Thanks for the great info guys.. Just one more question, where or how how would I go about calibrating the wrench on a regular basis??

You wrench wenches! Nobar or Wazza and Brownies cant go wrong :)

I am a big fan of Norbar, they make awesome gear, the older sidchrome, and Repco ones use thoir system,
but Norbar are well calibrated,
I have used Snap on Digital and to be honest not imptressed,you have to stay on your toes,
I have two sets of wrenches, W&B and Norbar, 1/4. 3/8 and 1/2...

i use Britool. click style.

Big fan of warren and brown (they aren't cheap but it's the last torque wrench you'll need to buy) as far as the 'click' style (for want of a better term) goes.

I must admit though, for some slightly lighter stuff (like the sort of head bolt and mains, let alone connecting rod bolts, you'd find on our beloved dattos) that the old beam/needle style is really useful. I find that (esp with any bolts with oil/moly lube specified to be used) that it's hard to pull up on a light tension, you pull a bit harder and then it clicks but you've actually moved it a bit farther than intended. With the needle style 'guage' I find I can more easily smoothly and effectively approach and arrive at the exact right bolt tension.


Then again, one could easily make the point that for rod bolts, the better choice is with a bolt stretch guage (sort of like a micrometer that sits at each side of the rod bolt and can measure accurately to sub thousandths of an inch) - you set that up, then tighten the rod bolt with a ring spanner, and do so until the rod bolt has stretched X thousandths of an inch (and on the higher quality ARP bolts they will specify optimal bolt stretch for maximal/ longest lasting rod/cap clamping and life.

One bit of advice - if you buy one, don't EVER lend it to anyone, even good mates. If they need one desperately, only do it if you can come around and operate it for them when the time comes to use it. If they don't agree, don't risk it. I've had a couple of decent ones ruined - both times by relatively close family (two separate people). One used it as a breaker bar to undo tight bolts because it had a longer lever arm than his breaker bar, and he damaged it enough that it just wasn't consistent when attempts weree made to re-calibrate it. The second one, well, I can't say precisely, as it 'vanished' so what damage he might have done to it to necessitate faking its disappearance is anyone's guess.

I got a king chrome 15 years ago only used it 5 times, 3 of those this year lol.

Got a good one from bunnings KingChrome $80

The bloke that calibrates our torque wrenches at work says the warren and brown torque wrenches stay calibrated the best and dont have many problems with em. I too like the warren and brown wrenches

For 20 years I used a $25 beam-and-pointer type.








But then I got a good deal on an easier-to-use click-ratchet type. Only paid $75 for snap-on brand (new ones cost $330).

Either type is precise enough for engine work. Whichever type you buy, either compare the torque reading to another wrench or have it calibrated. To keep the calibration of a click-type wrench, ALWAYS back it down to Zero after use, and have it calibrated yearly. The beam type needs no such special care.

i like the old style warren & brown