Torque wrench

[Buckman]

We have had a slow leak with the rear tyre on our caravan for sometime and every time just before a trip I pumped it up to the correct pressure as it would lose about 6-8 psi over several weeks. Today while we were on site I plucked up the courage to see if I could remove the wheel myself and although a bit painful I managed.
Took it for repair and they found two different types of nail in the tyre. £25 later I had to then find a torque wrench and bought one from Screwfix plus sockets for £40. It was definitely easier to remove the tyre than to refit it. I had to juggle the height of the caravan to line up the bolt holes and between OH and myself we managed.
Then the really hard part for me was setting the torque wrench to the correct nm as the instructions were not the easiest to follow and I had never used a torque wrench previously. Luckily Youtube came to the rescue and tightened up the bolts using my weight rather than brute force. Job done and pleased with myself. 👍

 

[Johnb]

A fault cured, a technique learned and a desired outcome achieved . Everything positive.

Were you charged £25 to have the nails removed and the tyres plugged?

I had a nail in a tyre some months ago. Took it for repair to a garage I'd never been to before. When I asked how much was told zero. It costs the garage next to nothing and good will is so important. Left rather pleased and, all else being equal will return for my next purchase of tyres.

 

[figbat]

Don't forget with the torque wrench to release the torque setting back to 'zero' for storage.

I have three torque wrenches now to cover my various hobbies, from the big 'un for the caravan wheel nuts, through the middle 'un for general vehicle maintenance to the little 'un for my carbon fibre-framed bicycles. I think I have everything from 2 to 210 Nm covered. Look after them and they'll generally do you well.

 

[Buckman]

Don't forget with the torque wrench to release the torque setting back to 'zero' for storage.

I have three torque wrenches now to cover my various hobbies, from the big 'un for the caravan wheel nuts, through the middle 'un for general vehicle maintenance to the little 'un for my carbon fibre-framed bicycles. I think I have everything from 2 to 210 Nm covered. Look after them and they'll generally do you well.

Thanks as that was the advice given to many others on this forum.

 

[Kevin M]

Well done Buckman

 

[Jaydug]

I have three torque wrenches now

I also play ‘Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe’ with my collection.

 

[JTQ]

Ensure you re check the torque of the wheel bolts after 15 to 20 miles when initially towed; that will be by far the most likely time any settling with relaxation of bolt tension can occur.
Unfortunately, something the present designs of caravan wheel systems are too prone to exhibit.
Only just ensure the design torque is reached again, don't in this case pre slacken.

 

[Trevormc]

I was about to reply about checking torque after about 20 miles. I put a new tyre on last year and after 20 miles or so I stopped and checked again and it surprised me how loose they had become.

Trevor

 

[Sam Vimes]

This thread made me go and read the instructions for my Hilka torque wrench. There's no mention of setting it to zero when storing.

The only odd thing was that it said don't use it for loosening the nuts - except there is a toggle to change between tighten and loosen. Why have that if they don't want you to undo nuts?

 

[Gralay]

This thread made me go and read the instructions for my Hilka torque wrench. There's no mention of setting it to zero when storing.

The only odd thing was that it said don't use it for loosening the nuts - except there is a toggle to change between tighten and loosen. Why have that if they don't want you to undo nuts?

Hi
As far as I am aware you should set to zero when in storage to releive the pressure on the spring and the toggle to change direction is to torque left hand threads.

Gra

 

[otherclive]

Hi
As far as I am aware you should set to zero when in storage to releive the pressure on the spring and the toggle to change direction is to torque left hand threads.

Gra

My Argos one instructions say to relieve spring pressure too. But it’s something I have always done from my apprenticeship days.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Hi
As far as I am aware you should set to zero when in storage to releive the pressure on the spring and the toggle to change direction is to torque left hand threads.

Gra

That makes sense.

Thank you

 

[DaveA1]

This thread made me go and read the instructions for my Hilka torque wrench. There's no mention of setting it to zero when storing.

The only odd thing was that it said don't use it for loosening the nuts - except there is a toggle to change between tighten and loosen. Why have that if they don't want you to undo nuts?

When I worked on my motor( age has slowed me down) and I was replacing a delicate item, like a glow plug, that are apt to snap off if you're not careful. I would always use my torque wrench to remove then.

My G plugs are torqued too 10nm and when I removed one, ,I set the wrench to 11-12 nm if it didn't release at that. more WD40 needed or take to the Indy. I have always zeroed them when putting away

 

[Damian]

As has been said, you must always release the spring tension on the torque wrench after use.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Just been and done that....first time ever so hope it's still ok.

 

[Ferrodo]

This thread made me go and read the instructions for my Hilka torque wrench. There's no mention of setting it to zero when storing.

