Purchasing torque wrench - 3/8 or 1/2 inch?

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Pajamarama

Initially, I will use this torque wrench to change the timing belt on my 97 Accord.


With all the money you're saving by doing the work yourself, why not get a good quality torque wrench?

For 181 ft.lbs., I'd want a 1/2 in drive. Look at CDI or Precision Instruments for good quality torque wrenches.

 

[Pajamarama]

I would like to be able to purchase a top quality tool but I may have to settle for a merely average one. I took a look at CDI and Precision Instruments online. The thing is I just don't have $150 - $200 for a torque wrench. If I had that kind of money, I'd probably just go to the dealership for my service.

I noticed that Auto Zone has a Loan-A-Tool program which I am going to investigate tomorrow at lunch. They say they have torque wrenches available.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/inourstores/lat/latLanding.jsp?bodyContent=valvetrainRepair

If that doesn't work out, I will either get the Northern Tool or Sears versions I linked to earlier.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
The thing is I just don't have $150 - $200 for a torque wrench. If I had that kind of money, I'd probably just go to the dealership for my service.


You think you could get by with only a $150 - $200 repair bill from the dealership?

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted By: Pajamarama

Initially, I will use this torque wrench to change the timing belt on my 97 Accord.


Pajamarama,

Unfortunately, you won't use the torque wrench to change the timing belt. The only time you will need that torque wrench is to tighten the crankshaft pulley bolt. You might use the Torque wrench to tighten a few other bolts as well, but you need an impact gun and a crankshaft pulley holder like this one listed here to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Honda-Acura-Harmo...=item3a7a50e654

I changed the timing belt on my 97 Civic and I also needed some gear wrenches to get at the bolts on the timing belt cover. It makes it a whole lot easier of a job.

http://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-Flex-Head-Combination-Ratcheting-Wrench/dp/B0002NYD3U
Regards, JC.

 

[cptbarkey]

i am using a 3/8th and 1/2 (only up to 150lbs) harbor freight torque wrench to rebuild some subaru engines, both work great and are dirt cheap for 9.99 each with a coupon. I do want to get a better quality 1/2 but its not important.

 

[Pajamarama]

Originally Posted By: JC1
Originally Posted By: Pajamarama

Initially, I will use this torque wrench to change the timing belt on my 97 Accord.


Pajamarama,

Unfortunately, you won't use the torque wrench to change the timing belt. The only time you will need that torque wrench is to tighten the crankshaft pulley bolt. You might use the Torque wrench to tighten a few other bolts as well, but you need an impact gun and a crankshaft pulley holder like this one listed here to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt.


I am planning on following these instructions which don't require an impact gun to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt.

http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1908944

I am borrowing the pulley holder tool from a friend who has one.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
Originally Posted By: Falken
Paja, that is an in-lbs torque wrench, only good for oil pans and stuff, you can't torque lugs with it it is too tiny.


Holy carp, you're right. Guess it pays to read the fine print.

So it's looking like I'll need the 1/2 inch with a possibility of needing a separate 3/8 inch one for the lower values.

I found this one at Sears. What do you guys think -- any good? The price is certainly right.

http://www.searsoutlet.com/d/product_details.jsp?pid=104210&mode=seeAll


That wrench is junk, the handles move on them and they will not stand behind them, it cost almost as much to fix it as a new one and they make it nearly impossible to fix.

Kobalt will stand behind theirs.

Here is my story about Craftsman TW's:

Quote:
So, I have a craftsman torque wrench. Its several years (like 6 or 8 ) old but rarely used. The last time I got it out to use it I noticed the plastic handle slides up on the metal handle which makes it impossible to tell what setting it is on.

Well today it worked its way up on the to do list, I know it is not warranted for life so I get the owners manual out and start looking for a repair address. None to be found and no telephone number. buried on about page 5 I find "for service return to store". We have one of those little "Hometown" Sears stores in town so I pack myself over there and am greeted by a somewhat disinterested young lady who advises me before I even get to the counter that "torque wrenches are only warranted for 1 year".

The rest of the conversation goes something like this...

• I know but, can it be repaired
• No you can only replace the ratchet part
• Well they can calibrate them right? That might take care of it?
• You will have to go to union city for that (which by the way union city can't do)

So I am a little irritated and say "well that is not very helpful" and she goes back to read ing Vogue or whatever it was...

I get home and get on the web to try to locate information, I can't really find a telephone number but get a hold of the parts department and the gentleman there was helpful, he thought it was a "hand powered tool and should be warranted for life" (not that I disagree, but I knew it wasn't when I bought it) he also found a number for a repair depot in Kennesaw and was transferring me to the Craftsman's sales for a chance at more information when the transfer failed. So I decide to use the number for the repair center. I get Bill who does some checking and finds it can be repaired for a flat rate roughly equal to the cost of a new one (OK, it is like 20.00 less).

