The Best Jeep Mod: Torque Wrench

[JMP]

After a year of ownership and various mods, some by me, some by shops, I’m convinced that this is the absolute best mod you can get for your Jeep.

Every single problem I’ve had was due to shops not torquing fasteners correctly. The Ugga Dugga method is, frankly, crap. Yeah. I said it, tough guys.

Don’t be lazy. Torque seal your bolts. Suspension, steering, anything you can reach. If you take it in, check your marks and retorque anything that was moved.

It’ll save you headaches, shimmy, death wobble, etc… Jeep feels all kinds of awesome torqued up right!

https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-...-ft-lb-digital-angle-torque-wrench-64916.html

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[flyer92]

Agree 100%....and if a torque wrench is worth the investment, then it is also worth getting calibrated on a regular basis, depending on how much it is used. Over the years, I've had a couple new-in-box "calibrated" torque wrenches that were actually several pounds off. Always worth confirming calibration so you can torque with confidence!

 

[Heimkehr]

Tangentially, it's my view that impact wrenches should be sold with counter-clockwise (i.e., loosening) rotation only. That, or require a background check before taking possession.

I've had to pay for stud replacement when the dealership disclaimed responsibility after the "tech" zapped the nuts on with an impact wrench, which ruined several studs. That avoidable and annoying expense informs my opinion of the tool when it's wielded by other tools (ha).

Yes, I know that time is money, but an appt. at the Service Dept. isn't a NASCAR pit stop, FFS.

It's now my policy to write "Hand torque all fasteners" in red ink on the work order whenever I'm forced to turn over the vehicle to the dealer. That occurs at least once annually for PA's State safety and emission inspections.

Yes, a well-functioning torque wrench should be part of everyone's garage tool inventory.

 

[Thane]

Since when is a tool a modification...

 

[JMP]

Tangentially, it's my view that impact wrenches should be sold with counter-clockwise (i.e., loosening) rotation only. That, or require a background check before taking possession.

I've had to pay for stud replacement when the dealership disclaimed responsibility after the "tech" zapped the nuts on with an impact wrench, which ruined several studs. That avoidable and annoying expense informs my opinion of the tool when it's wielded by other tools (ha).

Yes, I know that time is money, but an appt. at the Service Dept. isn't a NASCAR pit stop, FFS.

It's now my policy to write "Hand torque all fasteners" in red ink on the work order whenever I'm forced to turn over the vehicle to the dealer. That occurs at least once annually for PA's State safety and emission inspections.

Yes, a well-functioning torque wrench should be part of everyone's garage tool inventory.

I wonder how often they honor that request. They know better, dontcha know? « Don’t tell me how to do my job! »Then they hand you a vehicle that’s sicker than then you brought it to them.

I’ve done the same… red ink. When I checked they were all over the charts. Really really off. They have me my jeep back with all 10 rear lug nuts completely loose once. For $150/hour. Might as well have a YouTube influencer do the work for free.

 

[JMP]

Since when is a tool a modification...

Thank you, fun police.

«The best thing you can buy. » How’s that work?

 

[Whiskey Tango Foxtrot]

Thank you, fun police.

«The best thing you can buy. » How’s that work?

When this happens, it becomes a modification.

(not my pic)

 

[Vrotfel]

After you’ve torqued everything to spec put some Anti Tamper on them to visually check at the gas station every fill up. It’ll stop a lot of problems before they start. (It cracks if the fastener moves)
I used orange gel you can see on steering parts

 

[JMP]

After you’ve torqued everything to spec put some Anti Tamper on them to visually check at the gas station every fill up. It’ll stop a lot of problems before they start. (It cracks if the fastener moves)
I used orange gel you can see on steering parts

I used the same stuff/color

 

[SargeDiesel]

Without breaking the bank, because some tools, i.e. torque wrenches can get $$$.

What brand and what torque ranges do you guys recommend.

I have two.. one is something like 5 - 50lbs and the other is like 20-200lbs..(not sure of the exact #'s)

They are HF specials... not that that's always bad... but with a tool that needs to maintain a certain level of calibration, not sure if they were the best investment.

 

[Left Field]

Without breaking the bank, because some tools, i.e. torque wrenches can get $$$.

What brand and what torque ranges do you guys recommend.

Same thing - I couldn't get too excited about an off-shore torque wrench from HF or HD...

I just ordered the 300-3000 in-lb Armstrong torque wrench below. Made in USA $140

Armstrong made a lot of tools for the military and government contracts.

It looks to be very nice quality and has a +/-3% calibration. It has scales for N-M and in-lbs (which is ft-lbs multiplied by 12). That means the range is 25-250 ft-lbs but there is some inconvenience as I have to do that math unless I use the N-M scale. The longer wrench and higher torque range is nice for the upper control arm bolts (190 ft-lbs) and lug nuts (135 ft-lbs).

There is also a 240-1800 in-lb made in USA wrench (20-150 ft-lb) for the same price.

There are other Armstrong torque wrenches available in ft-lb but they are made off-shore.

https://www.cripedistributing.com/p...sa?_pos=2&_sid=8d059e90b&_ss=r&_fid=73828be8b

https://www.cripedistributing.com/p...sa?_pos=6&_sid=a4bccd003&_ss=r&_fid=934a1c804

LF

 

[flyer92]

My experience with HF (and similar off-brand) torque wrenches, is that some are poorly calibrated right out of the box, others are unable to stay calibrated even with light use, and many are unable to be re-calibrated. No sense investing in a torque wrench that doesn't torque accurately.

I have been extremely happy with wrenches from Hy-Torc (https://www.hytorc.com/). They deliver to your house and will calibrate any wrench on site, even if it's not one of theirs. They provide this service right out of their (amazing) shop vans, which are worth a peek if you decide to work with them. I suspect there are other providers out there, but I've always had a good experience with this company.

Yes...good torque wrenches can be pricey, and regular calibration isn't cheap either. Regardless, it's well worth the peace of mind knowing that you are torqueing accurately, especially for dynamic components. Hope this helps, and please let us know what you decide on.

 

[phageghost]

Recently watched this video () with what seems to my non-engineer ears like a great summary of:

* How much extra torque needs to be applied to a fastener to cause it to yield (stretch)
* How to check if a fastener has been overtorqued
* The expected variance of a torque wrench
* The expected variance of the clamping force induced by the frictional variation between fasteners even with a theoretically perfect torque wrench (higher than you might think!)
* Best practices for torqueing down fasteners.

Recommend as baseline knowledge for anyone doing this sort of work on Jeeps or anything else.

 

[Riotfunk]

Torque wrench, I put that shit on everything!

 

[myexcursion]

anyone have any experience with these ? I was looking at getting one of these adapters but not sure how reliable, accurate or calibrated ( or can calibrate ) they are or not.
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-...5-250-ft-lb-digital-torque-adapter-58706.html

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