KD torque wrench help

[lowendrider]

Hello everyone, I picked up this very nice KD tools 3/8 drive torque wrench recently with one small problem...it doesn't work! Its a click type, reversible and the drive end just spins freely without locking up. I've never taken a wrench apart, much less a torque wrench but I opened this one up to take a look.

I'm hoping someone can tell me how the spring is supposed to be situated so that I can hopefully get it working. I forgot to take a good pick of the cover that came off but it has a "pin" made into to back of it. Anyways heres what I found...

 

[glenmore]

I'm going to be very annoyed, if I take mine apart to get you a picture and then can't get it back together again.

I would guess though that the pin goes into the hook of the spring and then stretched away from the center until the pin drops off the ledge. Hold it down and tighten screw.

I'll try it tonight.

 

[Outlawmws]

Looks the same to me as this one:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=381510&postcount=14

you probably either have grit inside or the cover is not indexed correctly.

 

[lowendrider]

It looks just like that one outlaw, only the cover is different. Same internals. I tried putting it back together as glenmore suggested, basically setting the pin thats on the backside of the cover plate inside the "u" shaped part of the spring and rotating until it fell in place. I tightened it back down but it still doesn't act right, either locks up, spins, or only works in reverse.

How do I know if the cover is indexed correctly? Just trial and error, taking it back off and trying it in different positions? Seems like it could only go one way..

 

[lowendrider]

One more quick note...the inside is really clean, but seems to be pretty dry.

 

[glenmore]

Took a look in mine. It is model 2950.

Insides is a bit different but the principle should be the same. My spring is the heart shaped kind. The two ends of the spring go into the hole in the pawl. The bottom "V" shape of the heart is where the pin goes. The cover is 2 piece and must be together when you put the pin in the "V" slot. The spring must be stretched to provide tension. When I assemble mine incorrectly and the pin pops out of the "V", it behaves like you describe.

So you need to catch the "U" with your pin, keeping pressure on the cover as you drag the cover/pin towards and off the ledge. Your cover should be flat now and screw it down. My screw as well as the screw in the photo has thread lock on it.

 

[rodm1]

One more quick note...the inside is really clean, but seems to be pretty dry.

Oil it that could work.

 

[lowendrider]

Thanks for the comments. It sounds like my spring is just not staying put upon reassembly. I'm going to lube it try to put it together this weekend. What is the recommended lube for tools/ratchets in particular..?

I sure hope I can get it working. It looks like a nice well made torque wrench and will fit into certain places easier than my 3/4 drive.

 

[lowendrider]

Today I got my torque wrench to work perfectly! Thanks for all the direction. Lubed everything with some white lithium grease and put it back together as described by glenmore and now shes as smooth as butter. Looks and feels like a good quality torque wrench and should serve me well. Thanks again for the replies.