There have been some complaints about the cost of torque wrenches. The Snap-on #QT3R250 1/2" drive adjustable click-type torque wrench costs $268. That might be affordable for the professional technician but is out of reach for most home mechanics.

Several mail-order and Web-based companies sell a Chinese copy for much less money. These imported tools are less accurate than the Snap-on, but are accurate enough for most purposes.

I just got an E-mail ad from Harbor Freight Tools which announces that they are (once again) putting their 1/2" drive adjustable click-type torque wrench on sale. This is item number 00239-3VGA. The sale price is $9.99 + s/h. Harbor Freight pays the freight on all orders over $50 so if you can round up some friends who also want one, this can be a super deal.

I have one of these inexpensive wrenches and use it for tightening wheel lug nuts. If everyone used a torque wrench for lug nuts we would read fewer posts complaining of warped rotors.

This is not spam. I have no connection with Harbor Freight other than being a satisfied customer. If you want to place an order go to www.harborfreight.com or phone 1-800-423-2567 (24/7). Make sure you give them that exact item number and that it was advertised as a 50% off sale price. The sale price is good through April 16, 2001.

 

First of all let me say that I dont know anything about torque wrenches. But... If you are doing general work in the Maxima dont you need more than one size? Does the 1/2'' only fit .5 inch bolts? What size are the ones to put an FSTB on a 97. Thats the only use I have for one of these anyway.

 

This torque wrench is 1/2" drive. That means you use it with any standard ratchet wrench socket of 1/2" drive. It is true that this wrench, all by itself, is almost useless. You must also have a set of metric sockets.

This is somewhat like buying an electric drill. The drill by itself doesn't put holes in things. You must also buy (or already own) a set of drill bits. To make a hole you fasten the bit of desired size in the drill chuck, turn it on, and drill the hole.

 

Daniel, do you know what are the ratings of this torque wrench? The price sounds very tempting if the quality is ok. Thanks for sharing the info, btw.

 

As I said, I dont know much about torque wrenches or tools in general. If I have the correct set of sockets, will it work for the installation of a FSTB?

 

Yes.

 

Any of you guys want to set up a group buy on these?

We only need 5 or 6 at minimum right?

 

Go to www.harborfreight.com and enter 00239 in the Find Item Number field near the upper left-hand corner. That gets you an image and some specs. HF says the torque range is 10 - 150 foot-pounds.

I've had mine for about two years. Harbor Freight says they are accurate
within 4%. I don't know how to measure the accuracy, so I'll take their
word for it. In many automotive applications the important thing is to
tighten a set of fasteners to the same torque. In order to avoid warping
disk brake rotors I want to tighten the wheel lug nuts equally. I don't
really care much if they are all tightened to 80 foot-pounds or 83
foot-pounds, so long as they are all equal. The ability to achieve this is
called repeatability. My impression is that even a torque wrench which is
not particularly accurate can be excellent at repeatability. Contrary
information from better-informed sources is welcome!

 

Friend of mine used a Snap-On wrench and then attached it to the cheap one to check the torque specs. I suppose you could also tighten one bolt to spec using the snap-on and then check it w/ the cheap one. But again, for anything that's not engine related 4% is good enough by far. If you are working on putting together an engine(ie.. head bolts, bearing caps etc..) you had better use a quality wrench.

 

I'm using a torque wrench with a 3/8" drive but I've got an adpater that will let it work with 1/2" sockets.

If you get a 1/2" drive torque wrench, you can buy an adapter so that it works with 3/8" sockets. About 95% of my sockets are 3/8" drive, which is why I went with the smaller drive torque wrench.

 

Torque wrenches, hell, it's the first time I've even used one. I have to ask a dumb question because I just don't know. How do you even know when you have tightened the bolt to the correct torque spec? I felt a little spring action once the bolt was tightened. I was expecting that the wrench was going to give me the protection of "freewheeling" when it reached the torque spec.

 

I have two of these 1/2" drive wrenches bc on the first one I bought I unscrewed the adjusting piece on the end too much and lost the spring that goes in there so I bought another one. You can't beat the price and they're accurate enough for my needs. I keep the springless one in my truck and the newer one at home. The springless one now works like a breaker bar, it's around 18"'s long. They come in a red plastic case too.

