# Torque Wrench (junk)



## kyfred

On 6-22-12 I bought a new Craftsman 1/2" drive Torque Wrench. I used it 4 times torquing lug nuts. Yesterday 11-1-12 something popped while torquing the lug nuts on a pickup truck and the wratchet part will not hold in the direction you use to tighten and torque what ever your are tightning. It will hold going the wrong direction. I took it back to Sears today and found out the new torque wrench 90 day warranty had already run out. The manager said it was still covered to be recalibrated but it doesn't need recalibrating it needs the wratchet head replaced. He said they would send it off for a price of $40.00 to see how much it would cost to repair and if I decided not to replace it I would be out the $40.00 The Torque Wrench item no.9 13919 it has the digital readout. Nice looking torque wrench, I paid $114.47 used 4 times comes to $28.62 per use before it broke. LOL


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## Vol

Yea, Sears is not much today compared to years past. Hate that for ya Fred. Guess it would pay a fella to go ahead and bite the bullet and get a good Snap-on or other reputable brand.

Regards, Mike


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## steve in IN

Not to sound like an ass but a tourqe wrench is very delicate. I have had Craftsman torque wrenches before and been happy. I dont understand the fee to check it out. In the long run I have purchased Snap-On torque wrenches and been very satisfied. I have not used them on tires but for heads and gaskets and other very sensitives things I have been very happy. The cost of tool is sometimes cheap compared to the cost of fixing or replacing a motor. Just my opinion. I had a friend who was a truck and tractor mechanic and he conviced me that a $100 tool is not worth a $1000 repair when a $200 tool would have done the job right the first time. Just my thoughts good luck Steve


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## kyfred

I'm not much of a mechanic, but I have found on cars and pickup trucks with disc brakes rather than overtightning with a impact wrench. When rotating tires I would torq to specs and I don't have any pulsing with the brakes. I had a cheap torque wrench that lasted for years and it finally broke so I thought I would get one a little better. I would like to get a Snap On but for no more of a mechanic than I am I thought this would serve the purpose. My brother in law is the mechanic in the family. It's what he does for a living on construction equipment and we work together on my farm and his, and my moms farm.


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## NewBerlinBaler

[sub]I had a [/sub][sub]Craftsman ½"-drive DigiTork torque wrench (cat 9.44597). Like Fred, mine was used mostly for lug nuts. The tool lasted only a few years. It wasn't the ratchet mechanism that failed but some internal part that allowed the tool to click when the desired torque was applied. I took it back to Sears and was surprised (shocked) when they tried to back-peddle on the Craftsman warranty. I managed to brow beat the clerk into giving me a free replacement.[/sub]

[sub]Sometimes it pays to be assertive. [/sub]

[sub]Gary[/sub]


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## mlappin

You have to check carefully, the few American made Craftsman products will still have lifetime warranty, the imported Chinese Craftsman crap has a 90 day warranty.

I have either a Matco or mac clicker, can't remember which, 1/2" drive, 225 ft lbs. Also have a 3/4 inch drive 600lb beam type.


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## Chessiedog

E bay find a good 100 percent feed back.. no negitves at all .. an buy snap on ..


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## somedevildawg

I guess I'm just a dumbass.....I've mechanized on every thing I own, just replaced camshaft on my sons jetta tdi last week, replaced the entire cooling system in my daughters 325xi this week. Most all of my tools are snap on, but I do have a few Chinese wrenches....just in case I need to modify one (had to cut one in half yesterday while adjusting the front bands on my sons jeep Cherokee tranny) but for the life of me, I can't ever remember putting a tongue wrench on any of my lug nuts, never.....I use a 1/2 inch ingersol rand impact or a 3/4 inch snap on impact, but my torque, just to delicate of an instrument to be installing lug nuts with......nuts on top of disc mower blades, torque.....head bolts, torque.... Oil pan bolts, ditto....etc. but lug nuts? I have better things to do than break out my torque wrench for lug nuts, like get back out in the field blowin smoke so I can scratch out a dollar....


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## NDVA HAYMAN

I still own a Snap-On that's a lot of years old. Occasionaly use it for flywheels, clutches, heads and such but it is a specialized tool that stays in the jobox locked up. I have never regretted buying snap on but I have mostly Craftsman. I did not know about the 90 day warranty. Thanks for that info. Mike


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## swmnhay

kyfred said:


> I'm not much of a mechanic, but I have found on cars and pickup trucks with disc brakes rather than overtightning with a impact wrench. When rotating tires I would torq to specs and I don't have any pulsing with the brakes.


