Wasted $300 on a fancy torque wrench that clicked way too late

Honestly I tried to save money with a cheap digital torque wrench from Amazon on a critical engine mount job in Phoenix and it didn't click until I was way past spec, has anyone else had a torque wrench fail on them like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_murphy5d ago

Nah I used to think torque wrenches were all basically the same, just metal bars with a click mechanism. Figured paying extra was just paying for a brand name. But after snapping a bolt on my Subaru's control arm because a cheap one didn't click in time, I changed my mind real quick. Now I keep my old beam style torque wrench as a backup just to double check if something feels off. That kind of fail can total a whole weekend project and cost way more than the tool itself.

shanec615d ago

cole_murphy I get what you're saying, but a snapped bolt is a pain, not a disaster. You can always drill it out and re-tap the hole. That's maybe an hour of work and a ten dollar tap set. I've been using the same harbor freight click type torque wrench for years on everything from lawnmowers to a ford f-150, and it's never let me down. Maybe I just got lucky, but I think people make too big a deal about torque wrenches. Setting the torque correctly matters way more than the brand name on the side. A beam style backup is a smart move though, can't argue with that.

rodriguez.mia5d agoTop Commenter

Wait @cole_murphy, you mean you can't just flex seal a snapped bolt back together?