TOOLS: Which torque wrench?

[group35sucks]

I'm going to be doing tie-rods/ball-joints/bushings and i'll be needing a torque wrench, what range/rating torque wrench would cover most of the work i'll be doing on my car in the future? also, will i need a combination one with multiple readings(inch/foot pounds).

Never bought a torque wrench before so any advice is appreciated.

[F0Bman]

I say get a snap on half inch

[Gairloch]

You don't need to spend nearly that much money unless you're a pro and going to be using it all the time. I use a powerbuilt half inch that I got from Checker for $40. It has been benchmarked to be very accurate (I got it because of an article in Grassroots Motorsports magazine.) and checker offers a lifetime over the counter replacement warranty.

Looks like they've even lowered their price on it.

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductD...egoryCode=3418

[Ben]

Snap On 1/2 drive with torque range of 50-250 ft/lbs. The only torque wrench you need for inch/lbs is your hand and a regular ratchet!

[TomsMR2]

^ wtf, no way. you need an inch pound torque wrench for tons of gaskets on the engine. gaskets last longer properly torqued, oil pans dont leak when you dont guess on a spec. if anything you can skimp on the big torque wrench and do "real damn tight" for all the suspension and chassis bolts, but all those little inch pound pound and 20-50 ft/lbs bolts really do need to be tightened down with a torque wrench!

one big bolt going into a hole just needs to be tight enough to not fall out, and loose enough to not break the bolt.. theres a huge margin between those two points. when you're dealing with something like headbolts, or rod bolts, or gasket bolts, the difference is pretty small, and having accurate properly ranged tools starts to matter more and more. i dont torque a lot of things, but if its on an engine and is calling for inch/lbs, the torque wrench comes out every single time.

you cant buy just one torque wrench. for the job you're doing, a 25-150 ft/lbs 1/2 inch drive will work fine. if you do more work, you will need more torque wrenches.