Friend with a service station has a set of sockets that only tighten so far.they have a stem and it must give so much and only torques the lug nuts so much.So you do not over tighten them.We have checked them with a torque wrench and they tighten to what they say.Pretty slick.


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## kyfred

somedevildawg said:


> I guess I'm just a dumbass.....I've mechanized on every thing I own, just replaced camshaft on my sons jetta tdi last week, replaced the entire cooling system in my daughters 325xi this week. Most all of my tools are snap on, but I do have a few Chinese wrenches....just in case I need to modify one (had to cut one in half yesterday while adjusting the front bands on my sons jeep Cherokee tranny) but for the life of me, I can't ever remember putting a tongue wrench on any of my lug nuts, never.....I use a 1/2 inch ingersol rand impact or a 3/4 inch snap on impact, but my torque, just to delicate of an instrument to be installing lug nuts with......nuts on top of disc mower blades, torque.....head bolts, torque.... Oil pan bolts, ditto....etc. but lug nuts? I have better things to do than break out my torque wrench for lug nuts, like get back out in the field blowin smoke so I can scratch out a dollar....


The point I was trying to make is the Craftsman torque wrench that I bought no. 9 13919 turned out to be a piece of junk. If working it can be used on anything if it works. I don't like warped brake rotors on my vehicles. The point of this thread was to let others know to steer away from buying the same piece of crap tool that I purchaced


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## kyfred

swmnhay said:


> Friend with a service station has a set of sockets that only tighten so far.they have a stem and it must give so much and only torques the lug nuts so much.So you do not over tighten them.We have checked them with a torque wrench and they tighten to what they say.Pretty slick.


 A buddy of mine that we buy tires from has a set like what you are talking about Cy. To speed things up when he is busy I'll put the wheels on the vehicle while he is mounting and balancing. They work pretty slick. I was and am going to get another torque wrench to use on what ever. With my luck. Easier to have than to go borrow and take a chance on breaking.


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## Chessiedog

I agree Ky I use my torque wrench on what ever . Figured thats what it's made for to torque stuff ,be it a lug nut or something else .
I had bought a new S&k half inch drive troque wrench . Loaned it out and they backed it off too far , it was done for . So I found a like new snap on on ebay for about half the price of new .


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## gradyjohn

I figured when Sears was purchased by Kmart I needed to start looking for another supplier of my tools. It is a shame ... I still have some tools that were my dads and I'm approaching 70. I went the other day to buy a 3/4" drive set and they only had it in separate pieces. I am a member of the chraftsman club and that is a joke. They have specials every month but you have to keep checking. Oh Well! Another quality company down the tubes.


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## Vol

You are right Fred, when you bear down with a torque gun on your wheel lugnuts, it does put uneven pressure on the rotors and then you get uneven wear and the eventual shimmies when braking. Most folks don't care or don't realize this. Very few folks will go to the trouble of spec torquing their lugnuts. Hope you find a good wrench at a bargain.....you deserve one to be so careful.

Regards, Mike


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## somedevildawg

Well you guys are educating me.....while I certainly will attest that a quality torque wrench is hard to find nowadays, it's not impossible, just impossible to find at Kmart, Walmart, or any other department store, if you've ever seen any of the new roc craftsman tools you will see the diff and feel the diff. But then again, i havent bought craftsman since about 1990, thats when i first noticed that the craftsman brand had been highjacked by someone with their eye on the god all mighty dollar, to hell with the mechanic! i always thought it was crazy when peeps would say, "but they have a lifetime warranty" years ago that was a great warranty, nowadays its a sales gimmick, at the price of fuel, that ratchet will cost you alot more than the snap on in dollars, down time, and aggravation. My torque goes back in the case and dialed back to 0 everytime, owned it for about 25+ years, ain't never tightened a lug nut with it tho, maybe that's why it's still dead on, not that the act of tightening up a lug bolt is tough but the environment around tire changing is not where I want mine to be hanging out, usually I'm fairly pissed off when I'm having to change tires/brake pads, so the quicker the better. Don't guess I've ever had an issue with rotors warping, but maybe I did and didn't know it. All of my vehicles are either usa or german, no asian ones, maybe that makes a diff.


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## NewBerlinBaler

I have a Ford F-350 4x4 pickup with 51,000 miles that's now on its third set of front brake rotors as they keep warping. The pads are original and still look new - mostly highway miles, I guess.

