Torque Wrench- How much effort?

[5picker]

I'm going to go a different direction here...

I had a complete tear of my rotator cuff and upper pectoral muscle about 2 years ago, had surgery and have totally recovered.

I can do things now I couldn't do for years.
My Dr. told me with the repair he did, I'd never tear it again.

I do not hesitate to do whatever I want out of fear I'll reinjure it.

Torque 'em up!

[babock]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

But another option is to buy a 100 ft. lb. torque stick and use it with a long breaker bar. My Harbor Freight 25" Breaker Bar is actually 21" from center of the square drive to center of the gripping handle (when the head is folded to 90 degrees). That would be
(100 ft. lbs.)/(21/12 ft.) = 57 lbs. I consider this a reasonable solution. Recognize, however, that the torque stick extension is 13.2" long. You will have to support the breaker bar at both ends, applying tension on one end as you apply compression on the other end. Can the OP do that with the damaged shoulder.

A torque stick without using an impact wrench? How is that supposed to work?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by 5picker

I'm going to go a different direction here...

I had a complete tear of my rotator cuff and upper pectoral muscle about 2 years ago, had surgery and have totally recovered.

I can do things now I couldn't do for years.
My Dr. told me with the repair he did, I'd never tear it again.

I do not hesitate to do whatever I want out of fear I'll reinjure it.

Torque 'em up!

After my injuries and repairs all my doctors told me they would only heal as well as I used the repaired parts. When my leg was crushed in a M/C accident my orthopedist told me about Wolff's Law:

Wolff's Law states that your bones will adapt based on the stress or demands placed on them. When you work your muscles, they put stress on your bones. In response, your bone tissue remodels and becomes stronger.

Muscles respond the same. In short, "Use it or lose it".

[Chuckinca]

Ask your Doctor


.

[bobm253]

My practice has always been to add a cheater bar to the tool. You can go to any hardware type store and get a piece of pipe in any length and diameter you need.

My motorhome tires were a bear to loosen so I purchased a small impact socket from harbor freight and a 3 foot piece of pipe from Home Depot. It was amazing how little force was needed to loosen the bolts. I keep it in the RV.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by babock

A torque stick without using an impact wrench? How is that supposed to work?

That would be a problem.

I was visualizing it as similar to a clicker torque wrench with multiple detents, but it's more like a bender-bar torque wrench with no indicator.

[rfifer]

Years ago (as in MANY years ago) I worked in my uncle's mechanic shop on large diesel engines. There were occasions when bolts had to be torqued to a particular level of tightness. To help with the effort, I learned to use a pipe extension on the handle of the torque wrench. The longer the pipe, the less effort is required to torque a bolt. Just slip the pipe over the handle of the wrench to extend it. But, and this is a great big BUT, be careful to monitor the torque level or use a click wrench to know when you have done enough. Because it takes less effort, it is very possible to over-torque the bolt, and you really don't want to do that. But if post-op strength is a significant issue, then the pipe extension may help.

[Comanchecreek]

You're more likely to hurt yourself taking the tire and wheel off of the studs, than using a torque wrench. Most 1/2 inch torque wrenches have long handles for ease of use. I carry a cheapy with me in my trailer just to be able to check while traveling. Be sure you have a socket, (try it before you need it), to fit your wheels as many of the newer trailers use wheels that don't have a lot of space around the lug nut.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by rfifer

Years ago (as in MANY years ago) I worked in my uncle's mechanic shop on large diesel engines. There were occasions when bolts had to be torqued to a particular level of tightness. To help with the effort, I learned to use a pipe extension on the handle of the torque wrench. The longer the pipe, the less effort is required to torque a bolt. Just slip the pipe over the handle of the wrench to extend it. But, and this is a great big BUT, be careful to monitor the torque level or use a click wrench to know when you have done enough. Because it takes less effort, it is very possible to over-torque the bolt, and you really don't want to do that. But if post-op strength is a significant issue, then the pipe extension may help.

A pipe extension works on a clicker type torque wrench. You cannot get an accurate torque on a bender bar torque wrench because force must be applied only to the handle pivot point, nowhere else.

[rsdata]

I have a travel trailer with 15" wheels and want to repack my own wheel bearings, saving me a trip to the dealer.

I would be taking the trailer to a tire shop or general repair shop for a bearing repack... nothing different on a trailer that a tire shop could not do better then 90% of RV dealers out there.

