Opinions on the cheap HF torque wrench?

[Big Bad Dad]

I need a 3/8 drive torque wrench to use while swapping the intake manifold on a my 4.6 Ford. All I have is a very old 1/2" torque beam type. Thinking of picking up a cheap click type from HF. Anybody used these? Any good?
Thanks
https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-click-type-torque-wrench-61276.html

 

[jd_1138]

Don't, don't. I had new ones fall apart in my hands on their first ever use out of the box. It's not worth trusting a **** tool with a precise measurement. You're doing your own work, so you're saving lots of $$$$$. I'd buy a better brand like a Napa Carlyle or Tekton or something.

I wouldn't even use one to torque lug nuts.

 

[eschoendorff]

I have that same torque wrench. Never had a problem and seems well calibrated and very consistent when checked against other torque wrenches I have.

 

[zendriver]

Mine goes "click". I have the 1/2" only.

 

[DFB]

I went bought a HF 1/2" one to torque 96 5/8" nut and bolt combos for a 3 pt rototiller rebuild at work as opposed to bringing my personal Craftsman one from my home garage out to that job. Torqued every one to 85 lbs. Worked so well for me I took it home after that and ran some seat of the pants comparison tests against my Craftsman, line marking and torqueing up several different fasteners held in a bench vise. Seems to be right on there using either one back and forth.

And I also flip a lot of them at my Flea Mkt.

I do suggest opening the cases and looking them over good in store before you buy

 

[cleanspg]

I have used the 1/2" drive one extensively. I checked it against a calibrated wrench recently and it was still in spec (or close enough for me).

The 3/8" drive I only used occasionally. It worked fine until one of my sons decided to torque his lugnuts with it instead of the 1/2"... Broke the ratchet pawl. I assume harbor freight would replace it.

I have used the 1/4" drive one for motorcycle stuff. Seemed to work fine.

The reviews on them are generally favorable and they are $12 when on sale.

Don't use the 3/8" for lugnuts and you will be fine.

 

[jubilee]

I use HF’s 3/8” digital torque adapter to check all my 1/2” and under torque wrenches. Also use it for setting injectors in mechanical Cummins even though I have a SO inch dial torque wrench with light. I think the HF is more accurate even though it’s a lb. torque wrench.

 

[Prospecter]

I have all 3 and use all 3. Never any issues. Frequently rated as "Close enough" which is good enough for me. Especially at the price.

 

[driven04]

I've seen a bunch of accuracy tests on this thing and it does surprisingly well. simple design that they copied effectively.

 

[dnschmidt]

It's rough, it doesn't click very loudly and nobody will mistake it for a quality torque wrench. That stated it does the job.

 

[jpaw]

Consistency and close enough is fine for 90% of what a torque wrench is used for. Even clamping force is usually more important than +or- 5 lbs.
Not sure that I would trust harbor freight for consistency...

 

[electroman187]

I bought all 3 for $30. Use the 1/2 most for torquing lugnuts. I bought the 3/8 specifically for the intake manifold of a Honda CRV. No complaints at all. Would I use them professionally? No, but they're perfectly adequate for maintaining my personal vehicles.

 

[ChrisLS8]

Don't, don't. I had new ones fall apart in my hands on their first ever use out of the box. It's not worth trusting a **** tool with a precise measurement. You're doing your own work, so you're saving lots of $$$$$. I'd buy a better brand like a Napa Carlyle or Tekton or something.

I wouldn't even use one to torque lug nuts.

All three come from Taiwan. Probably from the same factory

 

[6PTsocket]

A friend brought one into work. The adjustment felt stiff and crude. You could hardly hear the click. Recently I asked him how it was standing up. He had already warrantied the first one. What do you expect from a 10 buck wrench. So some of them "worked". The reviews are mixed. I wonder what the reject rate is. I think it is a POS and I am not about to pick through the junk, hoping I get one that works for a while. That said, I own some HF tools. Most of us know you have to be selective and it is still hit or miss. Per the HF pass/ fail thread, I grade it a FAIL.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Rabid Badger]

I need a 3/8 drive torque wrench to use while swapping the intake manifold on a my 4.6 Ford. All I have is a very old 1/2" torque beam type. Thinking of picking up a cheap click type from HF. Anybody used these? Any good?
Thanks
https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-click-type-torque-wrench-61276.html

Aren't those bolts in the in/lb range? I think you'd want a 1/4 inch torque wrench for that.

 

[Tallpilot]

It's rough, it doesn't click very loudly and nobody will mistake it for a quality torque wrench. That stated it does the job.

That's it. If money is very tight it's better than nothing. Just don't expect any joy in using it.

My biggest complaint is the set screw doesn't capture the adjuster so if you dial it down half a turn below 0 it falls right off.

If you can spare a little more the Tekton has a much nicer feel even if the accuracy is the same.

 

[erty67]

Another person with all 3 sizes. Can't complain. Not fancy, but works ok for the backyard guy on a budget.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[Coopduc]

Actually, critical fasteners these days are torque plus angle. The torque portion is very low, just to make sure the parts are in firm contact. These wrenches are perfectly suitable for that. Then switch to an angle gauge with a breaker bar or standard ratchet for the critical tightening, don’t need a torque wrench at all for that.

 

[cthulu]

Don't, there is a company called CDI that makes torque wrenches for snap-on who them rebrands them. I have 3 of them and they are all fantastic, it's ok to cheap out on some things but torque wrenches aren't one of them.

