Harbor Freight Torque Wrench

[fiveoh]

I know I'm probably going to get blasted for asking this. I dont currently own a torque wrench and harbor freight has a 3/4" one on sale for 9.99. Anyone have any experience with this? I realize harbor freight has a lot of junk and saw the pass/fail thread but didnt want to sift thru all 100 pages of it looking for this tool. Any other suggestions on a cheap torque wrench? Will be using it mostly for car repair.

 

[robertgreen79]

I havent bought a new one yet, but the one I bought from them broke the first time I used it

 

[Theloniousmonk]

get a Cman beam for $30 and learn how to read it.

 

[ecotec]

get a Cman beam for $30 and learn how to read it.

that is what i have.

are there any click types under $150 that are lifetime warranted?

 

[TAftw]

None of the C-Mans have the lifetime warranty, it's only 1 year. I tried taking back a torque wrench my friend gave me and they told me torque wrenches don't get the benefit of the lifetime warranty.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

None of the C-Mans have the lifetime warranty, it's only 1 year. I tried taking back a torque wrench my friend gave me and they told me torque wrenches don't get the benefit of the lifetime warranty.

my old beam is "lifetime"... built in USA too (new ones are also built in USA) - don't know about the "lifetime" though.

Those beams are quite reliable, easy to "calibrate" and do the job. as stated in other threads, these beam style wrenches were the only real game in town for a long time, and many many engines were build w/ the old beams. just learn how to read it - it takes a bit of work, but you will know if you have cross threaded, stripped or maled the fastener by default... imo, a good wrench to learn on.

 

[sselander]

The Harbor Freight ones are fine.
I own a 1/4 and 3/8 ones.

I just picked up an armstrong 3/8 one.

A quick test showed the HF was accurate. I've had them for several years now.

 

[Danglerb]

HF are lifetime, and any torque wrench should be tested from time to time, as well as using them properly. Always reset to zero, always do a few torque to clicks at a lower value to get them "warmed up". If the force just doesn't seem right, stop until you know the tool is working properly or use something else.

 

[boomerangg22]

I have the HF 3/8 and 1/2 seem to be fine the few times I've used them

 

[Homoudont]

I have the HF 1/2 torque wrench and it seems to work fine. The little ball that holds the socket on fell out the 2nd time I used it, but other then that it seems to work good. I've only used it to check my lugnuts.

 

[mrholeshot]

I doubt they have the 3/4 for 9.99 That should be 1/2. I've checked a few and they are OK. Better than no torque wrench at all. I know lots of guys who use them without issue

 

[littlekillertoad]

I have the 1/2" harbor freight. The knurling is a little rough and adjusting it definitely isn't the smoothest, but it seems to be holding up alright.
If I'm not mistaken, most click type torque wrenches aren't accurate in the bottom %10 and top %10 of their range. Seeing as this thing is from harbor freight, I definitely wouldn't use it when the desired torque lies somewhere in there.

 

[jeffk14]

I have the HF 1/4" & 3/8" drive torque wrenches. They've been fine the few times I've used them.

FWIW, they're identical to the 1/2" Taiwan one that I bought off of a Mac truck over 25 years ago.

 

[DanCo]

We had the 1/4" at the other shop, never an issue. And it got frequent use. IMO it might be good as a 1/4" and 3/8" but anything over 1/2" should come from a more reputable tool company.

 

[JohnFreeman]

I can't imagine how you could break a beam type C'man. I've used mine for years and it works fine.

Simple is sometimes best.

 

[sporthondatech]

they are pretty damm bad get a cman

 

[pipsters]

We had the 1/4" at the other shop, never an issue. And it got frequent use. IMO it might be good as a 1/4" and 3/8" but anything over 1/2" should come from a more reputable tool company.

I would say anything under 1/2" should be higher quality. The HF is good but for 50#+ I wouldn't use it for anything less than that. I've snapped bolts off in the 40# range before using it.

I mostly use it for my lug nuts.

 

[fiveoh]

Thanks for the replies, I guess I'll pick up something like this:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00944642000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

since I have a sears gift card anyway and it DOES say lifetime warranty. I've only used the click kind before, how does these beam ones work?

 

[jeffk14]

Thanks for the replies, I guess I'll pick up something like this:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00944642000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

since I have a sears gift card anyway and it DOES say lifetime warranty. I've only used the click kind before, how does these beam ones work?

