Pete Lewis Posted June 5, 2019 Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 You love it really !!!!! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 No, not in this case. I might as well have done it from scratch in the first place. Not had to pick up the pieces after 'professional' motor engineers couldn't even be bothered to make basic checks with the WSM and Haynes that I left with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 5, 2019 Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 Trust your own judgement Tee shirt required Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 As an end to the spring farce (I hope), and I think I may have mentined this before, but how can I check that my torque wrench is accurate. The reason I ask is that when torquing up the nut at the base of a shock absorber, it appeared to take a worrying amount of force. To that end, thinking that I might strip the thread or snap the bolt, didn't put enough force on the wrench for it to click. Any ideas please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 Lock the square drive bar in a vice, so that the handle is horizontal. Choose a heavy weight, say 12kgs (24lbs) and hang it from the handle, near the vice. As shown, I use an old flywheel. As you move it out, thanks to gravity it will exert a known torque on the wrench, which is found by weight x distance from vice jaws As a torque wrench is about a two feet long, set it to an appropriate setting, and move the weight outward step by step, until it clicks. Measure the distance, do the calculation. Is that what you set? +/- you choose. ?5% Worth repeating two ot three times, to get the hang (!) of it. JOhn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 Thanks John. Just what I need. Will try it out when I have a suitable weight. I know where there is an old fashioned large scales weight which will do very nicely but can't get it til next week. What is there in a torque wrench that can go wrong? Mine is a 30 year old Draper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 30 minutes ago, Badwolf said: What is there in a torque wrench that can go wrong? Mine is a 30 year old Draper. The click ones rely on a cam pressing against a spring whose other end is moved by the setting knob. They can get sticky for the same reasons any mechanism can get sticky, and they can become inaccurate because the spring loses its tempering. The manufacturers usually recommend having them re-calibrated every few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 if you cant find a weight press the end of the wrench with the bathroom scales , note the load , and work it out my norbar is 50 yrs old and i check it back to back against one with a strain gauge wrench its always stays pretty close to ok and i prefer the oldy to the newy , a dsh of oil on the cam plate to stop wear and the jobs a good un I have a torque to yield wrench which is great for troublesome fixings this compares the climb in torque to the head rotation if it moves out the window of either it whistles at you Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted June 7, 2019 Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 Always store the wrench in the minimum position too so you don't keep tension on the spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjit Posted June 7, 2019 Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 I lost faith in my torque wrench too so went digital - https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/040215238/ Can't remember the last time I went with one of my old style torque wrenches - not least because I can set the digital one to lb/ft and not have to convert the workshop manual lb/ft to N/m for my torque wrench. Also found I can get it in to a few spaces there just wasn't room to swing the big torque wrench but needed a higher torque than my small one goes to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 Yes, I saw the digital ones. New to me. I did wonder how good they were compared to the mechanical ones. I suppose you could even use one on a mechanical torque wrench which was set slightly above the intended torque, as a sort of belt and braces approach. Excessive but might work. I assume that there is a huge difference in quality/accuracy depending on the price, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 7, 2019 Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 Most spanners and wrench ratchets etc will give quite reasonable results with hand pressure, Remember most torqure figures used in production are to make repeatable tightening by unskilled operators on an assy. Line Keeping things equal even and tight is not irresponsibly unachievable by hand .its quite easy Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 Pete - Never realised that. I was always taught that torquing up nuts was almost a religion which you ignored at your peril as your nuts might fall of (!!). Indeed some of them, which I didn't fit, did. By the way, as an aside, one of the nuts that did fall off, was due to a damaged thread in the Mk IV Spitfire headlight surrounds which are alloy. Is there an easy way to re-thread/reline the hole. There is not enough metal to tap out to the next size up. I did think of making up the hole with one of the 2k adhesives and drilling/taping out, but probably not a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 7, 2019 Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 Think I repaired one witha cut off rawlplug and a hex headed acme threaded self tapper But was a while ago..memories!!!! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted June 7, 2019 Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 3 hours ago, Pete Lewis said: Most spanners and wrench ratchets etc will give quite reasonable results with hand pressure, I've heard a (possibly apocryphal) story that when Ford sent someone to inspect the Lotus assembly area for the Cortina, he was shocked to see no torque wrenches in use. "How do they know how tight to set them? What's the torque on that bolt?" So the Lotus mechanic walked across to where the torque wrench hung, brought it back, and measured the torque he'd just done the nut up to "by feel". It exactly matched the Ford specification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted June 8, 2019 Report Share Posted June 8, 2019 13 hours ago, Pete Lewis said: Think I repaired one witha cut off rawlplug and a hex headed acme threaded self tapper But was a while ago..memories!!!! Pete I am surprised you admitted to such a bodge Pete?? I have done it myself twice but untill now nobody knew about it, but it worked both times ....... memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 8, 2019 Report Share Posted June 8, 2019 There is bodges and bodge some are good and inventive some not.good we see every day with a few on here Ha Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted June 8, 2019 Report Share Posted June 8, 2019 12 hours ago, NonMember said: So the Lotus mechanic walked across to where the torque wrench hung, brought it back, and measured the torque he'd just done the nut up to "by feel". It exactly matched the Ford specification. Apocryphal or not, once you've done it a few times with a torque wrench you know the pressure required so not a surprise if it's true. On the other hand there are some people who never learn, my brother is famous for stripping oil sump bolt threads, 7 now in his history! Still time to reach double figures, Gorilla Hands dad used to call him. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2019 It was experience that made me stop swinging on the torque wrench and ask for advice. It just seemed to be to much force and I was afraid of stripping the thread, snapping the bolt or over compressing the bushes. This rear spring job has been bad enough without me butchering the bolts on top of the garage's original ministrations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted June 8, 2019 Report Share Posted June 8, 2019 I once set mine to Newtons instead of foot/lbs.... or the other way round... whichever it is that breaks things off before it gets to what looks like the recommended setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 Finally been out for a run to settle everything down. Measured the height of the body from the floor to the bottom of the wheel arch, through the centre of the wheel. Left was 25", right was 24.5". Measured the camber as best I could using the wheel rims left 2 degrees (out at top) right 4.6 degrees out at top. I must be honest that I have no idea if this is good bad or indifferent!!! The car handles very well especially over the local speed bumps. Settles quickly, no bangs, bumps or traces of 'bottoming'. Feels very good to drive. Maybe all that desparation was worth it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 Camber add the two and halve it so you have 3.3 deg ove not looked up,the spec Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 Haynes says 2 degrees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 And thats pretty certain to be static laden ...150lbs on each seat. Get some coal in and check it again Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 Trip to B&Q to take a couple of bags of sand for a ride out! Thanks Pete. I would never have thought to check it loaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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