I ALWAYS use a torque wrench when rotating or changing the tires. Friends & neighbors complain of the same problem with their Subaru, Chevy pickup, whatever. Replacement rotors - even from the dealer - are all made in China.


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## somedevildawg

NewBerlinBaler said:


> I have a Ford F-350 4x4 pickup with 51,000 miles that's now on its third set of front brake rotors as they keep warping. The pads are original and still look new - mostly highway miles, I guess.
> 
> I ALWAYS use a torque wrench when rotating or changing the tires. Friends & neighbors complain of the same problem with their Subaru, Chevy pickup, whatever. Replacement rotors - even from the dealer - are all made in China.


So I assume that the people changing are not using a torque wrench? Seems as though after 3 sets they would have gotten the bulletin on using a torque to tighten the lug nuts. I have never had a problem with brake rotors warping, with the exception of a set that was installed, not by me, on my wife's 750i. Bmw did that job and perhaps they didn't use a torque, maybe they didnt get the bulletin as well. I just know in my experience I haven't had that problem, and I've never used a torque wrench on my lug nuts, I also try to buy the best rotors that are available when I replace them, usually napa or dealership. Never the discount auto stores. But with all the foundries locating in china I suppose we will see more warped rotors in the future.
All this talk of torque wrenches and lug nuts makes me want to go check on mine just to make sure they are nestled into their case in my toolbox......been good to me over the years.....made in USA


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## Vol

somedevildawg said:


> All this talk of torque wrenches and lug nuts makes me want to go check on mine just to make sure they are nestled into their case in my toolbox......been good to me over the years.....made in USA


Better be keepin' close tabs on that bad boy(made in USA)....those will be hard and expensive to replace.









Regards, Mike


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## Mike120

This is interesting! I had never considered rotor warping resulting from over-tightening with an impact wrench. I guess I've been lucky, my impact and torque wrenches stay in my shop. I never seem to have to change a flat anywhere close to home, so hand-tightening is all they ever get. The kids at the tire store use impacts....I doubt they even know what a torque wrench is.


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## Chessiedog

I don't like going to sears much any more . Last time I went ,I was in a hurry to grab a small tool couple bucks. Get to the check out ,lady rings it up. Would you like to apply for our credit card ? No . Would you like something else ? NO . I just want to buy this and go . Would you like to talk to the manger ? NO . Well i can get him if you like . No . I just want to pay for ths item and leave .Please .. took longer jacking around with her than the trip in and back out ! Then the receipt is like three pages long . More paper the than the 2 dollars what ever it was I got .


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## somedevildawg

Yea that's a shame, sears used to be the best department store in America! Boy have they fallen, kenmore, craftsman, they carried good quality products and had a great catalog that I used to flip through for hours at a time. And if you went to the store, a great candy shop. Couldn't beat sears and Roebuck


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## Nitram

Check mine today after rotating tires made in USA craftsman should probably have kept mouth shut but so far so good. Martin


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## Shetland Sheepdog

Very interesting! The tire shops around here always torque the lug nuts after installing the nuts "snug" with an air impact, and give instructions to come back after 50 miles and have them re-torqued! Don't know what brand of torque wrenches they use, but they are clickers and they don't coddle them1 I suspect that the practice is driven by "protect against liability" more than worry about rotors, etc,
JMHO, Dave


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## Josh in WNY

Shetland Sheepdog said:


> Very interesting! The tire shops around here always torque the lug nuts after installing the nuts "snug" with an air impact, and give instructions to come back after 50 miles and have them re-torqued! Don't know what brand of torque wrenches they use, but they are clickers and they don't coddle them1 I suspect that the practice is driven by "protect against liability" more than worry about rotors, etc,
> JMHO, Dave


I suspect the "return in 50 miles" has more to do with aluminum rims than using the torque wrench. The aluminum likes to expand/contract a lot more than steel and the lugs can loosen up. I had one of the Craftsman 1/2 inch torque wrenches that went bad. My dad had gotten it for me for Christmas a few years back. It really mad him (and obviously me) mad when they wouldn't replace it because it was a 90-day warranty (my dad had just assumed it was still the good old Craftsman lifetime warranty). I just purchased a new torque wrench from Northern Tool, but haven't had it long enough to form an opinion yet. It does have a limited lifetime warranty.


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## somedevildawg

Saw in our local auto store the other day a torque wrench made by ATD. That said it was made in USA. Looked like a decent tool, other tools I have from ATD have proven to be good. Thnk it was 1/2 and little more than 200$


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