The harder you pull, the more the beam flexes. There's a stationary pointer and a scale that moves with the flexible beam. You stop pulling when the pointer reads the correct torque. You gotta be looking at the scale and there's no feedback other than visual to let you know when proper torque is reached.

 

[Indy_500]

i have the 1/4 and 1/2 and no problems. i got a 3/8 pro-grade one from mills fleet farm and its a pile of ****

 

[Shadowdog500]

None of the C-Mans have the lifetime warranty, it's only 1 year. I tried taking back a torque wrench my friend gave me and they told me torque wrenches don't get the benefit of the lifetime warranty.

When the digitorque came out it had a lifetime warranty(I had minr replaced several times). Now I see it only has a 90 day warranty. Wonder when they changed that?

Chris

 

[Skin]

Wonder when they changed that?

Simply put, morons. A lot of guys dont know how to use a torque wrench properly and end up breaking them.

 

[MrMark]

Simply put, morons. A lot of guys dont know how to use a torque wrench properly and end up breaking them.

other than setting the torque and pulling, rather than pushing, on the wrench, how does one go about using a torque wrench properly?

 

[goblue1998]

that is what i have.

are there any click types under $150 that are lifetime warranted?

The torque wrenches at Home Depot are lifetime. I exchanged one there three years ago. No questions asked. I think the Kobalt ones are also lifetime. Both are well under $150.

 

[reptilezs]

turn the wrench slowly and consistently. use a smooth stroke. if using the open beam type watch out for parallax error. you must look straight at the gauge and float the handle on the pivot.

 

[cglasgow]

I realise this is an old thread, but I ran across it whilst researching torque wrenches. I've got a couple if old CM wrenches -- a 3/8" (44541) and a 1/2" (44476). I have always treated these wrenches fairly gently and always wound them all the way down when not in use.

The company I work for is having a bunch of stuff calibrated right now so a calibration company has their trailer parked in our parking lot. I asked them if they'd be interested in doing some work on a cash ticket and they said, "sure."

I gave them the two CM wrenches. The 1/2" has never been checked and the 3/8" was last calibrated about 20 years ago. (I know, I know....) Both failed. The 3/8" was out about 8% (tolerance is 4%). The 1/2" was out 50% (five zero percent)! Turns out the jam nuts that hold the handle onto the adjustment screw came loose and the handle shifted, throwing out the calibration. I searched online and found this is a common problem with this wrench -- especially is you wind it to zero "with authority." They want another $40 to repair it but there's not another calibration charge.

I may let them fix it, but in the meantime I wanted another wrench and saw HF had their 1/2" wrench on sale for $24.99. With a 20% coupon, that puts it less than $20. "What the hell," I figured, "let's give it a try." I bought one and gave it to the cal folks to see how far it's out. That way, I'd know how much fudge factor to figure in.

The damn thing passed!

He said the tolerances are a little looser than he would have liked, and he didn't know the manufacturer's spec so he assumed 6% (his generic spec). He said it would not have passed 4%. He also said it will probably go out quicker than a higher-dollar wrench. But he also said that he does a lot of work for the Navy (his co. is located near a base) and they buy SO by the case. He finds that a large number of them are out of spec straight out of the box. So I have more respect for this $20 HF wrench than I expected to have!

EDIT: For the record, the manufacturer is Hsian Dai Co, Ltd., of Taiwan. I found little about them on the web other than that they are a Taiwanese tool manufacturer. There's no identifying info on the wrench itself apart from a serial number -- not even a COO -- but the mfr name is on the blow-molded case.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

I keep on in the car that I use only for lug nuts. I don't think I would trust it for building an engine. I just don't get that tingle up my leg when using a cheap torque wrench...Sorry....

 

[chewy7]

we have the s-k torque wrench that's like the same as a 1/2" kobalt torque wrench, and i like it a lot. it works good on heavy farm equipment.

 

[joshthedieseltech]

At work I have gearwrench and craftsman torque wrenches, which I try to have calibrated every few years.

At home I have the 1/4" and 3/8" HF ones, I compare those to my other ones and they are dead on.

A few guys at work have 3/4" hf ones and use then for wheel bearings and they have had no issues.

 

[cglasgow]

I didn't have very high expectations for the HF wrench, but if a certified calibration tester says it's ok, who am I to question it? ;-)

@chewy7 -- I looked at a Kobalt one at my local Lowes and nearly bought it. But I opened the package (easy because it was just one of those snap-shut clamshell things) and it was obvious that someone had purchased it, used it, and returned it. It was left set on about 50 lb-ft and there's no way to tell how long. I put it back on the shelf.