Why I stopped using those cheap torque wrenches from the auto parts store

I was working on a timing belt job for a 2012 Honda Accord at my shop in Birmingham last Tuesday. Had everything lined up perfect, torqued the crank pulley bolt to spec using one of those $20 torque wrenches. Drove the car out of the bay, heard a nasty clatter three miles down the road. The bolt backed out and the pulley came loose. Turns out that cheap wrench was off by 25 foot-pounds. I had to pull the whole front of the engine apart again and replace a damaged keyway. Now I only buy used Snap-On or Precision Instruments from pawn shops and eBay. Has anyone else had a torque wrench fail on them at a bad time?

3 comments

3 Comments

walker.max2mo ago

Used to think those cheap ones were fine for the home garage kinda stuff... then I torqued down some lug nuts on my truck and two of them came loose on the highway. Scared the hell out of me. Now I test any wrench I buy against a friends calibrated one before I trust it on anything important.

gavinw451mo ago

Scared the hell out of me" - yeah I bet lol. My buddy Mark had the same thing happen with a Harbor Freight torque wrench. He was doing the brakes on his Civic and torqued everything to what he thought was spec. Three days later his wheel almost fell off going around a turn. He said the wrench was clicking like it was set right but it was way off. Now he keeps a cheap calibration checker in his toolbox just for peace of mind.

alicesingh2mo ago

Bit dramatic man... people been using cheap wrenches for decades.