So I call the local store and try to explain that they gave me wrong information, I was wrongly thinking that they would want to know the correct answer, and get the "You need to go to a company store" (also incorrect, no store can repair it) and I'm sure when you buy something there they don't say "oh we aren't a company store, so we can't help you after you pay..." and starts arguing with me...

Now here's the thing, if the local store cared about the customer, they would have figured all this out for me and offered to do the sending off, that is my main beef, the second one is that they should make the repair more cost effective because throwing the wrench away and getting a new one is just wasteful.

Thanks for listening...


And then Kobalt:

Quote:
Well, I never updated this, but a few weeks after I bought one of the Kobalts, I was using it Thursday for about the second time and the lock and torque ring came apart.

The girl at Lowe's took one look at it and said "Go get another one" a grand total of 10 minutes to replace it with no questions asked.

Now you guys are probably thinking I'm pretty hard on torque wrenches, but really I'm not, I think this stuff is just junk...


The wrench itself isn't any better, but at least Lowe's stands behind the product.

YMMV

 

[Vikas]

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
i am using a 3/8th and 1/2 (only up to 150lbs) harbor freight torque wrench to rebuild some subaru engines, both work great and are dirt cheap for 9.99 each with a coupon. I do want to get a better quality 1/2 but its not important.


Get the 1/4 one too. It is very good.

As far as the Honda crank bolt is concerned, as far as I know, nobody torques them using a torque wrench. Whatever torque you put them on, magically that torque gets doubled or quadrupled Has anybody ever heard of that crank bolt coming off lose on its own?

Assuming the factory torque spec on that bolt is slightly under 200 ft-lb, not a single one comes off unless you use a 700+ ft-lb of impact gun on it. You should have no fear that the bolt will accidentally come off after you tighten it enough.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
As far as the Honda crank bolt is concerned, as far as I know, nobody torques them using a torque wrench. Whatever torque you put them on, magically that torque gets doubled or quadrupled Has anybody ever heard of that crank bolt coming off lose on its own?


Vikas, what does the part in red mean?

Couldn't a person just put marks on the crank bolt, tighten it back to those marks, and be close enough?

 

[Vikas]

I have no idea why but the Honda crank bolts are legendary for not coming off easily. They are definitely NOT tighten to that ridiculous torque at the factory. Something causes them to become extremely difficult to budge.

Marking is a great idea though.

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted By: Pajamarama

I am planning on following these instructions which don't require an impact gun to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt.

http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1908944

I am borrowing the pulley holder tool from a friend who has one.


I've read about people using a 5 ft long breaker bar to get the crankshaft bolt off. I'm sure it would take some time to do this. I've also heard of people wedging a breaker bar on the bolt and the floor and then starting the vehicle for 1/2 a second to get the bolt free. On a honda, I don't think you can do this due to the reversed thread or something like that.



Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Originally Posted By: Vikas
As far as the Honda crank bolt is concerned, as far as I know, nobody torques them using a torque wrench. Whatever torque you put them on, magically that torque gets doubled or quadrupled Has anybody ever heard of that crank bolt coming off lose on its own?


Vikas, what does the part in red mean?

Couldn't a person just put marks on the crank bolt, tighten it back to those marks, and be close enough?


What happens is that the crank shaft bolt gets tighter due to the rotation of the engine after it's reinstalled. I'm not sure what the proper term is, but that is what happens

Those bolts will not come off by themselves. Using marks will not magically set the torque you need tools to do this.

Regards, JC.

 

[Vikas]

I am saying that 150 ft-lb would be tight enough on that bolt. Mind you this is only my guess but I do know that many mechanics wing it and never use torque wrench for that bolt.

On some Honda, starter trick works. If the engine pulley rotates in clock-wise direction and if you jam the bolt, starter bump will do the trick. But if the engine is spins in counter clock wise, you will be tightening that bolt even more!

 

[JC1]

When I was getting the information about changing timing belts for my 98 Sienna, I read on a forum that a Toyota mechanic could change the timing belt in 60 mins flat. He knew all the short cuts, problem spots etc. He mentioned that his Toyota dealership where he worked expected that he be done in a maxiumum of 2 hours. I can't recall if that included the water pump as well.

The pros know what works and what doesn't. I'm sure all of us shadetree mechanics panic over things they don't

Regards, JC.

 

[Vikas]

There is a Honda dealership in South Jersey who does them en masse and charges $400. Less than four hours of wall clock time.