Another thing I will add is you can actually smash a gasket out from between the surfaces you are trying to seal by over torqueing.I have had this happen.[:@]PITA.Anytime you work on anything aluminum you need a torque wrench.If it saves you one warped brake rotor or stripped spark plug hole it's paid for itself.

 

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...entPage=search

This is the cheapest one I could find. (I'm not cheap, I'm just 17. I don't plan on modding my car too much I just wanted the cat-back so I don't want to get raped in the wallet by a torque wrench I will use to tighten 4 bolts or whatever it is.)

Is this actually a torque wrench because I don't see a gauge or anything anywhere...

 

If someone laid that on my tool box, I'd burn the tool box!!

 

Just go buy the wrench.......

 

Ok... your only screwing yourself. Tools are a lietime investment. dont buy cheap stuff. Also, that is what is called a torque screwdriver, for special screws and such. you need an acutal torque wrench... HD sells one for not to much at all. you need to make sure the wrench your buying covers the torque specification you need. Also, make sure it is name brand too. Cheaper ones are ok for occasional use, but they tend to not be as accurate as the more expensive ones.

Also, there are 3 different styles...

- Beam Type... cheap, usually around $30. They have a fixed bar, and a free bar, as you tighten the nut, the free bar bends pointing to a number on a scale. They are avery accurate design, however reading it leads to inaccuracy.

Looks like this..

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00944642000

- click type.... this is what youw ill find most mechanics using. you twist the handle to set the torque, and when the nut or bolt reaches that torque, you hear a "click" and you know to stop turning. The advantage is you dont have to be looking at these straight on like a beam style, and they give more consistent readings

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00944562000

-dial type... thes operate on the same principal as a beam type torque wrench, however the beam has gears and springs attatched, so that the torque reading appears on a dial face.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00944620000

Out of the three, the dial type are the most accurat. Sometiems accurate to 2 or even 1%. Click types and beam types are accurate to 4%, which is fine unless you work for nasa. Beam type torque wrenches do sometimes lead to inaccuracies because lighting can create shaddos affecting the readout.

AS for brands, you can get away with Craftsman or husky. Id say avoid harbor frieght. Bot craftsman and husky tend to not be as accurate as SK or Snap on, but they are a fraction of the price.

Jim

 

Yea thank you. I'm not going to go without it so I'm heading out to Sears tomorrow afterschool. Thanks for the advice.

 

What's worse? "no torque wrench" or a "cheap torque wrench"?

 

def. not a torque wrench, thats a cheap piece of crap.

 

isn't that a screwdriver? wtf woulf it have a picture of a screwdriver.
just go to home depot and get one. or borrow one from your neighbor like Homer does.

 

Yea but I don't have any tool-happy Flanders around here so I can't borrow one lol. Trust me, I've asked around