am doing a head gasket job on a Ford Windstar. I would love to have a nice digital but for now they are out of my price range. Maybe in a few years.

Kiln_Red

I'm not really brand partial on torque wrenches, but I have my calibrations checked by the tool guy annually.

Good maintenance will go a long way toward making sure your torque wrenches maintain calibration. I never use my torque wrenches for any purpose but to torque hardware. I never use them as breaker bars or hammers. Also, I try to make sure that I use the correct torque wrench. Keep in mind that torque wrenches are the most accurate at the top of their range.

After each use, I release the load and reset them back to zero.

jheis

I've picked up Snap-On 1/2" and 1/4" pretty cheap on ebay by taking my time and setting a limit on what I was willing to bid - let it go if the price exceeds your comfort level - there'll always be another one....

I've also got a 3/8" Proto and 3/8" and 1/2" Bonney/Utica. They've all got different capacities - needed the Snap-On because the Bonney 1/2" didn't go up to 240# for the crank nose bolt.

There have been quite a few discussions over on the Garage Journal and, surprisingly, the HF torque wrenches turn out to be pretty accurate. Made in Taiwan (not China). All the car mags all have sale coupons for $9.99 each right now.

James

Jim Devine

HF COUPON:

http://widgets.harborfreight.com/wsw...6&keycode=1002

whatudrivin

Regardless of which one I am buying I will be buying at least 3-4 of those HF ones for good measure... Keep them unopened and should last a long time as back ups for a good one. Also good junker to keep in the portable tool box.

Jim Devine

Buy one HF wrench & just use it as a long handle
rachet. Can't buy a rachet like that for $9.99-
just mark it with paint so you know not to use it as a torque wrench after you abuse it.