torque wrench failure

Fuzzydog · Jan 9, 2006

the "rotate your own tires" thread got me thinking about this.

I have always used a somewhat ancient torque wrench that deflects and has a needle pointing to the applied torque. - no clicking, no mechanical parts and that suits me just fine, and here is why.....

friend has a 99 new beetle that needed a timing belt change, which we are competent to do (some might argue that, but....) The thing of it is, that the timing belt actually goes around the passenger side motor mount so you have to remove the mount to remove the belt. (side note - I will NEVER buy a new beetle because they built the body then crammed stuff in where it would fit- not mechanic friendly)
This motor mount is 2 huge pieces of aluminum, attached with 1 time use stretch bolts. Anyway we do the job, get the new belt in, reinstall the motor mount with new stretch bolts. friend gets out his handy dandy super cadillac snap on torque wrench and sets to the proper torque and away we go......hmmm....that seems to be awfully hard for that amount of torque and still no click when suddenly it turns very easily.....ooops!

turns out his torque wrench picked that time to fail and he ended up stripping out the alum engine mount. turned into a very costly repair (new motor mount) AND when he talked to snap on about it they would not warranty the torque wrench.

I'll stick to my basic deflection type torque wrench - I'm only using it for auto repairs - not building the space shuttle.

bmwpower · Jan 9, 2006

What?!? They wouldn't warranty the torque wrench? Of all the things you WANT to be under warranty, it an expensive torque wrench from Snap-on.

Curious, what kind of torque are we talking about here?

stimpy · Jan 10, 2006

never liked the click wrenches as they are too fussy and always heard horror stories like this , I use either a beam wrench or the dial types that proto makes , I would hate to use a click type anyways when torquing down the crab head bolts on an EMD diesel ( apx 600 ft pounds ) example : click ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh thunk ! :lol_hitti

bmwpower · Jan 10, 2006

stimpy said:
never liked the click wrenches as they are too fussy and always heard horror stories like this , I use either a beam wrench or the dial types that proto makes , I would hate to use a click type anyways when torquing down the crab head bolts on an EMD diesel ( apx 600 ft pounds ) example : click ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh thunk !

I love clickers because you can torque it down without having to keep your eyes on the wrench.

iiibdsiil · Jan 10, 2006

My Snap-on one stopped working too. It's not the spin the bottom of the handle one though, it's the just turn a little knob on the side. 3/8" with a max of 100 ft lbs. They do need recalibrating, I'm just not sure of how often. I dunno how long it has been screwed up though because I used to use it only for wheels. It was never set much below 100.

davejs · Jan 10, 2006

Sounds like standard Snap On customer service. Thats why I like my Mac TQ wrench and have it recalibrated yearly.

kartracer55 · Jan 10, 2006

Theres nothing wrong with click type torque wrenches... Just buy a good one. I got my dad a proto for christmas and I checked the readings on the calibration certificate and it was acurate to 1% throughout the entire scale, even though it was advertised as 3%... Most beam torque wrenches are advertised to 3-4% accuracy as well.

With a click type torque wrench you dont even need to look at the damn thing... with a beam/defelection torque wrench you need to be looking head on and your light must be from above, otherwise the needle will cast shadows. Even if the click type needs claibration and has parts to wear out, its worth it simply because it has SO much more convenience. Sometimes you cant look at the torque wrench head on, and the scale on a beam style torque wrench takes up a hell of alot of room

Jim

Fuzzydog · Jan 10, 2006

bmwpower said:
What?!? They wouldn't warranty the torque wrench? Of all the things you WANT to be under warranty, it an expensive torque wrench from Snap-on.

Curious, what kind of torque are we talking about here?

They wanted to charge him $120 to fix it - sed they would warranty the metal parts (ie, if you snap it in half they'll replace it) but not the mechanism itself. Ironically (sadly) this friend was very meticulous about his torque wrench too - always kept in it's case, climate controlled, reset to 0 after every use, didn't look at it the wrong way or talk down to it.

There are 2 diff size bolts on that engine mount - 2 torqued to 40 ft/lb and 2 at 60 ft/lb (or there abouts) Both sets of bolts are then turned an additional 90 degrees after reaching the specified torque. That's when it got a bit ugly - and loose.

drbill · Jan 10, 2006

I don't think anybody has a lifetime warrenty on torque wrenches. I've had a Snap-on click type for many years and used it alot, to the point I had to have the rachet part rebuilt.
At work our torque wrenches are calibrated once a year. We have many different sizes and styles. The dial types are good for certain jobs but if you can't see the dial when torqueing what good is it. Same for the beam type. The ones that get used the most are the digital Snap-on ones. They vibrate and beep at you when you get to the torque setting. But it's easy to over torque slightly with them. Another thing they are good at is taking break away torque reading.
I think your buddy had some bad luck with his wrench.

