Dirty torquer

Forgot to mention that, while at Sears lookin' for a 21mm
socket for the Craftsman 1/2-inch torque wrench, I spoke
to a salesperson who said it's best to keep those torque
wrenches set at 20 foot-pounds when not in use, instead of
zero or 5 foot-pounds. He said some folks have had to
return those torquers because they stopped working after
having been set at their very lowest setting during storage.

I remember when I bought mine several months ago that, out
of the box, it was set at 20 foot-pounds, not 5 foot-pounds
or zero Newton-meters.

Those Craftsman torque wrenches are currently on sale again
for $60, regular $80.
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

Ray O wrote:
>
> When you need a warranty replacement on a Craftsman tool,
> you can take it to a Sears store and get it exchanged on
> the spot. Does Autozone handle warranty replacements or
> do you have to mail the tool to the manufacturer?
========

Ray, yes, you can return the tool to any AutoZone store and
get a replacement on the spot. Here's the exact wording on
the plastic tag attached to the Duralast socket:

Guaranteed for life.

Full Duralast Unlimited Warranty.

If any Duralast Guaranteed-For-Life hand tool ever fails
to give complete satisfaction, return it to any AutoZone
store and it will be replaced, free of charge.

This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may
also have other rights which vary from state to state.

-- Sounds pretty good to me.

The tag also says:

Distributed by AutoZone, Memphis, TN.

Made in Taiwan, ROC.

Professional Grade tools.

Chrome Moly steel for strength and durability.

One thing I noticed about the 21mm deep socket is the top
third is slightly thinner than the bottom two-thirds.
I asked the AutoZone fellow about this; he said it makes
the socket stronger because the ratchet/wrench attaches
at the top. And I thought they were just trying to save
material.

I made sure to get all 6 points as I remember you saying a
long time ago that 12-point sockets can round off nuts more
easily.

Earlier today I printed out a brake inspection checklist
from the book "Auto Upkeep." One of the things it says
is to:

"Use a ruler to measure the brake pad thickness. Measure
only the pad, not the metal backing. Brake pads with less
than 1/8th of an inch are usually considered worn out.
Measure both inner and outer pad on disc brakes."

Also printed out the book's tire inspection and rotation
procedure. I hope the baseball-sized hail in Kansas
doesn't make it here tomorrow. Weathercasters say
it might.
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

"Built_Well" <Built_Well_Toyota.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:c88137f0-3e40-42a8-8f74-590c0a5c0b8e@f63g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>
> Oh my gosh, rotating tires is an awfully dirty job. It's much
> dirtier than changing oil. All I did was remove one wheel
> cover/"hubcap" with a screwdriver, and got really dirty. Wheels
> don't like being clean, I suppose. (I removed the wheel cover
> just to be sure of the socket size needed for tomorrow's
> rotation and torquing.)
>
> Went to Sears to buy a 21 mm socket for the wheel's lug nuts.
> My Harbor Freight 4-way lug wrench doesn't have a 21 mm socket
> but it does have a 13/16-inch socket, which is smaller than
> 21 mm but fits the lug nuts. I guess I'll use that.
>
> Still needed a socket for the Craftsman torque wrench, though.
> So went to Sears. Very sad to see how rough those sockets
> were; they weren't smooth at all on the inside. Wasn't gonna
> buy that. Good price though: $4 normal size and $5 for the
> deep socket.
>
> Went to AutoZone. The company's own brand DuraLast is made of
> Chrome Moly steel (chrome molybdenum). The Great Neck brand
> there was made of chrome vanadium. I asked the salesman which
> is stronger. He said Moly so I bought the slightly higher-
> priced Duralast. $5 for normal size and $7 for deep socket.
> Bought one of each in case the deep socket will give more
> clearance. Very smooth surfaces on both AutoZone's Duralast
> brand, and Great Neck.
>
> The Duralast has a full unlimited warranty, guaranteed for
> life. Great Neck and Sears Craftsman also have some sort
> of lifetime warranty--don't know if it's unlimited like Duralast.
>
> By the way, AutoZone is running a special right now: Buy one
> at full price and get one at half price.
>
> I took the car to an automatic touchless
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

