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Found out my torque wrench was 30% off and it explains last year
I was calibrating my old torque wrench last week after a brake job kept failing the test drive. The shop manual said 80 ft-lbs on the caliper bracket, but I was getting clicks at barely 55. Turns out the internal spring had sagged after 6 years of daily use and one too many drops on the concrete floor. That means every lug nut and suspension bolt I torqued last season was probably under spec. I always figured a torque wrench was a set-it-and-forget-it tool until you send it out for service. Now I'm torn between buying a new one every year versus getting a beam-style backup for critical stuff. Anyone else trust their click-type longer than they should or do you guys have a replacement schedule that actually works?
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henderson.vera9d ago
Did you ever check the calibration on a beam wrench you just tossed in a drawer for years? I had one from my dad's garage that sat for maybe a decade, and it still read dead on when I finally tested it against a known weight. The click-types are the ones that drift, so now I keep a cheap beam for the important stuff and save the fancy one for when I actually need it.
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