Torque wrench advice saught...

[sts 50]

Well, my second Craftsman torque wrench in 2 years has packed it in. This one lasted maybe a year. The last one lasted about 2 1/2 years (it was the "top of the line", this recent one was the "middle of the line"). These were both the big, 75 - 150 ft/lbs kind. (unfortuneatly, I've already purchased a smaller 25 - 100 ft/lbs wrench of this same type to do my winter suspension project - hope it lasts a few weeks) These were both stored according to the instructions. And, no, they aren't covered by the Craftsman "forever" warranty, because they are "precision" tools and not "hand" tools. So.......does someone sell a good, reliable torque wrench that doesn't cost Snap-on money?

[gtfour77]

What happened to it? My "Advance Auto Parts" torque wrentch has lasted me about 7 years with much use...engine rebuilds, suspension works.... Maybe try that one? I just wonder what broke on yours...

[ShortysTRM]

Yeah, I'm not even sure what could be broken without over-torquing..?

Like Martin said, my Autozone bought "Great Neck" brand torque wrench is working on it's 3rd year with no problems that I know of. I even use it as a breaker bar :oops: .

[RobbieNelson]

You could write a book about torque wrenches. There is no easy answer. They really should be calibrated every now and then but most people just assume that they are reading correctly. Someone locally needs to become a torque wrench expert so they can fix and calibrate ours for us. One could probably buy a set of tires a year with the money they'd make.

[Brucey]

I thought the reason for buying craftsman anything is because you can return it to the store, no questions asked?

[Potent357]

Unfortunately, Craftsman has gone the way of many other of the biggest brands and their precision tools are normally made by the vendor with the lowest bid. Therefore, quality takes a back seat to production cost. It's a lot like Dell computers. They used to be some of the best available, but now due to their market share, they are mostly made up by lowest bidder components and its a crap shoot if you get a good one.

The one reply asked about the Craftsman warranty. Scott is right, that broad warranty normally applies only to their hand tools. It's mostly sockets, ratchets and wrenches. Multi-component items like drills, saws and torque wrenches are, again, assembled outside the control of Craftsman and they carry their own standard warranty.

After being victimized by my own mid-level Craftsman torque wrench, I purchased a $15 (I think it was on sale for $11) Harbor Freight model that came in its own plastic carrying case.

I have since had it calibrated twice at the race track and it was within spec both times. It's now almost 4 years old and performs as new. Your mileage may vary, but at the purchase price, how can you go wrong.

As for maintaining a torque wrench, I got this advice from the MacTool salesman that calibrated mine: Never use the torque wrench to LOOSEN bolts. It should only be used to tighten to spec and should never be stored while under tension (i.e. reset it to zero)

Since then, I have kept my broken Craftsman to loosen my lugnuts and I only use the torque wrench for the final revolutions to the proper foot-lbs. It requires me to carry two torque wrenches, but I haven't had a failure.

[MountaineerSTi]

Unfortunately, Craftsman has gone the way of many other of the biggest brands...

Coincidence that you can now by Craftsman at K-mart?

[sts 50]

As to "what broke it?", I don't know - I pulled it out of the case at the airport event and the adjusting portion of the handle slid freely in and out and it wouldn't work. Interesting what Bill's Mac guy said about storing at "0" - the Craftsman instructions called for low tension, around 35 ft/lbs, for storage. I just checked the Home Depot, and their big, 1/2 inch drive, 50-250 Husky is warranted for life and is only $70. Those mega-cheap options sound tempting, though....

[ShortysTRM]

Wow, that makes me feel poor. "Only" $70?

[sts 50]

The Snap-on/MAC/Klein prices run in the $300+ range, to put that in perspective.

[gtfour77]

When stored, it should have very low tension...I ususally store mine at about 10 lbs... Just my .02...