december2021 - 49

COVER STORY
Plenty of TORQUE
J
By Amanda Silliker, Editor
ust the other day, independent
mobile tool dealer Matt
Sledge witnessed a concerning
sight. A brand-new Dodge
Challenger was driving down the
street in Franklin, Tennessee, when
one of the tires fell right off.
" It's crazy. A little oil lube guy put
his wheels back on, he drove two miles
down the street, and his wheel popped
off, " says Sledge, owner of Techs Choice
Tools and Equipment. " I saw it happen
with my own eyes. "
It's stories like this that reinforce
the importance of ensuring wheels are
torqued properly before a customer is
sent back on the road. To do this, technicians
need to buy the right torque
wrench for the job - and they can turn
to their mobile tool dealer to find just
what they need.
TYPES OF TORQUE WRENCHES
There are many different torque
wrenches on the market. The very earliest
design that is still manufactured
and used today is the deflecting beam
torque wrench. It's simple but effective,
and the cheapest option out there, says
Bob Pond, vice-president of sales and
marketing at Central Tools. The next is
a dial type with a needle that sweeps
around the dial.
The biggest problem with both of
these is parallax error, which occurs
when the measurement of an object's
length is inaccurate because of the user's
positioning to the device.
To address that inherent issue, the
click-style torque wrench was invented.
Micrometer-style click torque wrenches
are the most popular - the torque setting
is adjusted by twisting the handle until
it reaches the correct torque setting on
the barrel of the tool. It has an internal
mechanism that will create an audible
click and a tactile feeling that indicates
you've reached the torque setting of
the tool.
This style of torque wrench is fairly
accurate (plus or minus four percent in
the right-hand direction and six percent
in the left-hand direction) as long
as they are maintained and serviced
properly, Pond explains. But Chris
Morris, product marketing manager at
Mountz Torque, says click wrenches
are susceptible to over torquing because
the user doesn't always hear the click
sound, especially with smaller amounts
of torque or in noisy environments. To
combat this, Mountz designed a camover
wrench that uses an internal camover
mechanism that disengages once
the torque is reached. According to the
company, a cam-over wrench can be
given to any operator with the confidence
that they will deliver the correct
torque time after time.
" It's the most error-proofing system
you can have. Once you hit the torque
and you continue to apply on it, it doesn't
apply anymore torque on it, " says Morris.
While cam-over wrenches are about
three or four times the price of a click
wrench, another selling feature is that
it doesn't matter where a tech grabs on
the handle, the same amount of torque
will be applied.
The next style of torque wrench is
the click style split beam pioneered by
Precision Instruments. It also makes
an audible and tactile click sound, but
it overcomes many of the problems
associated with micrometer-style click
wrenches in abusive environments, the
company says. All critical parts of the
wrench are welded together at assembly,
there is no need to " work in " the torque
wrench before use, and it does not need
to be adjusted to the lowest torque setting
after use. Sledge sells these torque
wrenches by Precision Instruments to
customers that are performing the same
torque over and over again.
The next option is digital or electronic
torque wrenches that allow
the user to program the torque limit.
These can be extremely accurate (plus
or minus two percent) but they are
more expensive.
" There are some potential pitfalls
with digital. Automotive tends not to be
the most clean and pristine and careful
use environments. Things get dropped
and moved so the digital controller can
get damaged, the screen can get cracked,
but if the guy takes care of it, if he's careful
with his tools, it will operate perfectly
fine for him, " Pond says.
Professional Distributor I December 2021 I VehicleServicePros.com 49
All technicians should have a good torque wrench.
Help your customers choose the right one for the job.
http://www.VehicleServicePros.com
december2021

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