Torque wrench recomendations??

[Russell]

Looking for recomendations on a good torque wrench for use on the e34? Any thoughts regarding type and brand. TIA

[Rigmaster]

I have a Craftsman 1/2" drive which seems to work pretty well. BUT, keep in mind that Sears does NOT cover Craftsman torque wrenches under their "lifetime" hand tool warranty....Not sure why, but it's got a 1 year (IIRC) warranty. I've also got a couple of cheap-o 1/2" drive torque wrenches, 1 no longer works as a clicker torque wrench, so I use it as a breaker bar, the other works fine, and seems to be just as accurate as the craftsman. I would say if you only plan to use it occasionally, go for the cheap-o $20 wrench and spend the other $40-50 on something else.

The thing about torque wrenches seems to be calibration. I don't know of anyplace to get them calibrated that doesn't cost more than a new craftsman torque wrench!!

Bret.

[tim s]

tim s.

[winfred]

i've got snapon, proto and matco, i don't like the way the matco adjusts, the craftsmans look ok and they are usually on sale for $50-60 for a decent sized 1/2". i love my snapon torq-o-meter dial type, about every 6-7 years of my use it needs a $40 odd buck rebuild/recalabration cause it's slipping

[Russell]

It's range is 5-80 lbs. I was wondering if I should exchange it for the 1/2 equilivant which has a range of 25 to 250 lbs.

What besides suspension components needs high torque values on the e34.

I also have an old bar or lever type which goes up to 100 lbs.

Thanks

Looking for recomendations on a good torque wrench for use on the e34? Any thoughts regarding type and brand. TIA

[Rigmaster]

Russell, I use my torque wrench most often for head bolts- on most BMW"s made in the last 20 years or so you don't really need one with a high toque range- because the spec is to torque all the bolts to a relatively low torque (like 30 ft/lbs or so), then torque each bolt by a certain number of degrees- usually in 2 more stages. I've considered getting a torque-angle guage for this purpose, but I've had good luck using my eyeball method.

I also use my 1/2" torque wrench on lug bolts- usually when I change from street to track wheels on my E30 track car.

Bret.

[632 Regal]

I have a Kobalt available online at Wallymart, supposed to be the same manufacturer that makes Craftsman.

[brian asamoto]

All you need to have is a beam type torque wrench to calibrate one of the others. The beam type of wrench will never change calibration because it depends only on the material properties of the torque wrench, which typically don't change. Adapt the torque wrench you want to calibrate to the end of the beam torque wrench and set the torque of the wrench. Check the torque on the beam torque wrench at the point that the other torque wrench releases. Based to comparisons between the torque wrench set point and the actual torque it releases at, you can either try to adjust the rotating collar on the torque wrench or make a calibration table. I've had my torque wrench for about 20 years and it still is calibrated when compared to a beam torque wrench.