hey guys,
i bought a NEW Craftman torque wrench which has a capability of torque-ing 10-75 lbs/ft.....now it came with the setting at the lowest point and locked, which is good as i know and i know i have to set to minimum everytime i finish from using it! now i was about to torque my cam gear setting bolts (0,0) (i do mean the bolts that are used to advance or ratard teh cams) and when i wanted to torque them to 10 lbs/ft the torque wrench didnt click and heard the threads making a sound as if am over torque-ing it! now is there something wrong with my torque wrench? or i shouldnt use my torque wrench at that torque value?

Note: that was the 1st attempt to use that NEW torque wrench!

 

What was the torque of the cam gear supposed to be, or set at.

 

8-10 lbs/ft , so i decided to set the torque wrench to 10 since thats the lowest it can do!

 

The break-away at that setting is barely detectable.

 

yea i was worried about that when i 1st set it, but i heard good things about craftman and gave it a try.....now i have a broken bolt thread on my cam gear

 

yeah you gotta be careful,something that needs that minimal of torque i do by feel...

you're gonna need a bolt extractor to get it out..

 

Most torque wrenches are only accurate in the middle 60% or 70% of their range.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by onepoint6i &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah you gotta be careful,something that needs that minimal of torque i do by feel...

you're gonna need a bolt extractor to get it out..</TD></TR></TABLE>

as an extra note i didnt break the bolt i ruined the thread thats all...am about to modify my cam gear slot where that bolt is and file around to get it back to its rotaional position with a 1mm oversize bolt! from my knowledge i dont have to change bolt diammeter i just have to get a new bolt with a bigger tap!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NJIN BUILDR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Most torque wrenches are only accurate in the middle 60% or 70% of their range.</TD></TR></TABLE>

so from you suggestion i shouldnt torque anything lower than 45 lbs/ft with my torque wrench? hmm

 

I have that same torque wrench, it rocks. You just have to pull with your fingertips at the really low settings. You can't wrap your whole hand around it like you're trying to torque your head down or you won't feel the breaking point of the wrench.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IntegraTypeR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

so from you suggestion i shouldnt torque anything lower than 45 lbs/ft with my torque wrench? hmm </TD></TR></TABLE>

What I'm saying is torque wrenches are not as accurate at the extremes of their range.I use a 1/4" drive torque wrench that goes to around 300 inch pounds (about 25 ft #'s) for bolts in the 7-10 ft/pound range.I try and stay in the middle part of the range if I can.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 91SiZ6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have that same torque wrench, it rocks. You just have to pull with your fingertips at the really low settings. You can't wrap your whole hand around it like you're trying to torque your head down or you won't feel the breaking point of the wrench.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i know it rocks thats why i bought it usually when i torque somehting up i hold one hand on the wrench socket end to make sure that the wrench head is Perpendicular to the bolt/nut and rotate the wrench in 1/4 turns very slowly until it clicks once....is this method correct?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NJIN BUILDR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

What I'm saying is torque wrenches are not as accurate at the extremes of their range.I use a 1/4" drive torque wrench that goes to around 300 inch pounds (about 25 ft #'s) for bolts in the 7-10 ft/pound range.I try and stay in the middle part of the range if I can.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i asked around and most grages told me anything that low should be hand tight....does this sound right? and what torque value you recommend for me to hand tighted it instead of using the torque wrench? well i wanna which torque values to use when using this torque wrench?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IntegraTypeR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i asked around and most grages told me anything that low should be hand tight....does this sound right? and what torque value you recommend for me to hand tighted it instead of using the torque wrench? well i wanna which torque values to use when using this torque wrench?</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is one of the many differences between a garage mechanic and a professional engine builder.Every fastener I install gets torqued period.There are a bunch on Ebay.I can't recommend any one brand,but I believe any of them are more accurate than hand tightening.Something in the 0-250 inch/pounds range or so will work.10 foot/pounds is 120 inch/pounds.

 

If you are working flat rate, you straight up don't torque any bolts by spec, you just tighten the **** outta them. Personally the only bolts I ever torque are if I was rebuilding and engine/trans/rearend, head bolts, occasionally spark plugs, and a few suspension bolts. Cam gears I would not use a torque wrench I would just use a regular 3/8 drive ratchet, maybe 1/4 drive depending on bolt size.

PS. I never used any craftsman tools so I don't know about their quality. I use all snap on, and a few matco (my torque wrenches are actually all matco).