(Had a off brand torque wrench fail, and now there is a 3/8-16 bolt in the back of my LS1 where there used to me a metric bolt. Don't cheap out on torque wrenches)

 

[6PTsocket]

Don't, there is a company called CDI that makes torque wrenches for snap-on who them rebrands them. I have 3 of them and they are all fantastic, it's ok to cheap out on some things but torque wrenches aren't one of them.

(Had a off brand torque wrench fail, and now there is a 3/8-16 bolt in the back of my LS1 where there used to me a metric bolt. Don't cheap out on torque wrenches)

CDI is SnapOn. It is under their industrial brands division. I would not call that rebranding. The SO clicker is a flex head and the CDI version is fixed. They also bought torqe wrench maker, Sturtevant.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[BDT/NWMN]

I bought at least five of them for several service tool kits.. One batch to the next may vary on quality. I replaced one under warranty, and the replacement was **** also.
I actually do trust one of them. So I figure that for the $75 or so total spent; I got one good torque wrench.

The other four would make excellent karma tools. Simply leave them in open view in the back of a pickup or unlocked vehicle.

 

[BroncoAZ]

Search the shelf to make sure the ones you buy are made in Taiwan, there are made in China one out there. I purchased 2 of each made in Taiwan, they seem consistent enough for automotive maintenance. I gave a set of 3 to my buddy as he had no torque wrenches and kept the other set for my road box. From the reviews they seem to be more accurate in the upper 50% of their range. The Tekton looks like a harbor freight with a better finish for 4 times the price.

 

[dirtymechanic383]

Only have the 1/2 inch HF but it works fine and has for a while. I’ve checked it against my craftsman just to verify.
No complaints.

 

[LilEngineeringBoy]

The adjustment is rough - you have to keep adjusting the locking screw as you rotate the handle. Rotating the handle isn't the smooth buttery feeling people like. I have 2 1/2" and 1 3/8" and they all measure on the money. My oldest one sits in the track tool box for swapping wheels and brake pads and is probably 10 years old. Still reasonably accurate, still feels like ****, still works fine.

 

[unslow1]

I have all three and they all tested within 3%. My Craftsman was 4% off.

 

[danb35]

I have two of them, the 1/2" models. As others have said here, they seem to do the job adequately--adjustment isn't very smooth, though I've never had trouble noticing the clicker. Fit and finish, characteristically of HF tools, isn't the greatest, and I definitely wouldn't want to use one as a general-purpose ratchet. But with all of that said, I repeat that they get the job done--the torque settings are consistent with my calibrated arm, I haven't twisted the heads off of anything, nor have I had anything come loose.

Even so, I just picked up a used (in near-new condition) CDI off eBay for about $60. It feels like a big improvement, but haven't had the chance to use it yet.

 

[uncwstudent]

I've used the Harbor Freight ones with no problem but I never checked calibration or etc. I used them until I bought a Blackhawk and haven't looked back since. I think that they're fine for what they are but if you need really specific torque measurements I'd upgrade to something else.

 

[dnschmidt]

Torque wrenches are far less important nowadays due to torque to yield as one poster above noted. Their primary purpose today is to do initial slop removal prior to adding the angle. My biggest complaint with the HF torque wrenches is the lack of a definitive click. It's not easy to tell when the wrench has snapped over. In the high end of the wrench's range this is less of a problem. On the low end you can barely hear or feel it.

 

[guy48065]

They work and are just as accurate as a Snapon or CDI.
BUT
The feel is awful. Finish is meh. Markings are hard to read. In that type wrench the Tekton fixes these complaints.
If it were me I'd pony up $50-$60 for the Masterforce at Menards.

 

[AceofSpad3s]

I have a 1/2 and 1/4 and they are fine. Put a bolt in the vise and just verify they click over and seem to function about right before doing anything really important with it.

 

[Flybye]

I use HF’s 3/8” digital torque adapter to check all my 1/2” and under torque wrenches. Also use it for setting injectors in mechanical Cummins even though I have a SO inch dial torque wrench with light. I think the HF is more accurate even though it’s a lb. torque wrench.

I almost bought the HF digital torque adapter to check the wrench, but then I started think well why would I buy a device from the same company that is selling a potentially inaccurate device.

I bought the HF 1/2" just for lug nuts and always put it at 5lbs over just in case. I didn't buy it for precision work. I use my 3/8 Proto for the precision stuff.

 

[guy48065]

...why would I buy a device from the same company that is selling a potentially inaccurate device...

Because it's awesome, and has nothing in common with a mechanical clicker wrench.

 

[unslow1]

I almost bought the HF digital torque adapter to check the wrench, but then I started think well why would I buy a device from the same company that is selling a potentially inaccurate device.

I bought the HF 1/2" just for lug nuts and always put it at 5lbs over just in case. I didn't buy it for precision work. I use my 3/8 Proto for the precision stuff.

I bought one and then checked it with a couple of deflecting beam wrenches. It was accurate.

 

[6PTsocket]

I bought at least five of them for several service tool kits.. One batch to the next may vary on quality. I replaced one under warranty, and the replacement was **** also.
I actually do trust one of them. So I figure that for the $75 or so total spent; I got one good torque wrench.

The other four would make excellent karma tools. Simply leave them in open view in the back of a pickup or unlocked vehicle.

At $75 to get a good one and still ending up with a cheap HF, I don't see the logic. The $75 would go a long way toward buying a decent wrench.


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk