AidanT Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 Hi all How do you torque up a nut when you do not have access to fit a socket and use a torque wrench? There is only access for a spanner! Aidan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 Normal spanners are made a lengt to enable good firm load will achive the correct level of tight! So its two shreaded wheat and a firm heave , you dont need to club hammer or stand on it to get a result Specila fixings may need extra effort but theres little special on our cars thats special fixing Things like bearing caps and cyl heads need to be adequate and nice and equal , lets face it most toqure controls came about to enable unskilled Production operators to achieve consistent and reliable results Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 "Torque" is twisting force, and expressed as the force on the end of a lever that is a specified length - hence "pounds-feet" (lbs-ft). If you live in a Metric world, the same is Newton-metres (Nm) If a spanner is a foot long, and you can pull twenty pounds on the end, you are exerting 20 lbs-ft of torque on the nut. But few of the smaller spanners are that long, so you will have to pull a bit harder on an eight inch spanner to exert the same torque (20 x 12/8 = 30) Very roughly, 20lbs-ft is about "hand tight". Less would be 'finger tight'. I suspect - you don't say, but I have the same problem - that you are doing up exhaust manifold nuts to the head? And they are 20lbs-ft. Worse, that front lower nut , you can't get a full length 1/2"AF spanner to swing on it, nor a socket on an extension. My solution, a cut down spanner, 'bound' with a length of copper pipe so it doesn't cut into my hand. Then pull it as hard as you can! John PS There's a hole drilled in the spanner and the pipe, to wire them together, so the pipe doesn't fall off. The wire is bound with tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AidanT Posted March 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 I Hi It's actually the top ball joint nut this time and 35lbft or so my list says. There's no way I can see to get a socket on it so I guess a bit of elbow grease on a spanner. Have seen a torque spanner set but not sure how they would work Aidan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 some might use a crow foot spanner for ackward places you can attatch a torque wrench or ratchet to these Aidan, just do it by hand , as tight as is comfortable 35 is a normal sort of torque ( well a 4lbs higher ) than a normal 3/8unf blt ( 9/16af) and 35 is not high for a 7/16unf taper thread and 11/16" af nut ...its not something to worry about ...just get it 'tight' no forhead blood vessels required here you dont need your feet on the spanner !!!! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 Must admit when I recently refitted my manifold I torqued up the nuts I could get to then applied a spanner to the same and 'estimated' the force needed to very slightly move the nut. Then with a fully calibrated hand and bicep did the same to the inaccessible ones. Very DIY but we all know we can spend a fortune on tools that we may only use once. Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 if you need to get carried away with how tight , to double check your arm hand calibration, do a nut/bolt up by hand then use the torque spanner to see what you achieved if you torque a nut up to 30 it will probaly take 35 to move it on any more dont forget retorquing needs to overcome the sticktion of the nut , thats why on a retorque you back it off half a turn before reaplying. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AidanT Posted March 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 Thanks all I will do some elbow grease measuring and use that for now. There have been a few situations where I have found myself wondering on this! Just waiting for .My kind nut delivery from Richard Aidan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTV8 Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 7 hours ago, Adrian said: Must admit when I recently refitted my manifold I torqued up the nuts I could get to then applied a spanner to the same and 'estimated' the force needed to very slightly move the nut. Then with a fully calibrated hand and bicep did the same to the inaccessible ones. Very DIY but we all know we can spend a fortune on tools that we may only use once. Adrian This is exactly what I do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinR Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 As Pete suggests, I would use a Crow's foot spanner on the end of a torque wrench - because I have a set, and I can. If I didn't, and the torque was critical, then I'd use a combination spanner, with a spring balance pulling on the ring - having first calculated the required pull force for the length of the spanner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 I really don't think that it would ever be critical, but a croswfoot wiil increase or decrease the torque applied, relative by on the wrench setting. It depends on how the crowsfoot is oriented on the wrench, to shorten or lengthen the lever. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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