Go to Torque Wrench

[DerrickfromNC1]

A friend of mine called me & said he was reinstalling a sump on his engine to fix a nagging leak. I recommended a thread here on the samba that talks about various sealants used in conjunction with the standard gasket for a leak free seal. He called later to say his click style torque wrench wasn’t clicking and he was afraid of stripping out the studs/case. He said it was a 0-100ft/lb torque wrench. I told him not to use that for a application only requiring 5ft/lb and that he should get a 1/4” drive in/lb torque wrench with a range of around 0-100in/lb and set it to 60in/lbs. Harbor Freight has one.

This got me to thinking that I probably need a better torque wrench for torquing heads down. The following is what I have:

It has a 0-140ft/lb range.

What are you using with an optimal range for torquing heads?

Thanks!

[bedlamite]

https://youtu.be/HP4uECoH8cc?t=1022

[DerrickfromNC1]

[Glenn]

No one size fits all

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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

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[Schepp]

At first I started with what I could afford which was Harbor Freight, before they started making decent quality tools. Now I have a couple Proto clickers which I like.

As with many things the clicker type wrenches require finesse. The feel of the "click" can easily be over-come and passed if you're not careful.

[Cusser]

Myself: I have torque wrenches in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drives. Plus a VW torque tool.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[BFB]

I have a 1/4" inch/lb dial one like OP's design, and a 3/4 " drive 900 ft/lb 4 foot monstrosity , and a 3/8" split beam that I use for 95% of everything.
if you've never used a split beam, they're pretty cool. id never but my tool guy sold me on this one. nice simple thumb scroll adjustment on the side and you don't have to turn it back to 0 all the time.
https://torqwrench.com/products/split-beam-clicks/...C5_EqhBcyU

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"how am i supposed to torque the rear wheel nut to 250 ft lbs??? " - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
Most experts aren't.

[bedlamite]

[DerrickfromNC1]

I think I’m gonna go with this:

https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-59-to-59-ft-lb-digital-torque-adapter-58705.html

It has a 5.9-59ft/lb range & an accuracy of +/-2%. Digital, LED, and audible. They also have a 1/2” drive version with a 50-250ft/lb and a 3/4” drive 250-750ft/lb.
+/-2% accuracy exceeds that of dial or click type torque wrenches. The only problem I see would be using it in tight spaces.

[jim martin]

I have quite a few collected over the years .
Currently using 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch in snap on digital and the same in your standard adjustable handle clicker style . There are pros and cons to each . Digital are great for increasing your productivity as you can switch between countless preset torques and angle of rotation with a quick push of the button and most now have like a flex head ratchet a small amount of movement. But for repeat torques I still prefer clicker as they are almost dead on every time .
A good example for air cooled motors are the heads . If you have the same technique and pull speed it will click at the same breaking point but ,with a digital as you get close to your torque the led’s are changing red yellow and almost green you slow down on your torque speed . That’s friction and your final torque can be off.
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[oprn]

The electricians in the shop I used to work at would send their torque wrenches in for a yearly calibration. Anyone know what that involves? How often they are found to be in error? How to adjust them?
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[runamoc]

[jim martin]

[chrisflstf]

The lower torque settings, like 10 ft lb and below have a much less discernable "click" feeling. And can be easily over powered.

[Glenn]

[oprn]

I have a Snap-on 30 - 200 click type that doesn't always click especially at the low end. I kind of go by feel, if it doesn't click when I think it should I back it off and go again. It misses about every 6th time or so.
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[RickS]

A Torque wrench is never supposed to be used below 20% of its rated maximum. Like Glenn said, that is why you need more than one.

[jim martin]

[oprn]

Yes I hear you and do have torque wrenches with lower ranges but this one does miss on occasion even at mid range. Maybe it is just worn. It seems worse of I don't support the head and it gets a bit of a side twist as a result.

What I am saying is it's a two hand operation, one hand on the head to keep it from cocking sideways even a little bit.
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[runamoc]