Torque wrench question

[PleinAirCedar]

I want to buy a torque wrench for the tires on my 17B as the owners manual suggests torquing the wheels before each excursion. I want to get a 1/2" Drive Click Type torque wrench - https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...nch-63882.html
The manual says to use 13/16" socket.
Would I also get this part? 1/2" Drive 13/16" Deep Impact Socket and attach it to the end of the torque wrench?
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...ket-67780.html
Both tools would be $25 approx and that seems worth it to me. The tire shop near me charges $16 per visit to torque the tires.

Any input is greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
- Cedar

[Bill and Earline]

While not a high dollar item, the Harbor Freight torque wrench has been tested at several of our Escape gatherings against high dollar torque wrenches and the HF was found to be pretty close.

If you sign up to get their emails or if you pick up nearly any car magazine, you will get their coupons for 20% off a single item per trip. About half the time they will also run that torque wrench for $9.99 in their printed ads.

The socket is fine. No need for the impact version, but it's stronger, so go ahead and get it.

Plan to take the torque wrench with you. In a pinch, it can be used to undo a stubborn lug nut, but most will say that's not to be done with a torque wrench. Once you get those coupons going, get a HF breaker bar--which is about that size, but is just a strong bar for stubborn lug nuts.

Bill

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Bill and Earline

While not a high dollar item, the Harbor Freight torque wrench has been tested at several of our Escape gatherings against high dollar torque wrenches and the HF was found to be pretty close.

If you sign up to get their emails or if you pick up nearly any car magazine, you will get their coupons for 20% off a single item per trip. About half the time they will also run that torque wrench for $9.99 in their printed ads.

The socket is fine. No need for the impact version, but it's stronger, so go ahead and get it.

Plan to take the torque wrench with you. In a pinch, it can be used to undo a stubborn lug nut, but most will say that's not to be done with a torque wrench. Once you get those coupons going, get a HF breaker bar--which is about that size, but is just a strong bar for stubborn lug nuts.

Bill

We have the Harbor freight torque wrench and it works as it should . The old Craftsman torque wrench stays at home . Pat

[AKRogers]

I've been happy with this Tektron wrench, seems high quality.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[C&G in FL]

Walmart also sells an inexpensive torque wrench that is as good as the Harbor Freight wrench.
You do not need an impact socket. They tend to be more expensive. They are Heat treated to actually be softer than a standard socked so they don’t shatter as a result of the constant hammering an impact wrench provides.

[Oldtimer]

I’ve used my 1/2 and 3/8 torgue wrench’s from HF for several yrs now. They are still spot on.

David

[gbaglo]

Do you not also need a 5" or 6" extension for the socket? I have one.

[TahoeJoe]

Low quality torque wrenches can break...I have had 2 different ones give up the ghost when put to heavy use. So I say, spend some extra $ to get a high quality one. If you ever lose a tire on the highway, you want it to work 100%. Sounds like the Harbor Freight one is tried and true according to other members. And I have a Husky one from Home Depot that I can vouch for. I would just stay away from the no-name ones from discount stores...

[fudge_brownie]

Owning the Harbor Freight model and using it several times a year I have confidence in it. As Bill mentioned it was tested at the Mississippi River Rendezvous several years ago against a professional lab model costing 10 times more. Close enough.

I do like the hard plastic case the Pittsburg (Harbor Freight house brand) came it. I do spray it with silicone when I think of it. Yes, you do need an extension as Glen mentions.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by fudge_brownie

Owning the Harbor Freight model and using it several times a year I have confidence in it. As Bill mentioned it was tested at the Mississippi River Rendezvous several years ago against a professional lab model costing 10 times more. Close enough.

I do like the hard plastic case the Pittsburg (Harbor Freight house brand) came it. I do spray it with silicone when I think of it. Yes, you do need an extension as Glen mentions.

I also have confidence in the cheapie I bought at Walmart 12 years and 3 trailers ago. It is still within 2 ft-lbs of the far more expensive Snap-On my buddy has and within 1 ft-lbs of my 30+ year old Craftsman which stays at home. I did have the Craftsman checked/calibrated a couple of years ago but it came back with a statement that no adjustments were made because it fell within specifications. The Craftsman saw very heavy use when I was doing a lot of maintenance and modifications on motorcycles.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

I also have confidence in the cheapie I bought at Walmart 12 years and 3 trailers ago. It is still within 2 ft-lbs of the far more expensive Snap-On my buddy has and within 1 ft-lbs of my 30+ year old Craftsman which stays at home. I did have the Craftsman checked/calibrated a couple of years ago but it came back with a statement that no adjustments were made because it fell within specifications. The Craftsman saw very heavy use when I was doing a lot of maintenance and modifications on motorcycles.

