Posts
I previously lost confidence in my torque wrench because the rear axles came loose on The Precious.
I have been suspect of its replacement because of a recurring vibration at about 60 that can get worse if the wheels are out of phase.
Tonight I took out the old one, dialed it to 140 and checked it against the lugs which had been torqued with the newer wrench. It clicked without moving them.
Then I moved one wheel two lugs over and torqued it down with the old wrench.
Then I checked the torque with the new wrench.
They agree!
The problem with the axle nuts on the C6 wasn't torque, but it's really not a good design. I ended up using a jam nut arrangement to keep them secure.
The vibration is from damaged tires from the ruined front suspension and taking way too long diagnosing it. Holden really did a number with the geometry and it defies my double-A-arm education.
I used to do calibration for the Aviation company that I worked for. I have seen brand new torque wrenches that were out of tolerance. Some were in calibration in the middle of their range but out on either end. Even "good" brand name wrenches are only guaranteed to be within plus or minus 3%. You don't know without a cal cert.
ReplyDeleteFun story about the old wrench. I had it in my car when the Snap On guy was at the shop I was waiting for a friend at.
DeleteI oooh'd and ahhhh'd at the $500 digital wrench they had, but said I couldn't afford one and had to settle for the $30 in the trunk.
He talked about how garbage they were and that he had a tester in the truck, and he'd test mine to prove what crap it was.
Nearly dead nuts.
He then bet that it wouldn't stay that way for long. I bet him that if it got more than 2% off in the next year, I'd buy the $500 whiz-bang unit.
It didn't drift a bit!
Nice to see that it's still somewhat trustworthy. It's a lot more readable than the one I got to replace it.