wells.reese•20d agoMost Upvoted

Broke a torque wrench on a Subaru head bolt and learned my lesson

I was doing head gaskets on a 2005 Outback last month and snapped a Harbor Freight torque wrench at 45 ft-lbs. Had to borrow my neighbor's Snap-on to finish the job, and it clicked perfectly at the same setting. Anyone else had cheap tools fail at the worst time?

2 comments

2 Comments

craig.grant19d ago

Not to be that guy but 45 ft-lbs is really light for a torque wrench, those Harbor Freight ones usually fail more around 100+. The real issue with those cheap beam style wrenches is they drift out of spec over time if you don't back them off after each use. Did you store it with the spring loaded all the way down or leave it set?

miles_perez19d ago

Wait @craig.grant are you trying to tell me my lifetime warranty Harbor Freight torque wrench ISN'T a precision instrument? I absolutely left it set at 45 ft-lbs for six months after I used it to snug up some lawnmower blades, because I was too lazy to back it off. Honestly I'm surprised it even got to 45 before snapping, that thing probably hasn't been accurate since the day I bought it for $19.99 plus a coupon. I should probably just use it as a breaker bar now and admit defeat.