"Built_Well" <Built_Well_Toyota.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:c88137f0-3e40-42a8-8f74-590c0a5c0b8e@f63g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>
> Oh my gosh, rotating tires is an awfully dirty job. It's much
> dirtier than changing oil. All I did was remove one wheel
> cover/"hubcap" with a screwdriver, and got really dirty. Wheels
> don't like being clean, I suppose. (I removed the wheel cover
> just to be sure of the socket size needed for tomorrow's
> rotation and torquing.)
>
> Went to Sears to buy a 21 mm socket for the wheel's lug nuts.
> My Harbor Freight 4-way lug wrench doesn't have a 21 mm socket
> but it does have a 13/16-inch socket, which is smaller than
> 21 mm but fits the lug nuts. I guess I'll use that.
>
> Still needed a socket for the Craftsman torque wrench, though.
> So went to Sears. Very sad to see how rough those sockets
> were; they weren't smooth at all on the inside. Wasn't gonna
> buy that. Good price though: $4 normal size and $5 for the
> deep socket.
>
> Went to AutoZone. The company's own brand DuraLast is made of
> Chrome Moly steel (chrome molybdenum). The Great Neck brand
> there was made of chrome vanadium. I asked the salesman which
> is stronger. He said Moly so I bought the slightly higher-
> priced Duralast. $5 for normal size and $7 for deep socket.
> Bought one of each in case the deep socket will give more
> clearance. Very smooth surfaces on both AutoZone's Duralast
> brand, and Great Neck.
>
> The Duralast has a full unlimited warranty, guaranteed for
> life. Great Neck and Sears Craftsman also have some sort
> of lifetime warranty--don't know if it's unlimited like Duralast.
>
> By the way, AutoZone is running a special right now: Buy one
> at full price and get one at half price.
>
> I took the car to an automatic touchless

Hopefully, you got 6 point sockets and not 12 point sockets, which tend to
round off nuts. Besides the chrome finish, the other thing to look for is
for variances in socket dimensions and how the drive engages the ratchet, or
torque wrench, in your case. Cheap sockets may have a nice chrome finish
but the finish cracks under constant use, and they may not always fit the
nut or bolt properly.

If you want the best sockets, get Snap-On, Mac, or Matco. They all have a
lifetime warranty and the socket walls are thinner than on less expensive
sockets. I use Snap-On and Craftsman sockets.

When you need a warranty replacement on a Craftsman tool, you can take it to
a Sears store and get it exchanged on the spot. Does Autozone handle
warranty replacements or do you have to mail the tool to the manufacturer?

If you ever get an impact gun, it will crack the chrome finish off of
sockets so you have to use impact sockets, which are black.

If you really want to get crazy, there are deep sockets with a plastic
sleeve on the outside so that they do not scratch the finish on alloy
wheels.

The black dust on your hands is brake dust.

While you are shopping for tools, get a 6 inch machinist's metric scale. It
looks like a ruler made out of sheet metal with a sliding pocket clip. When
you rotate your tires, use the scale to measure brake lining thickness. If
lining thickness is 2 mm or less, they need replacement.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

Ray O wrote:

> ...While you are shopping for tools, get a 6 inch machinist's metric scale. It
> looks like a ruler made out of sheet metal with a sliding pocket clip. When
> you rotate your tires, use the scale to measure brake lining thickness. If
> lining thickness is 2 mm or less, they need replacement.

Real men don't need the scale. My eyeballs are calibrated.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

Bill Putney wrote:
> Ray O wrote:
>
>> ...While you are shopping for tools, get a 6 inch machinist's metric
>> scale. It looks like a ruler made out of sheet metal with a sliding
>> pocket clip. When you rotate your tires, use the scale to measure
>> brake lining thickness. If lining thickness is 2 mm or less, they
>> need replacement.
>
> Real men don't need the scale. My eyeballs are calibrated.

Oh - also, if the pads are getting anywhere near close to the safe
limit, it's important to look at the margin all the way around the pad
in case they are wearing out of plane and are thinner in the places that
are less readily visible/measurable.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

Built_Well <Built_Well_Toyota.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in news:beb0ca46-5919-
486f-af23-fc655c16b996.RemoveThis@27g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:

>
> Forgot to mention that, while at Sears lookin' for a 21mm
> socket for the Craftsman 1/2-inch torque wrench, I spoke
> to a salesperson who said it's best to keep those torque
> wrenches set at 20 foot-pounds when not in use, instead of
> zero or 5 foot-pounds. He said some folks have had to
> return those torquers because they stopped working after
> having been set at their very lowest setting during storage.