[Chuck_S]

I don't have a torque wrench with enough capacity to set the lugs on my Ford Expedition so use a bit of math and body weight to get the 150 lb.ft required. 180 pounds on the end of a 10" wrench handle (or mark the handle at 10"). My battery rattle gun won't take them to 150 so I run it until it stalls and then use the "torque wrench." Never had a flat on this vehicle but did pull the wheels to fit splash guards.

On my lil' Honda S2000 roadster I use a 65 lb.ft torque stick on my rattle gun and then torque to 80; the wheels come off every couple of years to bleed the brakes, etc. Same on the trailer with a torque to 100. I don't change trailer wheels often enough to have another torque stick but do check the trailer before every weekend along with tire pressure. Another reason for me to not use a 100 lb.ft torque stick on the trailer is I want to know if they loosened. They rarely turn but I doubt I'd know that using a torque stick.

Wheel lug/nut torque is a dry torque. Clean the threads if necessary but don't lubricate them.

-- Chuck

[Trawlerphil]

Here's the one I use, lighter than a torque wrench or torque sticks, takes up less space in my tool box, and if your 1/2" breaker bar feels like work, put a pipe on the end. It will torque 29 to 147 lbs.
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...ter-63917.html

[babock]

Originally Posted by Trawlerphil

Here's the one I use, lighter than a torque wrench or torque sticks, takes up less space in my tool box, and if your 1/2" breaker bar feels like work, put a pipe on the end. It will torque 29 to 147 lbs.
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...ter-63917.html

I know 2 people that bought this. Batteries die fast!

Probably good for lug nuts but I wouldn't use it on anything critical.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Trawlerphil

Here's the one I use, lighter than a torque wrench or torque sticks, takes up less space in my tool box, and if your 1/2" breaker bar feels like work, put a pipe on the end. It will torque 29 to 147 lbs.
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...ter-63917.html

That product won't go to 150 ft. lbs., but its maximum, 147.6 ft. lbs. is probably close enough.

[jrk341]

I have an Armstrong 64-086 torque wrench. It has a range of 25-250 and it is 24" long. Torquing to 100 ft lbs is not a lot of effort.

[Librarianocnj]

Just put a chan link fence post from Lowe’s over the torque wrench. If under the tourque wrench capacity it won’t hurt if you go slow and listen for click. If over the capacity (like 350 ft/lbs) use a standard long socket wrench and “turn of nut” method. Lots of videos/images on YouTube.

[tomkatb]

If you have the strength to take the wheels off and repack bearings, using a quality #250 torque wrench is the least of your worries!

The HF Icon is a dilly for $100!

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by babock

I know 2 people that bought this. Batteries die fast!

Probably good for lug nuts but I wouldn't use it on anything critical.

Your comments are rather vague. Can you be more specific? How fast is fast for the batteries dying? My HF torque adapter is over two years old and I have replaced the batteries once. I consider that reasonable battery life. How long did the batteries in your acquaintance’s units last?

Why would you not use this torque adapter for anything critical? Have you actually tested one and found it to be inaccurate? When I compared mine to a known calibrated name brand torque wrench, it appeared to be very accurate. I just wondered if maybe there were some inconsistencies among the product.

[babock]

Originally Posted by BehindBars

Your comments are rather vague. Can you be more specific? How fast is fast for the batteries dying? My HF torque adapter is over two years old and I have replaced the batteries once. I consider that reasonable battery life. How long did the batteries in your acquaintance’s units last?

Why would you not use this torque adapter for anything critical? Have you actually tested one and found it to be inaccurate? When I compared mine to a known calibrated name brand torque wrench, it appeared to be very accurate. I just wondered if maybe there were some inconsistencies among the product.

In each case it was less than a couple months. It's the QC. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose with HF.

I will stick with my CDI torque wrenches for home use and use lower cost ones for on the road.

EDIT: Just looked at the reviews...apparently it is an issue for some.

[Mr Towed]

My feeling is if you don't already know how much effort it is to use a torque wrench then you probably shouldn't tackle this project. There is a lot more to it than just torquing down some nuts. You have to completely remove and reinstall the brakes as well as pull the tires on and off. It's a pretty physical job with a lot of twisting and reaching and crawling around. In my opinion I'd follow the other guy's advice and find a local repair shop that is familiar with working on trailers.