Fuzzydog · Jan 10, 2006

drbill said:
I think your buddy had some bad luck with his wrench.

definitely agree - and it turned out quite costly for him.

I just checked cambodian tire website - lifetime warranty on 1/2" drive torque wrench for $99.99 (Can$) - it actually looks like a good unit too.
I'm not that naive though, I do believe that snap on is a better quality product and it was just bad luck with that particular wrench - same thing could have happened with any other wrench.

having said that though, after the part is ruined because of overtorquing, I'd rather take my broken wrench back and get a new one 'gratis', than have to pay snap on for a new one....

I'm just saying....

Jared · Jan 10, 2006

Fuzzydog said:
definitely agree - and it turned out quite costly for him.

I just checked cambodian tire website - lifetime warranty on 1/2" drive torque wrench for $99.99 (Can$) - it actually looks like a good unit too.
I'm not that naive though, I do believe that snap on is a better quality product and it was just bad luck with that particular wrench - same thing could have happened with any other wrench.

having said that though, after the part is ruined because of overtorquing, I'd rather take my broken wrench back and get a new one 'gratis', than have to pay snap on for a new one....

I'm just saying....

Where abouts in B.C. are you?

Roadster · Jan 11, 2006

drbill said:
I don't think anybody has a lifetime warrenty on torque wrenches.

FWIW, Griot's Garage sells rebadged NorBar Professional torque wrenches -- f'ing EXCELLENT torque wrenches, made in England -- each one of them includes a storage case, certificate of accuracy, and free Lifetime Testing Service.

I cannot say enough about NorBar torque wrenches. I have three different sizes of them in my toolbox. :thumbup:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?&SKU=12345
http://www.norbar.com/products_range.php&category_multid=1&range_multid=10

Fuzzydog · Jan 11, 2006

Jared said:
Where abouts in B.C. are you?

williams lake...how bout you?

Jared · Jan 11, 2006

Fuzzydog said:
williams lake...how bout you?

Victoria

MrHappy · Jan 11, 2006

lol...Quesnel.

Fuzzydog · Jan 12, 2006

It's a small world!

MXtras · Jan 12, 2006

Are you guys feeling warm and fuzzy now that you have hijacked this thread?

Ok - you are in Canada. Nice. Thanks. - - - - edit - I just realized that the hijacker is the thread starter. OOOOPS - sorry. You are allowed to hijack your own thread. Carry on.

I have had several click torque wrenches for many, many years without trouble. In fact, the one I most frequently use was purchased 24 years ago and it is still clicking away. I have only had it calibrated three times - the last was quite a while ago.

I have heard these same failure stories but I have never had an issue. When working at Western Branch Diesel in VA, I used a clicker type with multipliers to attach fluid balancers to the front of 16V192 Detroit diesels - 950 Ft.Lbs if I recall correctly. That was a serious workout. Or the propeller nut for an average tug boat - 650FtLbs. Impossible to do with a beam type!

Scott

Fuzzydog · Jan 13, 2006

MXtras said:
Are you guys feeling warm and fuzzy now that you have hijacked this thread?

Ok - you are in Canada. Nice. Thanks. - - - - edit - I just realized that the hijacker is the thread starter. OOOOPS - sorry. You are allowed to hijack your own thread. Carry on.

Scott

LOL! I was just trying to figure out how to respond that it was my thread when I saw your edit.

seriously, sorry for getting off the topic.

MXtras · Jan 13, 2006

No issue. I was in a really crappy mood and should not have posted anything at all - I do apologize. Bad week for me.

I felt like a tool when I realized that it was you that started the thread! This is how my whole week has gone - one screw up on top of another. I should have kept my mouth shut. Well - I could have deleted the post, but I figured I would own up to it, so I left the crappy remarks - do I get a biscuit for that?

I need a break from message boards again. I am in too deep....

I am sorry for the bash. Back to the topic, eh?

Scott

Roadster · Jan 13, 2006

MXtras said:
No issue. I was in a really crappy mood and should not have posted anything at all - I do apologize. Bad week for me.

I felt like a tool when I realized that it was you that started the thread! This is how my whole week has gone - one screw up on top of another. I should have kept my mouth shut. Well - I could have deleted the post, but I figured I would own up to it, so I left the crappy remarks - do I get a biscuit for that?

I need a break from message boards again. I am in too deep....

I am sorry for the bash. Back to the topic, eh?

Scott

Dude, you built some of the slickest-looking tool cabinets I've ever seen, and you made your plans available for free. As far as I'm concerned, you can screw up once a day for a couple of years, and I don't think you'll exhaust your quota! :beer:

kartracer55 · Jan 14, 2006

MXtras said:
Bad week for me.

I felt like a tool when I realized that it was you that started the thread! This is how my whole week has gone - one screw up on top of another. I should have kept my mouth shut.

Ehh, my life in a nutshell

torque wrench failure

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