The problem happens when you dial the wrench down all the way, but than
keep going so as to undo the 11mm calibration nut inside the handle. Once
that nut comes loose, the calibration is shot. And these wrenches are cheap
enough that having them recalibrated is not economic.

You MUST dial them ALL the way back down for storage. Failure to do so puts
load on the spring inside, which eventually causes it to take a "set",
which ALSO throws off the calibration.

The answer is to dial it down to 20 ft lbs, then keep going SLOWLY and
GENTLY until you feel the handle bottom out.

I wrecked my first Craftsman torque wrench by dialing it down too
vigorously so the nut came loose. Then I took it apart to see how it
worked. See here for that story:
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/torque_wrench/index.html



--
Tegger
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

<snip>
I wrecked my first Craftsman torque wrench by dialing it down too
> vigorously so the nut came loose. Then I took it apart to see how it
> worked. See here for that story:
> http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/torque_wrench/index.html

Hey, Tegger. That is a well done and informative article. Thanks. Got any more?
jor
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

"Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote in message >

When you need a warranty replacement on a Craftsman tool, you can take it to
> a Sears store and get it exchanged on the spot. Does Autozone handle
> warranty replacements or do you have to mail the tool to the manufacturer?
>
Ray's statement reminded me of an old joke my father in law delighted in
telling. In the "olden" days, Sears had a lifetime warranty on all their
goods, which meant that if you were ever disappointed in the performance of
the item, you could get it replaced under their warranty.
So an old farmer went to Sears with a paper bag, and told the clerk he
wanted a spare tire cover replaced.
He said "I bought this tire cover for my Model A a couple of years ago and
there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it, but yesterday I had a
blowout and put on the spare tire, and that durned cover didn't last half a
mile!" ...as he pulled a shredded tire cover out of the paper bag.
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

Tegger wrote:
> Built_Well <Built_Well_Toyota.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in news:beb0ca46-5919-
> 486f-af23-fc655c16b996.DeleteThis@27g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:
>
>> Forgot to mention that, while at Sears lookin' for a 21mm
>> socket for the Craftsman 1/2-inch torque wrench, I spoke
>> to a salesperson who said it's best to keep those torque
>> wrenches set at 20 foot-pounds when not in use, instead of
>> zero or 5 foot-pounds. He said some folks have had to
>> return those torquers because they stopped working after
>> having been set at their very lowest setting during storage.
>
>
>
> The problem happens when you dial the wrench down all the way, but than
> keep going so as to undo the 11mm calibration nut inside the handle. Once
> that nut comes loose, the calibration is shot. And these wrenches are cheap
> enough that having them recalibrated is not economic.
>
> You MUST dial them ALL the way back down for storage. Failure to do so puts
> load on the spring inside, which eventually causes it to take a "set",
> which ALSO throws off the calibration.
>
> The answer is to dial it down to 20 ft lbs, then keep going SLOWLY and
> GENTLY until you feel the handle bottom out.
>
> I wrecked my first Craftsman torque wrench by dialing it down too
> vigorously so the nut came loose. Then I took it apart to see how it
> worked. See here for that story:
> http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/torque_wrench/index.html
>
>
>
And if this does happen you just need to pop the cap off the handgrip.
Use an allen wrench to hold the inner shaft and take the grip retaining
nut out. Now grab a beam style wrench and a 3/8" square 1/2" drive
socket. Hook the two wrenches face to face with the socket. Now use the
beam wrench to apply torque to the clicker. Watch the scale and read the
number when the click type actually clicks. That gives you a starting
torque. Now use the allen wrench to adjust the clicker to a reading
halfway between min/max. Keep testing the wrench as you adjust it.

Once you get it to reliably click at the halfway point, stop. Now slip
the handle on and make sure the nut sets into it's recess. Now turn it
so the scale reads the same as your set point. Now slip the handle back
off and apply some thread locker to the nut/shaft. Put the hand grip
back on and once your sure the thread locker is set install the locknut
while holding the shaft with the allen wrench. Tighten it down with some
thread locker on it. reinstall the cap and your wrench should be very
close to correct.

