Torque wrench how much

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Most torque wrenches are ratchet handles onto which you snap a socket, and thus are available in four standard socket drive sizes. Like any other ratchet wrench, the longer the handle and the bigger the drive, the more torque it can deliver. As such, it can be used not only for medium-torque fasteners like car lug nuts, but for higher-torque nuts such as those on trailer hitches and rear wheel bearings. A flex-head model is available at extra cost.

If all you need a torque wrench for is wheel lug nuts, or want to buy one for an in-case-of-flat-on-the-road tool kit, this one will work fine. Made in Taiwan Easy Storage: A sturdy plastic storage case is included. Include calibration certificate with traceable serial number. The length also provides the needed reach for those-hard-to-get-at places.

TPR cushion handle provides comfort, easy control, and oil-resistance. It has been tested by experts; stay confident that this torque wrench will be worth the investment! Torque wrench handle has rubber rim protector. Includes case. While nearly every fastener on a car has a factory-specified torque, torque wrenches are most often used on nuts and bolts whose tightness is critical for safety, longevity, or performance reasons.

For those who really work on their cars: Cylinder head bolts need the correct torque so the head gasket seals correctly. Selection criteria included drive size, cost, user ratings, torque range and accuracy. Commercial-grade products used by professional garages were excluded due to high cost. Beam-type wrenches see FAQs are the lowest cost but were excluded due to being supplanted by easier-to-use click-type wrenches.

Torque refers to the amount of twist on an object like a nut or bolt. In the United States, torque is measured in units of foot-pounds. Many lug nuts have an 80 ft-lb torque specification, so they can be tightened properly by, for example, hanging an lb weight on the end of a 1-foot wrench.

Foot-pounds are also a measure of engine power. To do this, it uses one of three primary methods. The downside is that you have to look straight at the pointer and scale to read the torque value, which is difficult while, say, tightening a wheel. Beam wrenches are still available, but they have largely been supplanted by click-stop wrenches which use an internal spring, ball, and detent.

Electronic wrenches instead use a strain gauge and report the arrival of the target torque via vibration, beep, indicator lights, or all three. Torque wrenches are primarily referred to by the socket drive size. The bigger the drive and the longer the handle, the more torque they can deliver. The calibration of most click-style wrenches is claimed to be good for 5, clicks.

Not tightening those lug nuts enough, on the other hand, could actually cause your lugs to loosen, fall off, and cause a wheel to fall off. That's why most owner's manuals have a torque specification for lug nuts. If you plan to do any major work on your engine or on some major powertrain components, you absolutely need a torque wrench. Overtightening cylinder-head bolts, for instance, can easily cause expensive damage and catastrophic coolant loss.

Too-tight exhaust manifold bolts can cause the manifold to crack. Torque specs are so critical to proper car repair that most shop manuals provide them along with repair steps and then also include them in back-page tables with fastener location, designation, and individual specs. Torque force can be measured in units of meter-kilograms mkg , newton-meters Nm , and pound-feet lb-ft.

If you're buying a new wrench, make sure it's calibrated with the same units used in your repair procedures or have a conversion table handy. Most vehicles sold in the United States have torque specs expressed in lb-ft.

The smaller ones are generally used for things like installing delicate temperature switches in fragile cast housings. The larger ones are used to put big twist on crank-pulley or transmission-gear nuts. That's the size we use in the Car and Driver test garage to torque lug nuts. There are four basic types of torque wrenches, each with slightly different operating principles: beam or deflection, dial indicator, clicker, and digital.

The beam- and dial-indicator-types use a simple mechanical system that connects to a pointer that hovers above a torque scale attached to the handle or to the dial indicator. When force is applied to the wrench's bending handle, the scale or dial shows the amount of torque equivalent to the handle's deflection. If you're buying a beam- or dial-indicator-type, you'll want a large pointer or gauge face for working in dark underhood locations.

For certain nuts and bolts, guessing if it's tight enough just isn't good enough. Clicker wrenches are different, and wonderfully convenient to use. They have an adjustable ring around the base of the handle that lets you set the exact torque you want to apply to a nut or bolt.