As others have stated, common torque wrench values are a good guide.
40-200in-lbs for 1/4”
100-1000in-lbs for 3/8”
50-250ft-lbs for 1/2”
40-200in-lbs for 1/4”
100-1000in-lbs for 3/8”
50-250ft-lbs for 1/2”
Torque Limits
- Thread starter vavavroom
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Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
As others have stated, common torque wrench values are a good guide.
40-200in-lbs for 1/4”
100-1000in-lbs for 3/8”
50-250ft-lbs for 1/2”
Torque wrench range and drive size give a good idea what torque the mechanism of the torque wrench can withstand. My SK torque wrench with a 1/2" drive tops out at 100 ft lbs. The torque limit of any 1/2" drive is certainly not 100 ft lbs. Surely a breaker bar with 1/2" drive can handle a lot more torque than 100 ft lbs.
As others have stated, common torque wrench values are a good guide.
40-200in-lbs for 1/4”
100-1000in-lbs for 3/8”
50-250ft-lbs for 1/2”
Torque wrench range and drive size give a good idea what torque the mechanism of the torque wrench can withstand. My SK torque wrench with a 1/2" drive tops out at 100 ft lbs. The torque limit of any 1/2" drive is certainly not 100 ft lbs. Surely a breaker bar with 1/2" drive can handle a lot more torque than 100 ft lbs.
I gave you what I felt were appropriate torques for various drive sizes. I don't care about your specific torque wrench, nor would I waste money on a 1/2" drive torque wrench that only goes up to 100ft-lbs. The numbers I used are fairly standard to my industry.
Breaker bars are good up until the point that they're not. It all depends on quality and I suggest you ask the manufacturer of your tool. I've broken a 1/2" breaker bar on a wheel bolt. I've also used a 1/4" breaker with a cheater to break nuts torqued to 625in-lbs. One of those breaker bars was a quality tool.
Breaker bars are good up until the point that they're not. It all depends on quality and I suggest you ask the manufacturer of your tool. I've broken a 1/2" breaker bar on a wheel bolt. I've also used a 1/4" breaker with a cheater to break nuts torqued to 625in-lbs. One of those breaker bars was a quality tool.
Originally Posted By: vavavroom
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
As others have stated, common torque wrench values are a good guide.
40-200in-lbs for 1/4”
100-1000in-lbs for 3/8”
50-250ft-lbs for 1/2”
Torque wrench range and drive size give a good idea what torque the mechanism of the torque wrench can withstand. My SK torque wrench with a 1/2" drive tops out at 100 ft lbs. The torque limit of any 1/2" drive is certainly not 100 ft lbs. Surely a breaker bar with 1/2" drive can handle a lot more torque than 100 ft lbs.
These may help you?
http://www.fourwheeler.com/product-reviews/1406-half-inch-ratchet-shootout/
http://www.sonic.net/~alexz/Ratchet%20shootout.pdf
Sorry I cant find one on 1/4". As Roofless said a lot of it has to do with tool quality, they are not all the same but you can get a low and high range.
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
As others have stated, common torque wrench values are a good guide.
40-200in-lbs for 1/4”
100-1000in-lbs for 3/8”
50-250ft-lbs for 1/2”
Torque wrench range and drive size give a good idea what torque the mechanism of the torque wrench can withstand. My SK torque wrench with a 1/2" drive tops out at 100 ft lbs. The torque limit of any 1/2" drive is certainly not 100 ft lbs. Surely a breaker bar with 1/2" drive can handle a lot more torque than 100 ft lbs.
These may help you?
http://www.fourwheeler.com/product-reviews/1406-half-inch-ratchet-shootout/
http://www.sonic.net/~alexz/Ratchet%20shootout.pdf
Sorry I cant find one on 1/4". As Roofless said a lot of it has to do with tool quality, they are not all the same but you can get a low and high range.
Originally Posted By: vavavroom
Interesting info so far. I have a 36mm socket with a 3/8" drive. A 36mm socket is commonly used for axle nuts. Axle nuts require often around 150 ft lbs. That seems to me a lot of torque for a 3/8" drive. I'd like to rephrase my original question. What's the maximum torque you can put on a 1/4", 3/9" and 1/2" drive respectively without damaging the drive? Let's say you are using a breaker bar, even though you'd likely be using a torque wrench that is rated appropriately.
36mm is also a common size for cartridge oil filter caps, Just like old 1-1/16" sender sockets.....Big hex but not made for a lot of torque.
I use my 1/2" drive impact or 1/2" drive ratchet when tearing stuff down, Break-away torque has nothing to do with what the fastener was originally torqued to.
During re-assembly.....Roofless gave some pretty good guideline numbers, I would fudge the numbers higher for 3/8" & 1/2" when using high quality tools.
1/4" is low torque only. Though I do have some 1/4" drive impact wobbles that I beat the brakes off of with a cordless impact driver!