--
Steve W.


Life is not like a box of chocolates
it's more like a jar of jalapenos-
what you do today could burn your ass tomorrow!
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

"Built_Well" <Built_Well_Toyota.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:499bdf2c-8103-46ba-9ce3-58d1156f20f5@t54g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>
> Ray O wrote:
>>
>> When you need a warranty replacement on a Craftsman tool,
>> you can take it to a Sears store and get it exchanged on
>> the spot. Does Autozone handle warranty replacements or
>> do you have to mail the tool to the manufacturer?
> ========
>
> Ray, yes, you can return the tool to any AutoZone store and
> get a replacement on the spot. Here's the exact wording on
> the plastic tag attached to the Duralast socket:
>
> Guaranteed for life.
>
> Full Duralast Unlimited Warranty.
>
> If any Duralast Guaranteed-For-Life hand tool ever fails
> to give complete satisfaction, return it to any AutoZone
> store and it will be replaced, free of charge.
>
> This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may
> also have other rights which vary from state to state.
>
> -- Sounds pretty good to me.

Sounds good to me too!


>
> The tag also says:
>
> Distributed by AutoZone, Memphis, TN.
>
> Made in Taiwan, ROC.
>
> Professional Grade tools.
>
> Chrome Moly steel for strength and durability.
>
> One thing I noticed about the 21mm deep socket is the top
> third is slightly thinner than the bottom two-thirds.
> I asked the AutoZone fellow about this; he said it makes
> the socket stronger because the ratchet/wrench attaches
> at the top. And I thought they were just trying to save
> material.

I think they were just trying to save material. I really doubt if the folks
at Autozone are that knowledgeable about tool design.

>
> I made sure to get all 6 points as I remember you saying a
> long time ago that 12-point sockets can round off nuts more
> easily.
>
> Earlier today I printed out a brake inspection checklist
> from the book "Auto Upkeep." One of the things it says
> is to:
>
> "Use a ruler to measure the brake pad thickness. Measure
> only the pad, not the metal backing. Brake pads with less
> than 1/8th of an inch are usually considered worn out.
> Measure both inner and outer pad on disc brakes."

1/8 inch = 3/175 mm.

Toyota's recommendation is to replace at 1 mm. I double that and replace at
2 mm, which is between 2/32" and 3/32"

--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

"Bill Putney" <bptn DeleteThis @kinez.net> wrote in message
news:6bccc5F3a1ui2U4@mid.individual.net...
> Ray O wrote:
>
>> ...While you are shopping for tools, get a 6 inch machinist's metric
>> scale. It looks like a ruler made out of sheet metal with a sliding
>> pocket clip. When you rotate your tires, use the scale to measure brake
>> lining thickness. If lining thickness is 2 mm or less, they need
>> replacement.
>
> Real men don't need the scale. My eyeballs are calibrated.
>
> Bill Putney
> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address
> with the letter 'x')

I generally don't measure either because I can no longer read the fine print
on my machinist's scale without glasses. If I'm doing someone else's car
and they're standing there watching, I turn it into a learning experience
and have the owner measure and read me the results - it looks better if you
measure when someone is watching.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer 

"Bill Putney" <bptn.TakeThisOut@kinez.net> wrote in message
news:6bcclrF3a1ui2U5@mid.individual.net...
> Bill Putney wrote:
>> Ray O wrote:
>>
>>> ...While you are shopping for tools, get a 6 inch machinist's metric
>>> scale. It looks like a ruler made out of sheet metal with a sliding
>>> pocket clip. When you rotate your tires, use the scale to measure brake
>>> lining thickness. If lining thickness is 2 mm or less, they need
>>> replacement.
>>
>> Real men don't need the scale. My eyeballs are calibrated.
>
> Oh - also, if the pads are getting anywhere near close to the safe limit,
> it's important to look at the margin all the way around the pad in case
> they are wearing out of plane and are thinner in the places that are less
> readily visible/measurable.
>
> Bill Putney
> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address
> with the letter 'x')

Also, if the pads are wearing unevenly, make sure the caliper slides are not
binding.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
 >> Stay informed about: Dirty torquer