Split beam torque wrench - no clicky

[hoffman912]

I have a precision instruments 20-100 ft lb 3/8 split beam torque wrench. On multiple occasions I have over torqued and snapped or stripped fasteners because I didnt get a click. I have gone slowly to make sure I pay close attention to it, but no dice. I tested it on some lug nuts at various settings and it clicks - so I know it works. I am assuming its my technique?

 

[MovingAlong]

I have a precision instruments 20-100 ft lb 3/8 split beam torque wrench. On multiple occasions I have over torqued and snapped or stripped fasteners because I didnt get a click. I have gone slowly to make sure I pay close attention to it, but no dice. I tested it on some lug nuts at various settings and it clicks - so I know it works. I am assuming its my technique?

Curious, lug nuts are going to be torqued at the top end of your rated capacity. What size fasteners (and torque specs) were you using when they snapped or stripped?

 

[txvwnut]

Send it back to PI and have them check it out.

 

[hoffman912]

no, the lug nuts didnt snap. I used that as a benchmark/test - they are at 90, so i should easily feel the click through the range - which i did. What I stripped was a 30ft lb 13mm nut that holds on motor mounts on a 914 engine (I should say i keep stripping them rather than snapping them, that only happened once). I was going slow, and it kept going.. and going.. and then backed off and tried again.. then eventually it just spun and i had to dremmel it off. That happened on BOTH. I have also had that happen on other screws/bolts that just strip anywhere from 30 - 60 lbs probably. I'm not using he-man strength on them either.

 

[hoffman912]

Send it back to PI and have them check it out.

I was thinking about that, but the fact that its clicking when i test various settings on a lug nut shows it works.. so rather than the tool I am looking at myself now. I mean wtf... LOL

 

[olsenmotorsports]

This has happened to me a few times before over the years. Was this all new hardware?

The reason I say this is my instruments are calibrated every year. And every time this happened to me it was used hardware. Indicating that there was an over stretch at some point in the fasteners life.

Not saying you don’t have an issue. Just stating my experience.

 

[rlitman]

I was thinking about that, but the fact that its clicking when i test various settings on a lug nut shows it works.. so rather than the tool I am looking at myself now. I mean wtf... LOL

Well, either it's out of calibration, or 30 ft-lbs is the wrong value for those nuts, or you were re-using TTY parts. But Google AI's answer says it's 30 ft-lbs, so the torque must be right.

I'd get a cheap digital torque gauge and put it inline on that lug nut test to get a better idea of what's happening.

 

[MovingAlong]

I was thinking about that, but the fact that its clicking when i test various settings on a lug nut shows it works.. so rather than the tool I am looking at myself now. I mean wtf... LOL

Testing at 30 on a lug nut already torqued at 90 doesn't tell you that it clicked at 30...

Not too hard to setup a test: clamp a bolt in a vise with the head sticking out. Put a four foot section of 1.5" pvc over the handle of your wrench and suspend a gallon jug of water. Now you have 8.34 pounds at 4 ft from the socket, or 33.3 foot pounds of torque being applied. adjust your wrench until you find where it just barely "clicks" over... Mark that down. Use two gallons, now you have 66.6 ft/lbs. Adjust the wrench, mark that down. Now you have a relative scale to work from. 33.3 = ____, 66.6 - ____. Extrapolate from there... (it's how I do mine)

While far from calibrated, you should be in the ball park that will keep you from snapping bolts.

 

[hoffman912]

This has happened to me a few times before over the years. Was this all new hardware?

The reason I say this is my instruments are calibrated every year. And every time this happened to me it was used hardware. Indicating that there was an over stretch at some point in the fasteners life.

Not saying you don’t have an issue. Just stating my experience.

Actually the 1st one was used, the second was new.

 

[MovingAlong]

no, the lug nuts didnt snap. I used that as a benchmark/test - they are at 90, so i should easily feel the click through the range - which i did. What I stripped was a 30ft lb 13mm nut that holds on motor mounts on a 914 engine (I should say i keep stripping them rather than snapping them, that only happened once). I was going slow, and it kept going.. and going.. and then backed off and tried again.. then eventually it just spun and i had to dremmel it off. That happened on BOTH. I have also had that happen on other screws/bolts that just strip anywhere from 30 - 60 lbs probably. I'm not using he-man strength on them either.

You're at the very bottom of your rated capacity, would suggest a torque wrench rating of 5-50 for something like that.

Also, a 13mm nut is typically going to be on an 8mm bolt. Are you sure about the torque setting? This is from Summit Racing, but you can find torque charts online in many places:




Not sure what grade bolts you're using of course...

