Torque wrench.....

[slim_boy_fat]

There has been a move away from straight torque to torque plus 45/90 degrees.......

Hadn't heard of that one. But if BMW specify 120nm then that's good enough for me .

For years I've been using the bent metal thingy supplied with the car by 'feel' only and have survived without incident, so will try one bolt that way, then see what the t/wrench says to that level of torque for comparison.

 

[123hotchef]

not really for wheels the angle gauges more for head bolts and stuff like that

 

[brightspark]

ive only ever over tightened a bolt up in to ally a couple of times and stripped the threads in 60 years

 

[RonA]

Certainly a bargain, I have 3 Britools in my collection staring from 6lbft all the way upto the one you've just purchased albeit as Wedgie1e (we were in dialogue some months ago about rebuilding of his) points out not the ratchet version. I had to purchase a Sealey 350 lbft ratchet adapter to achieve that function. Cost me over £300 for the three.
I've never had to lubricate any of mine other than the thread which compresses the spring. I do however unload the wrench to decompress the spring after every use.
The only thing against torque wrenches is they do rely on the the thread being "dry", some people say the only truly accurate method is overall stretch measurement of the bolt.
RonA

While I was writing this note, it brought to mind something I'd seen used at work albeit on some safety critical equipment securing bolts.
RonA

 

[123hotchef]

my mitsi for the head bolts states x nm then 120 deg or whaterever it is cant remember now

 

[WorkshopChris]

Not sure if this is going to make any sense, has anyone noticed a difference in the torque setting between a stationary bolt and one thats still moving?

For example you are tightening a bolt but stop just before you think it will click. then go back and it clicks without tightening the bolt any more.
This is with higher torque settings, there must be some standing friction to overcome, maybe why some bolts specify a torque setting then a angular movement of so many degrees.

 

[123hotchef]

I have and I have also noticed the difference with greased bolts and dry bolts

 

[gordon stephenson]

Also torque settings are ofter stated as lubricated or un- lubricated.

 

[jordan1]

I would get it calibrated, useless if you don't know how accurate it is. I have an old Norbar of my late fathers, had it done, didn't cost much as I recall.

 

[gordon stephenson]

I'm intrigued by the above post Re; cooling turbine bolt with dry ice, Been a "Turbine" man all my life and not come across this method ever, Only ever used four methods of tightening, 1) massively powerful hydraulic stretching equipment. 2) metal electrically heated rods, Carbon electrically heated rods, and a special gas torch that had three inlets operated on acetylene/oxygen and compressed air. Methods 1) 2) and three are all used with a small hole right through the bolt, The hydraulic gear was not brilliant in my opinion (even saw it snap once when under full tension,Very scary) metal heated rod not very good,took a while to heat and didn't reach the temps needed. Carbon rods (around 1/2" did and three feet long) were excellent and running from a massive transformer reached white heat in no time, The gas flame seemed to be the preferred method on our AEG turbines and worked very well and was directed down the bolts centre hole, If any body does know about the dry ice method i would love to know about it.
P.S. Sorry for the ramblings of an old man,

 

[Screwdriver]

Here's a simple test: use one unknown torque wrench to drive a known good torque wrench via an intermediary nut.

Simples...

 

[Wallace]

I remember using a 5ft double barrel torque wrench as an apprentice and hanging off the end trying to make it click, I was a bit lighter in those days!

OCD? I have CDO, it's similar but in the right order.

 

[Cobs]

I have a number of torque wrenches including a digital one which is a fantastic bit of kit, does both torque and angle settings. Torquing a bolt up then giving it an extra tweek is not normally a good idea (depending on how big the 'tweek' is!). In general terms when you torque a bolt up you are deforming the metal slightly however as the metal has a certain degree of 'elasticity' when you undo the bolt and release the tension it returns to it's previous state. (think of bending a piece of coat hanger wire slightly then bending it back). Torque settings are specified to be well within this limit of elasticity thus you can safely torque a bolt up to it's specified setting and undo it all day long without affecting the integrity of the bolt. However once you go beyond a certain point you start to deform the metal permanently. If you carry on (think of the wire example) eventually it will fracture and break. Somewhere between the 'safe' torque setting and the fracture point is the point of maximum tightness. This is found by tightening to the specified torque then turning a specified number of degrees (angle) further. Engineers use specific formulea to work this out. This is why in critical applications both torque settings and angle settings are specified and why you need to be careful if you randomly carry on tightening a bolt beyond its specified torque. The next time you torqued it up might take it critically close to its fracture point (or beyond!).

 

[Kent]

Gordon
pm on.its way

 

[tomsutton529]

At work we torque anything that is critical and when the instructions tell us to, for all other stuff its done until the apprentice is blue in the face, fan housing access doors are rattled up with an impact gun.

At home or when servicing for the rally folk we torque all wheels, head bolts and anything we think might be worth doing, otherwise its done to F tight and then we put the kettle on to get over the drama of having to get the torque wrench out the van.

 

[Robotstar5]

We have racks of these at work, clever bits of kit that monitor every fastener/bolt. If a bolt doesn't hit the target or torques too early due to a crossed thread etc. the track stops until it's sorted, they also download the data from every job via ethernet so it can be attached to a VIN No. in the database.

 

[tinman123]

I have and I have also noticed the difference with greased bolts and dry bolts

there are two different torque settings for lubricated or dry fasteners, i keep a a chart in the workshop for the std sizes from m6 to m40 and it gives me the correct torque for either, there can be quite a bit between the torques depending if the bolt is lubed or not, then there is the difference between 8.8, 10.9 or 12.9 bolts obviously.
its recommend that if it states the bolt is to be torqued lubed that the bolt should be dipped in the oil instead of just lubing the threads an the collar will give you an odd reading if its not lubed against the washer/shoulder.

 

[tinman123]

We have racks of these at work, clever bits of kit that monitor every fastener/bolt. If a bolt doesn't hit the target or torques too early due to a crossed thread etc. the track stops until it's sorted, they also download the data from every job via ethernet so it can be attached to a VIN No. in the database.

i had one of their torque wrenches here one time, nothing as fancy as the one you linked to but an air driven one with a sensor plug on it, it obviously plugged into the brains of the operation which i didnt have but the gun part worked as it should.

i sold it on the bay a few yrs ago, started it at £40 iirc as it was worth that to me to keep it i knew it was a lot more to buy new but i never found out, id of guessed because it was desoutter it would of been in the early thousands.
anyways, they bid it to £160 and a lad from sweeden bought it, £50 to post it all the way to him.

 

[addjunkie]

there are two different torque settings for lubricated or dry fasteners, i keep a a chart in the workshop for the std sizes from m6 to m40 and it gives me the correct torque for either, there can be quite a bit between the torques depending if the bolt is lubed or not, then there is the difference between 8.8, 10.9 or 12.9 bolts obviously.
its recommend that if it states the bolt is to be torqued lubed that the bolt should be dipped in the oil instead of just lubing the threads an the collar will give you an odd reading if its not lubed against the washer/shoulder.

When dealing with bigger stuff the torque changes depending on the different lubricantes used, quite a bit, more than youd expect

 

[ms08]

Hadn't heard of that one. But if BMW specify 120nm then that's good enough for me .

For years I've been using the bent metal thingy supplied with the car by 'feel' only and have survived without incident, so will try one bolt that way, then see what the t/wrench says to that level of torque for comparison.

Doing Saab sub frame bolts this week - 75 ft lbs and then 45 degrees.....