Torque Wrench

[Gracie Jones]

Hey there,

Can anybody tell me what the measurement 1 / 2 or 3/8 actually refers to on a torque wrench?

I want to buy one that will be good for things like removing wheels and removing the oil nut, so a broad range of nm would be good.

I've seen a 1 / 2 one for 20-200nm, but previously I was advised to get a 3/8 one, which presumably is smaller. But would a smaller one be big enough to do big stuff like removing rear wheel?

Any advice appreciated!!

Best wishes to all,

Luke

[mchaggis]

It is the size of the drive 'peg' in inches. A 3/8" drive should suit most things, you can then get adapters to fit 1/4" and 1/2" drive sockets. A quality tool should have small enough tolerances that doing up a 20mm socket with a 3/8" drive shouldn't be a problem. You can always use an extender bar if you're worried about lack of leverage.

To remove nuts, you just use an ordinary socket wrench/ ring/ C spanner, depending on access.
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[Gracie Jones]

Cheers McChaggis, a 3/8 it is then.

Many thanks.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Check the official torque figures for the bolts you are likely to use it on. My 3/8" drive one goes from 5lb/ft to 40, so useless for doing up the head bolts on the car (65lb/ft), yet the larger 1/2" drive one does not read low enough for the head bolts on the 125 2 stroke engines (14~18lb/ft).

All the best

Keith
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