 

[hoffman912]

Well, either it's out of calibration, or 30 ft-lbs is the wrong value for those nuts, or you were re-using TTY parts. But Google AI's answer says it's 30 ft-lbs, so the torque must be right.

I'd get a cheap digital torque gauge and put it inline on that lug nut test to get a better idea of what's happening.

Yeah, I bought a quinn last night because I am a bit freaked out and cannot trust it anymore. I need to put rockers back on and I am not taking any chances with that. Which ***** - I got the PI because I wanted a premium, accurate and excellent quality one.

I will call PI later today I think.

 

[dnschmidt]

Very common problem with split beams in general and PI in particular. Most have very modest clicks even at midrange values. At the low end of the scale you can barely tell if they've clicked or not. Best solution/value is the Quinn/Eclatorq digital torque wrench: https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-5-to-100-ft-lb-digital-angle-torque-wrench-64915.html. One of the great advantages of the digital is that you can watch the torque build as you tighten. With a clicker, and particularly a split beam, it's all or nothing.

 

[tamaraw]

Lower values in the range often do not click as hard as a higher value but you should still be able to feel it in a smooth and slow movement.

Just to confirm, you are holding the wrench at the round handle directly over the marked arrow and not touching anywhere else on the rectangular shaft?

I wouldn't trust a harbor freight torque wrench for much, but now that you have two, you can couple them with a socket and bit socket of the same size and see if the calibration is vaguely similar. (Set to the same value, they should click around the same point)

And like others have said, the spec you have seems high for the size of fastener, so that might be a separate issue.

 

[WWheeler]

My Precision Instruments PREC2FR100F (20-100 ft lb) just barely clicks at anything 40 ft lbs and under. It doesn't start making a nice easy to notice click sound and feel until about 40-45 lbs, which is about as low as I'd use it for anyway. My other split beams are similar towards the lower settings in their listed ranges. They will just barely click to where I can just feel it but not enough to hear it.

As with any torque wrench their accuracy is best somewhere nearest the middle of their listed range, so I never opt to use any torque wrench near their outliers, especially not their lowest end of any clicker on low torque applications. I always try to use a torque wrench where the setting is somewhere near the middle 50% of it's range, and notsomuch in the 25% on either side of it.

More often than not I don't use a torque wrench for lower torque applications, like oil pan bolts, spark plugs, drain plugs, etc, opting to prefer common sense and experience for those applications (I'll make the click sound with my tongue when I got 'er gutentight), but if it is something under 40 ft lbs that I do feel the need to use a torque wrench for I don't really like any type of clicker. That's where the long term accuracy and reliability of an old school beam style or a dial type torque wrench really shine.

 

[hoffman912]

CORRECTION my PI is actually 10-50. So it should work on 30. Sorry I didnt get a ton of sleep and brain farting this morning.

 

[hoffman912]

Very common problem with split beams in general and PI in particular. Most have very modest clicks even at midrange values. At the low end of the scale you can barely tell if they've clicked or not. Best solution/value is the Quinn/Eclatorq digital torque wrench: https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-5-to-100-ft-lb-digital-angle-torque-wrench-64915.html. One of the great advantages of the digital is that you can watch the torque build as you tighten. With a clicker, and particularly a split beam, it's all or nothing.

Yeah, I bought the Quinn last night after the second engine mount went bust. I like the idea of digital for those reasons, I can actually see where it is. But I want to eventually rebuild my 912 motor completely in the next year or two, and crazy concerned about the PI and tbh as much as I hear good feedback on the quinn, i am not sure I want to trust HF to be accurate enough - porsches are crazy picky on tolerances.

 

[dnschmidt]

Yeah, I bought the Quinn last night after the second engine mount went bust. I like the idea of digital for those reasons, I can actually see where it is. But I want to eventually rebuild my 912 motor completely in the next year or two, and crazy concerned about the PI and tbh as much as I hear good feedback on the quinn, i am not sure I want to trust HF to be accurate enough - porsches are crazy picky on tolerances.

That Quinn is made by Eclatorq which makes all of the digital torque wrenches sold by SBD including Proto, USAG, Facom and MAC as well as NAPA's Carlyle which is their top of the line. Eclatorq might just be the best digital torque wrench manufacturer in the world. Don't believe me; go to the Tools Tested YouTube channel where he tested just about every digital torque wrench in the world and Eclatorq (or one of the rebranded Eclatorq's) was at the top of the class.

 

[tamaraw]

Deflecting beam or dial type wrenches would also allow you to see as you approach a value.