Hey, team. Want to know what torque range I will need to start general maintenance on my XJ? I'm thinking things like fluid changes, light suspension stuff, etc. I'd like to get by only having to buy one wrench.
Thanks,
Mill

 

Get one that measures from 10-150 ft lbs. That will cover most of the normal things. A couple of things to remember, do not use the lower or upper 10% range of the wrench (clicker type only), and ALWAYS reset to 0 when you're done, and your torque wrench will give you a long and trouble free life. Where are you getting it from?

 

A link to a pdf from snap on on use and care:

http://www1.snapon.com/display/231/T...ueWrench08.pdf

 

I bought the Kobalt torque wrenches from Lowes, 3/8" up to 100ftlb and 1/2" up to 250ftlb, both were less than $100, I think $60 and $80 or there abouts. Not sure how good they are, but have worked so far.

Needed the 1/2" one so I could do the 175ftlb for the front wheel hub nut.

 

Sears had some of the Craftsman digital torque wrenches on sale for around $79. You could get one for $9.99 from Harbor Freights but they are hit or miss with mostly miss right out of the box. Spend the money and get a good one and it should last a real long time as long as you treat it like any other fine instrument.

 

I was thinking about the harbor freight after the review I read on the Car Craft site. I also understand that the quality control might not be as tight as I'd like, but the lifetime warranty compensates for that. I also have a ton of gift cards to Lowe's and they take anything back so the Kobalt would end up being pretty inexpensive.

review link: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...rench_testing/

Mill

 

I have three HF torque wrenches, a 1/4" drive in lbs, a 3/8" ft lbs, and a 1/2" ft lbs...I have access to calibration tools, and every time I put one of my HF wrenches on there, they have ALL been within specs. FWIW

Go for the HF, it's inexpensive, and from my experience has been excellent.

 

The mid-range priced Craftsman wrenches from Sears are a good buy usually not all that much more than the cheapie crap from others.