I had so much fun putting that intake in solo that I just can't wait to do it again!

I'll be getting a new torque wrench, which was a click type. Unfortunately, the first and only click I heard was the click of the bolt twisting in twain.

I'm thinking those beam types have to be more robust, right? Isn't much to go wrong on those guys and I'll never pull it out after months/years of not using it wondering whether it's still working correctly. On the other hand, they're probably not as accurate as the click type.

What do you guys think? If you had to own only one, click or beam?

 

I've got a click type, a beam type and a dial indicator one from Snap-On (which is basically a beam hooked to a dial.) I've compared all three and they seem identical as far as torque.
The advantage of a click is you don't have to look at the dial all the time. If you need a rotating reading such as adjusting a pinion bearing a dial or beam is needed. Sorry for the "run-on" but: order of preference.
1. Click
2.Dial
3. Beam
4. Jim Beam

 

Seems to be the consensus of people I know, as well. Just, I dunno, after today I'm not sure whether I can trust them. I've bought another clicker but I think I'll have to make up a rig to make sure it's calibrated before using.

 

Buy a good quality click one. Theyr'e accurate and easy to use. If you have it on a low setting it may be hard to hear the click.

Also anytime you are not using it, SET IT OFF. They run on a spring, and if you leave a torque setting on it for a while, it will lose its accuracy.

 

I disagree with the order - digital should be #1. Other than that, the order is fine.

Seriously, the accuracy on digital is much higher. And clickers don't usually give the right reading for the first few clicks each day, so should be "warmed up".

 

For accuracy click type usually isn't the way to go as there's as tendency to jerk it some when it clicks which adds a bit more torque.
That said I have click type, beam type and a CDI I bought a couple years ago when I want very accurate.


For the average job the type probably doesn't matter as much as it being a quality make. The other thing that most people never do is calibrate them before a job that demands high accuracy.

 

I didn't calibrate mine (didn't know it was needed or how to do it) and broke a bolt. Lessons hardest learned are best remembered!

 

Was it a new bolt that broke? Was it the correct grade bolt for the application? Were you reading the right scale when you set it?
There are a lot of variables that come in to play that could result in a bolt breaking.

 

New bolt, grade 5 (replacement bolts picked individually, grade 8). Set it to 264 in lb. It felt like a lot more torque than what I expected 22 ft lbs to be. In my case, I trusted that my tools were working properly. They were not. Should have trusted my gut on that one.

Now I know how to calibrate them properly so hopefully there will not be a repeat of this in the future and if there is then at least it won't be to my own stupidity. Maybe. Sometimes I surprise even myself

 

I broke a mounting ear off a carb as I was installing it because my clicker torque wrench over-torqued the nut. Turns out, as previously said, the first few clicks each day on a clicker aren't in spec, so they must be warmed up.

I used my new digital CDI 1/2" drive to torque lug nuts the other day. So easy! Just set the wrench to the desired limit and start ratcheting. When you are close the yellow LED lights, so you slow down. When you are "there" the green one lights and a beep sounds, so you stop. If you go over the red one lights and you back off and go again. Then, when you are done just put the wrench back in the box and it'll shut itself off. No need to set it to the lowest setting to protect the spring, and it'll remember the last setting.

 

Gary, where did you get that digital CDI wrench from? Sounds like I should add one to my collection.

 

Got it from Amazon: . But, my bride of 46 years, as of Saturday, insisted I include the 1/4" and 3/8" with the order. And, since it was for my birthday how could I refuse?

 

Thanks, Gary.
Is your wife for sale or trade??? She sounds like a real keeper.

 

Sorry, but she's spoken for. She is a keeper, for sure.

As for the torque wrench, I should have mentioned how the over-torqued alarm is helpful. My son hung the wheels on his wife's Murano and I handed him the "little" Ridgid impact that'll go to 45 ft-lbs and told him to tighten the lugs in an alternating pattern. That gets them tight enough to set the vehicle on the ground w/o damaging the wheels from loose nuts, but still leaves room to torque them to spec - which is 80 ft-lbs in this case.

He did and we lowered the lift and I handed him the CDI torque wrench set to 80 ft-lbs. And on the first lug nut it lit the red LED before the nut even moved. How could that be??? That impact can't possibly put out that much torque! Then it dawned on me - he put the top nut on and tightened it down with the wheel hanging at an angle on the hub. Then, when he put the other nuts on and tightened them down it put the first one in a lot of tension as the wheel mated with the hub. So, we loosened things up and re tightened, and then torqued them.

Now, think about if we'd have been using a clicker. It would have clicked and we'd have thought we hit 80 ft-lbs with little or no movement. But, we wouldn't have realized we were way over-torqued and would have finished the job and called it good. However, that rotor would probably have warped in usage as it had way too much torque on one lug. So, the wrench saved us.

 

Gentlemen,

Gary is well known and respected in the 1980 - 1986 F150 Forum. I smiled when Mr. GLR asked if Gary's wife is for sale or trade! He [GLR] is impressed that Gary's sweet wife encouraged [insisted?] that he include a 1/4" and 3/8" torque wrench with his order. Well, let me say, "That is nothing"! Ask Gary to whom he credits ordering his very special 2015 F150?