Interesting info so far. I have a 36mm socket with a 3/8" drive. A 36mm socket is commonly used for axle nuts. Axle nuts require often around 150 ft lbs. That seems to me a lot of torque for a 3/8" drive. I'd like to rephrase my original question. What's the maximum torque you can put on a 1/4", 3/9" and 1/2" drive respectively without damaging the drive? Let's say you are using a breaker bar, even though you'd likely be using a torque wrench that is rated appropriately.
36mm is also a common size for cartridge oil filter caps, Just like old 1-1/16" sender sockets.....Big hex but not made for a lot of torque.
I use my 1/2" drive impact or 1/2" drive ratchet when tearing stuff down, Break-away torque has nothing to do with what the fastener was originally torqued to.
During re-assembly.....Roofless gave some pretty good guideline numbers, I would fudge the numbers higher for 3/8" & 1/2" when using high quality tools.
1/4" is low torque only. Though I do have some 1/4" drive impact wobbles that I beat the brakes off of with a cordless impact driver!
Originally Posted By: vavavroom
My SK torque wrench with a 1/2" drive tops out at 100 ft lbs. The torque limit of any 1/2" drive is certainly not 100 ft lbs. Surely a breaker bar with 1/2" drive can handle a lot more torque than 100 ft lbs.
My Proto 1/2" ratchet head torque wrench (click style) adjusts to 250 lb-ft. I've never, myself, used it at over 200. With 5/8", 3/4" and 1" SHCS, the shop has a 3/4" torque wrench to finish things up. Those 1" require about 900+ lb-ft.
My SK torque wrench with a 1/2" drive tops out at 100 ft lbs. The torque limit of any 1/2" drive is certainly not 100 ft lbs. Surely a breaker bar with 1/2" drive can handle a lot more torque than 100 ft lbs.
My Proto 1/2" ratchet head torque wrench (click style) adjusts to 250 lb-ft. I've never, myself, used it at over 200. With 5/8", 3/4" and 1" SHCS, the shop has a 3/4" torque wrench to finish things up. Those 1" require about 900+ lb-ft.
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
I gave you what I felt were appropriate torques for various drive sizes. I don't care about your specific torque wrench, nor would I waste money on a 1/2" drive torque wrench that only goes up to 100ft-lbs. The numbers I used are fairly standard to my industry.
Breaker bars are good up until the point that they're not. It all depends on quality and I suggest you ask the manufacturer of your tool. I've broken a 1/2" breaker bar on a wheel bolt. I've also used a 1/4" breaker with a cheater to break nuts torqued to 625in-lbs. One of those breaker bars was a quality tool.
I mentioned my SK torque wrench only because the fact that this torque wrench with a 1/2" drive tops out as 100 ft lbs is evidence that the torque wrench's range is not necessarily an indication of what the 1/2" drive can handle. A waste of money it was not to me because I wanted a short 1/2" drive torque wrench that would be very accurate in the two-digit range. I have other torque wrenches, with a larger range for other purposes. The drive size is not necessarily closely related to the maximum torque but rather to the desired range. So much for that. As for answering my own question, I suppose I could put 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" drives into a vise and see how much torque it takes to deform them permanently. I'll do that when I get a chance.
I gave you what I felt were appropriate torques for various drive sizes. I don't care about your specific torque wrench, nor would I waste money on a 1/2" drive torque wrench that only goes up to 100ft-lbs. The numbers I used are fairly standard to my industry.
Breaker bars are good up until the point that they're not. It all depends on quality and I suggest you ask the manufacturer of your tool. I've broken a 1/2" breaker bar on a wheel bolt. I've also used a 1/4" breaker with a cheater to break nuts torqued to 625in-lbs. One of those breaker bars was a quality tool.
I mentioned my SK torque wrench only because the fact that this torque wrench with a 1/2" drive tops out as 100 ft lbs is evidence that the torque wrench's range is not necessarily an indication of what the 1/2" drive can handle. A waste of money it was not to me because I wanted a short 1/2" drive torque wrench that would be very accurate in the two-digit range. I have other torque wrenches, with a larger range for other purposes. The drive size is not necessarily closely related to the maximum torque but rather to the desired range. So much for that. As for answering my own question, I suppose I could put 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" drives into a vise and see how much torque it takes to deform them permanently. I'll do that when I get a chance.
Originally Posted By: clinebarger
36mm is also a common size for cartridge oil filter caps, Just like old 1-1/16" sender sockets.....Big hex but not made for a lot of torque.
That explains the socket I have. I've never had an engine that required a cartridge filter, and I was unaware of the 36mm socket for cartridge filter housings. Ni idea why I have that socket!
36mm is also a common size for cartridge oil filter caps, Just like old 1-1/16" sender sockets.....Big hex but not made for a lot of torque.
That explains the socket I have. I've never had an engine that required a cartridge filter, and I was unaware of the 36mm socket for cartridge filter housings. Ni idea why I have that socket!
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