The only odd thing was that it said don't use it for loosening the nuts - except there is a toggle to change between tighten and loosen. Why have that if they don't want you to undo nuts?

Left or right handed threads

 

[Buckman]

Can you use the torque ratchet wrench for undoing bolts etc instead of having to purchase a separate wrench?

 

[otherclive]

Can you use the torque ratchet wrench for undoing bolts etc instead of having to purchase a separate wrench?

Right from my early days of training I was told not to use torque wrench for removing nuts/bolts. It is a "calibrated" piece of kit for tightening fastenings. Why would you have to purchase a separate wrench? Surely most people have a wrench in their car wheel removal kit, and another for the mover if its manual. My manual wrenches are telescopic as OEM ones can be too short.

PS I used the word "calibrated" advisedly to avoid a long discourse on what calibration means.

 

[Damian]

Can you use the torque ratchet wrench for undoing bolts etc instead of having to purchase a separate wrench?

NO, you must never use a torque wrench to loosen bolts. They are made to tighten them only.
If you want an easier way of undoing bolts, use a Breaker Bar.

 

[Buckman]

Right from my early days of training I was told not to use torque wrench for removing nuts/bolts. It is a "calibrated" piece of kit for tightening fastenings. Why would you have to purchase a separate wrench? Surely most people have a wrench in their car wheel removal kit, and another for the mover if its manual. My manual wrenches are telescopic as OEM ones can be too short.

PS I used the word "calibrated" advisedly to avoid a long discourse on what calibration means.

Thanks for the advice. When I bought the torque wrench I had to buy the socket set separate I was thinking about things around the home and not the car. I don't have the skills to work on a car anyway.

 

[SteveW]

Something I always wonder about... It is in theory incorrect procedure when using a torque wrench to have two bites at the cherry. Torque should be set once when tightening and checking it repeatedly is not as I understand it adviseable. Presumably there are risks of both missing a low bolt torque due to initial stickiness of the bolt thread when it’s been sitting there corroding etc or overtightening due to a little bit of inertia before the limit kicks in on each check. Yet on caravans we all do it by repeatedly checking an already torqued bolt many times, doesnt feel right to me as an amateur Porsche mechanic! In theory the bolt should be slacked a little then retightened I think. Wonder how much settings drift over time on our wheel bolts doing it the way we do. I do appreciate we are catching the real horrors with these checks though, but I would not do this on an alloy engine block for sure,

Steve

 

[Sam Vimes]

Can you use the torque ratchet wrench for undoing bolts etc instead of having to purchase a separate wrench?

I'm no expert but I still don't understand why a torque wrench that is capable of 'tightening' nuts - both left or right threaded - can't be used to undo the nuts.

I'm willing to learn where I've been going wrong.

To be honest I don't do this very often - just when I rotate the tires every 6000 miles on the car.

The caravan gets checked when we go away but then that's just a few times a year and then they're not loosened just checked.

 

[Dustydog]

As said earlier a torque wrench is a “precision tool” and should be respected as such.

Steve W raises an interesting point. Retorque or check torque? I disagree with Steve 😉.
What’s the point of undoing a fastener and tightening again then rechecking after say 50 miles? I just re check and as the wrench clicks that’s it.

Sam ,
In theory you can undo with the torque wrench set to its maximum. If the nut/bolt will not undo within the max setting, use an ordinary wrench. Not for me!

 

[otherclive]

I'm no expert but I still don't understand why a torque wrench that is capable of 'tightening' nuts - both left or right threaded - can't be used to undo the nuts.

I'm willing to learn where I've been going wrong.

To be honest I don't do this very often - just when I rotate the tires every 6000 miles on the car.

The caravan gets checked when we go away but then that's just a few times a year and then they're not loosened just checked.

Its a precision tool and nuts/bolts that have been in situ for sometime may have corroded and exceed the tightening torque used. I’ve seen a car once lifted off its Jack trying to slacken a wheel fastening.

https://www.finepowertools.com/hand-tools/breaker-bar/

 

[SteveW]

As said earlier a torque wrench is a “precision tool” and should be respected as such.

Steve W raises an interesting point. Retorque or check torque? I disagree with Steve 😉.
What’s the point of undoing a fastener and tightening again then rechecking after say 50 miles? I just re check and as the wrench clicks that’s it.

Sam ,
In theory you can undo with the torque wrench set to its maximum. If the nut/bolt will not undo within the max setting, use an ordinary wrench. Not for me!

The point is that you don’t actually know that the tightening level of the bolt, ie ultimately longitudinal stretch which is what actually matters, is correct if you have not tightened a bolt from below torque with the thread moving freely. Torque on the head is not what you are actually trying to set. It’s a secondary way of setting the longitudinal stretching force on the bolt. Torque on the head may not correlate to that if you use the wrench more than once

Steve