Got you beat Carl , my Craftsman now is 55 years old , in her day was used on my cars and trucks ! Pat

[Iowa Dave]

I just torqued my Escape wheels and my Highlander wheels as I bought new tires for the Highlander over Labor Day weekend. I hadn’t checked the Escape since last fall as I have not had it on the road all season due to the covid 19 Pandemic. They were all very close at 95 ft lbs. I use my torque wrench, a 6 inch extension and the 13/16 deep well impact socket. The impact socket is not necessary but I have a set that lives in the garage with the Escape so it’s handy to just snap it out of the holder. I do always use impact sockets when I’m taking nuts off with the 18v impact wrench. The recommended torque on the Highlander is 76 ft lbs. the boys at the tire shop must hunt with shotguns and not tack driving rifles because the nuts were torqued at 70, 72 76 and on up to 80 ft lbs. I got them all even with the Proto wrench and a 21mm deep socket out of the metric set. They use the torque sticks and always seem to be in a hurry. A few years ago I bought tires at a Goodyear store run by a friend of mine. I watched the installer hand torque every nut on my Dakota. I thanked him and gave him a tip. That’s the last time I know they were done right. So I check the work myself now.
Iowa Dave

[John in Santa Cruz]

A general thing about torque wrenches.... if you're working on a range of torques, you really want all three, 1/2", 3/8", and 1/4" drive. you want to use a wrench in its middle to upper range, the lower range of any given torque wrench is sketchy. for really heavy stuff, there are 3/4" drive but who has 3/4" sockets??

the 1/4" drive is probably the least used in most toolboxes as hardly anyone torques small fasteners, but its good to use it for awhile on small stuff where you know the target torques, will help you develop a feel for doing it blind.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Got you beat Carl , my Craftsman now is 55 years old , in her day was used on my cars and trucks ! Pat

Yes, you do Pat. I said 30+ years because I don’t remember the exact purchase year. I bought all three of my Craftsman torque wrenches at the same time when I lived in NH. Since I moved to FL in 1985, mine are probably closer to 40 years old but still well younger than yours!

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

A general thing about torque wrenches.... if you're working on a range of torques, you really want all three, 1/2", 3/8", and 1/4" drive. you want to use a wrench in its middle to upper range, the lower range of any given torque wrench is sketchy. for really heavy stuff, there are 3/4" drive but who has 3/4" sockets??

the 1/4" drive is probably the least used in most toolboxes as hardly anyone torques small fasteners, but its good to use it for awhile on small stuff where you know the target torques, will help you develop a feel for doing it blind.

I’m going to be cute here and say “size doesn’t matter!” My tool compartment has three Craftsman torque wrenches, 25-250 inch-lbs, 5-80 ft-lbs, and 25-250 ft-lbs. In addition, I have a torque screwdriver that ranges from 0-36 inch-lbs (mostly used for scope mounts when I was shooting competitively in the army). If a repair manual or an instruction sheet lists a torque value, I always grab the appropriate tool and torque to the specified value.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by PleinAirCedar

I want to buy a torque wrench for the tires on my 17B as the owners manual suggests torquing the wheels before each excursion. !
Thanks,
- Cedar

Maybe someone should mention that the owner's manual is by nature a CYA document.

I certainly check the torque the first couple of uses but after that, nada, Any time that I've had to remove a wheel the torque has always been OK.

I have a couple of those old style Craftsman wrenches from the 70's, still going strong. I carry a newer click style just because I have it. I don't carry a breaker bar, the scale on the torque wrench reads in both directions.

Ron

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

for really heavy stuff, there are 3/4" drive but who has 3/4" sockets??

I have one - along with a 3/4" drive breaker bar - purchased for a specific part that I needed to turn, but they are most commonly found in the toolboxes of heavy-duty mechanics (who work on heavy trucks and equipment). Adapters are readily available to go between drive sizes, so I used one of those with a 1/2" ratchet for all but the initial loosening and final tightening.

The availability of individual tools (not just whole sets) makes it practical to get some oddball tools that can make life easier. My 3/4" drive breaker bar is much longer than my 1/2" drive bar, so it can provide more leverage even when using 1/2" drive sockets (with another one of those inexpensive adapters).

[Tom&Joan]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Got you beat Carl , my Craftsman now is 55 years old , in her day was used on my cars and trucks ! Pat

Mine is about the same age, I bought it not long after my major set in 1959. Since then I bought a clicker. And I do have a complete 3/4 drive set of sockets because I have had heavy trucks.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Tom&Joan

Mine is about the same age, I bought it not long after my major set in 1959. Since then I bought a clicker. And I do have a complete 3/4 drive set of sockets because I have had heavy trucks.

Pat

[ericbirk]

If all you need is a torque wrench for lug nuts, get the HF one. If it craters, which would be unlikely unless you are applying WAY more torque than a tool of that size could handle, its not like having to use a breaker bar to put on lug nuts and over torquing 10ft-lbs will break anything...

If you were building an engine, my comment would be a bit different.

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

I have one - along with a 3/4" drive breaker bar - purchased for a specific part that I needed to turn, but they are most commonly found in the toolboxes of heavy-duty mechanics (who work on heavy trucks and equipment). Adapters are readily available to go between drive sizes, so I used one of those with a 1/2" ratchet for all but the initial loosening and final tightening.

The availability of individual tools (not just whole sets) makes it practical to get some oddball tools that can make life easier. My 3/4" drive breaker bar is much longer than my 1/2" drive bar, so it can provide more leverage even when using 1/2" drive sockets (with another one of those inexpensive adapters).

Yup after putting a cheater bar on a 1/2 in breaker bar to remove the nut holding the broken blade on a brush hog and breaking the breaker bar...we bought a 3/4 in one. It gets the job done no fuss. Worth every penny!