 

Just remember to set the wrench back to ZERO when storing it... otherwise, the spring compresses, and the calibration gets screwed up.

Good Luck!

 

When you reach the preset torque, this torque wrench gives a "click" that can be both felt and heard.

 

But wouldn't they all have to be shipped to the same place?

 

It's something I definitly have to get used to, thanks.

 

I have a rule I go by that keeps me out of trouble most of the time, it goes something like "If you buy a $10 Torque Wrench, then you have to use it", You may get lucky and it might work fine, but how do you know? For $9.99.....

I used to buy cheap tools (I have bought from Harbor Freight too). I've had too many experiences with tools breaking, etc...

I even break Craftsman tools and they are more expensive than some, but I've always got replacements. Craftsman Torque Wrenches run about $70, and if you take care of it, will last forever.....just my $.02

 

Count me in, I could use a torque wrench. Let me know what to do! Thanks

 

Count me in. Just let me know of the details. Heck if the wrench only works once and then brakes, that's about how much it would cost to rent one.

 

At least two people have said "count me in". There may be a miscommunication. I am not organizing a group buy. I suggested to each reader that he could buy one torque wrench or organize his own group buy with local friends, and save on shipping costs. Your friends don't have to drive Maximas, this is a general-purpose tool that may be used with any make of car or truck.

 

Thanks for the info on the great deal. This is what I have been waiting for. I have a quick question though about the adapters. GOT_RICE said that he has an adapter which he uses for the 3/8" drives that he uses.
I was just wondering if you might know what is the size of the lug nuts that our Maximas use so that I can get a socket that size along with the torque wrench. And what is the offical name for these socket pieces?
thank you.

 

The adapter is a common tool which allows a 1/2" drive ratchet or breaker bar to connect to a 3/8" drive socket. Craftsman #4259, for example. This is a $3 item you can buy anywhere socket sets are sold.

The lug nuts on my '99 GXE are 22mm. My Plain Jane model has steel wheels. I believe the lug nuts on alloy wheels are the same size, but check that before you buy. If you don't already have a 22mm socket, you might as well buy a 1/2" drive 22mm and save yourself the cost of the adapter.

If you already have a set of 1/2" drive inch-dimension sockets, you could use 7/8" as a substitute for 22mm. I don't like to use inch-dimension wrenches on metric fasteners but these two are so close it hardly matters.

 

Yes count me in!!!

I also noticed they have the 3/8 wrench for $16.99 item #807-0VGA. I'm thinking I'll get both...

Click-stop type with 4% accuracy. Heavy duty cam & pawl mechanism. Reversible.
Manufacturer:Pittsburgh
Drive: 3/8''
Torque range: 0 to 80 ft. lbs.
Length: 14-3/4''
Weight: 2 lbs.

 

Does Harbor Freight retail stores sell at this price also?
If so, might be easier to buy from store in your area.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/taf/retail_stores.taf
Good Luck.

 

Ah, sorry for the mix up. However, there is a Harbor Freight in my area, and I'm going to pick up my torque wrench today!

Also they lifetime guarantee their hand tools, so if there are any problems, I'll just go get a replacement.

Thanks for the heads-up Daniel B.!

 

For the most part, a $10 might be good enough... but remember this: you get what you pay... for $10, you get $10 worth of quality.

Hving said that, I think having on is better than none at all.

Personally. I'd say get a craftsman... because after all, you can break it as many times as you want and they'll give you another.

-Shing

 

Craftsman won't replace torque wrenches.

 

Oh, MAN... Did you HAVE to ask that question? Of COURSE they'd all have to ship to the same address! If you don't have 5 buddies in your immediate area that need a torque wrench, you get to pay the freight. Don't sweat it, though. The freight on a torque wrench isn't going to be very much, probably less than the cost of the wrench itself.

Good luck.

 

ahh bummer... oh well, atleast they replace my wrenched and ratchets.

Regardless... I donno about a $10 torque wrench...

-Shing

 

After April 16th the price of that torque wrench will be $20.
Will you think it is twice as good because the price is twice as high?