Torque wrenches

[cbfb]

Thanks, that one has been waiting for an answer for a while now!

[schrodingers cat]

I have two for carrying out various jobs on my bike. One 3/8 drive 10-100 ftlbs for mainly tightening the axle nut ..

Simply VFT with a nutfucker. In the big scheme of things having the nuts on torque on a 22mm (ish ?) thread is neither here nor there

Then another 4.4-22 ftlbs 1/4 drive for more delicate jobs like fitting spark plugs.

Seriously? Sure you're not being too anal?

Me too
Always reset to zero after use so they aren't stored under tension

$800 worth of torque driver:

Attachment 201178

And you get it calibrated every year or so????


In answer to the post - 3/8 drive. Get a decent one, it will serve you all your life.

Use it to train your hands. Torque the fastener up. Get a spanner or favorite rachet and tighten it up again. Check with torque wrench. Learning has occured.

I'm not suggesting that you can have sufficient feel to not bother with a torque wrench. Folks who suggest they have are knobs. However there is more chance of an over tightened fastener failing than an undertightened. Not to mention stripped threads etc
Bikes are full of M5 and M6 fasteners. Most of them are overtightened...

[Brian d marge]

Those things are horrid!

why are they horrid young sir???

Stephen

[Brian d marge]

Hrm, my hands are calibrated from about 20nm to about 80nm, and my right boot from about 60-200nm.

Anything under 20nm, use a proper tool for, or I use my calibrated wrist or thumb .


Steve

works for me and all , have a top of the range super duper snap on torque wrench , it doesn't unfortunately come with the optional extra , Common sense ,, I had to supply that myself

at a guess its probably about 20 or 30 % out of calibration ,,, plus the thread co efficient ,,, it will be in the ball park somewhere Not bad for three hundred pound twenty years ago!!!

Stephen

[neels]

Calibration at:

Strainer Systems Ltd
Unit 7
318 Beach Haven Road

Beach Haven

North Shore City

Auckland 0626
PO Box 40537
Glenfield

Or Air New Zealand Calibration do them as well, either Auckland or Christchurch.

Would recommend them over strainer systems, and not just because I used to work there....

There may be someone local that can check a torque wrench for you, if not there is always the bolt through a bit of metal, tape measure and weight on a string method for a rough check. Just keep adding weight until it clicks, total weight x distance and you'll have an idea of if it's close or not.

[dipshit]

Simply VFT with a nutfucker. In the big scheme of things having the nuts on torque on a 22mm (ish ?) thread is neither here nor there



Seriously? Sure you're not being too anal?

Nope. Suzuki spic calls for 72 lb-ft.

50 lb-ft not enough.

90 lb-ft too much.

Sorry, what can I say.

[Brian d marge]

Nope. Suzuki spic calls for 72 lb-ft.

50 lb-ft not enough.

90 lb-ft too much.

Sorry, what can I say.

good luck in getting 72
is that a greased thread or a completly dry thread , threads ok?

Stephen

[dipshit]

good luck in getting 72
is that a greased thread or a completly dry thread , threads ok?

Stephen

Completly dry.

I buy new for that reason.

At lest I can get it closer than a MC shop that will say have it at 50 lb-ft after a tyre change.

[dipshit]

threads ok?

Oh. If no gorilla has ever over torqued it then the threads should be ok.

That's the point of using a torque wrench form the get-go.

[Brian d marge]

Completly dry.

I buy new for that reason.

At lest I can get it closer than a MC shop that will say have it at 50 lb-ft after a tyre change.

Think about whats happening on say a whhel nut ,,,, then think about how a nut works , then relax

IF you want to run the thing to its ideal , ie thin wall large dia , 90 % of the proof stress is where you are aiming

and the best way is by measuring the stretch if the axil, bolt , screw

Arnt bmw head bolts , snug plus 180deg??

Torque wrenches are a good guide but must be backed up with common sense

Stephen

[tri boy]

Torque wrenches are a good guide but must be backed up with common sense

Stephen

Yup.
But anal muppets will argue that "by the book" is the only way.
(thats why it took NASA engineers over 8hrs to remove one door screw on the shuttle a few years back, they still fucked it up, and delayed launch by 3 days).
By the book

[jonbuoy]

Bump...

After today's experience I could say Ripco when I take it back under warranty

But seriously how do you check it's working properly before you snap your cam journal holder bolt off

A tape measure and some weights, loads of websites on how to do a quick and dirty DIY calibration/testing. If you don´t have a torque wrench and its steel into ally hold the ratchet at near to the nut end to nip up. Torque settings on motorcycle nuts and bolts can be misleading, usually you can feel when your tightening a bolt or just about to start stripping a thread.

[imdying]

Well, that's not entirely fair. It only took a little over an hour, and did you see where that screw was? And what sort of tools they had to remove it with? I'd have been pretty careful drilling that shit out next to such a large fully fueled tank.

[Brian d marge]

Yup.
But anal muppets will argue that "by the book" is the only way.
(thats why it took NASA engineers over 8hrs to remove one door screw on the shuttle a few years back, they still fucked it up, and delayed launch by 3 days).
By the book

its a very good way , The manuals I have for my Crs are WELL read ,

and i know the people who write the books , ( honda anyway ) They would struggle to write a workshop manual for my enfield ,,,,)

Stephen

[dipshit]

Think about whats happening on say a whhel nut ,,,, then think about how a nut works , then relax

Ok, so if you think 50 lb-ft is ok on an axle nut that calls for 70 lb-ft - then is 40 lb-ft ok as well...??? Where is the line of it not being tight enough...???

On earlier GSX-Rs with the basically box section aluminium swingarms - you could damage them by over tightening the axle nut and you started to crush the aluminium. People using a torque wrench to factory spec would more likely avoid that damage.

A GSX-R forum I hang out on is constantly getting people who have over tightened their sump plug and actually cracked the bottom of the sump pan. The thread didn't strip first - the pan cracked! People who use a torque wrench on the sump plug don't seem to have as many problems with them. Once someone that has tried to guess by hand and over tightened - has stretched and damage the thread from then on in.

I can understand mechanics at bike shops not bothering to use torque wrenches as much on routine maintenance jobs because of the large number of different bikes they see each day. It would be impractical to keep workshop manuals for every bike in existence and/or to take the time to look torque specs up all the time.

Someone like myself working on my own bike at home can take all the time in the world to do a job.