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Vivisector

Warning: swapping from a torque wrench to a beam style after my digital one lied to me | Auto Mechanics - Vivisector

Warning: swapping from a torque wrench to a beam style after my digital one lied to me

Used a digital torque wrench for 4 years on engine work. Then last Tuesday I torqued a head bolt on a 5.3 and it clicked at 65 ft-lbs but the bolt felt way loose. Grabbed my old beam style from the bottom of the box and that bolt was actually at 45. Calibrated or not, I don't trust those digital ones for critical stuff anymore. Anyone else had one go rogue on you?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_robin4mo ago

Man, that's rough. I had a similar thing happen with a cheap click style wrench I borrowed from a buddy. It let go at the right number but the bolt bottomed out way too early. And @abbyp61, I remember reading that same post you mentioned, it made me check my old beam style against my torque adapter just to be safe. Ended up finding the adapter was off by 8 pounds on a water pump bolt of all things. Makes you wonder how many jobs have been just barely holding on.