Best Torque wrench for outboards

[Gary H NC]

Was looking at inch pound and foot pound wrenches.
I really don't want to buy both so should i get an inch pound that goes up to 200 or the 10 to 150 foot pound wrench? I noticed some bolt specs are like 4 foot pounds so would it be best to get the inch pound wrench and convert the specs to inches?
I will be doing head gaskets and exhaust gaskets ect on my 175 Johnson...
Thanks
Wish i could afford one of those fancy digital wrenches but will have to stick to the click style..

 

[4.0l sahara]

Re: Best Torque wrench for outboards

It's nice to have both. At least on cars inch pounds is used alot on small bolts like the thermostat housing. and the bigger stuff is foot pounds. But if you want one get the foot pounds it will be the more common one to use.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Best Torque wrench for outboards

Thanks,Thats kind of what i was thinking.
I think i'll buy a cheap inch pound wrench also.Most of the foot pound wrenches only go down to 10 or 20 pounds.Never hurts to have both...

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Best Torque wrench for outboards

Sounds like you answered your own question!

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: Best Torque wrench for outboards

For the person doing their own repair, There is nothing wrong with the pointer, or beam type wrench. They can be bought at modest cost, and will remain accurate as long as you don't exceed their design rating. Outboards are aluminum engines, so the in/lb wrench will get by far the most use. The flywheel, and pinion gear nut are about the only one's that need the ft/lb wrench. Unless they are used on a daily basis, dial, digital, and break type torgue wrench's can be a lot of money lying in a drawer.

 

[Harker]

Re: Best Torque wrench for outboards

I picked up an Armstrong inlb on ebay that is the break type . It goes up to 250 inlbs. The headbolts on my 35 are supposed to be 220-240 inlbs. I also bought a Craftsman Ftlb with the pointer...I have 60 bucks in the pair and they were brand new.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Best Torque wrench for outboards

Just as a side note. Owners of torque wrenches know this, but to those that dont, you should always "break in" your wrench when you first get it. Start out at the small settings, working your way up. This should also be done when the wrench was not used for a lenghty period of time.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Best Torque wrench for outboards

Thanks guys,
Good tip too HT.
I just ordered a inch pound wrench from Amazon for 40 bucks...looks really nice.
I was out digging in my toolbox and guess what i found? A ft pound wrench!! Woohoo!!
I guess it was my fathers and i forgot all about it...cool!
Also found a nice Snap On timing light...

Dad left me 2 huge toolboxes when he passed away.

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: Best Torque wrench for outboards

Hightrim: Should my torgue wrench be broken in at 68 degree's for proper calibration?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Best Torque wrench for outboards

Hightrim: Should my torgue wrench be broken in at 68 degree's for proper calibration?

You`re giving me WAY too much credit sir. I only know about breaking them in since I have damaged one by setting it too high after having it sit for a period of time. Not a Snap On wrench by any means, but a medium grade wrench. I was told that operating it at a low torque setting permits special internal lubricant to re coat all the internal working parts.

I have found the Princess Auto torque wrench to be of poor quality. I have broken many bolts with it, including the exhaust bolts and cylinder head bolts. Not fun.

 

[flabum]

Re: Best Torque wrench for outboards

My two cents here:

I always send my torque wrenches out once a year for calibration. Although it may seem severe for do-it-yourselfers, I use my torque wrenches weekly. For the do-it-yourselfers, renting a torque wrench would probably not be a good idea since they get used by many novices. At the same token, having your own that you use once every three years is not much better since the calibration can be skewed by rust from sitting so long. So IMO, a beam type torque wrench is better suited for do-it-youselfers. They may not be as accurate as the ones the pro's use, but are within reasinable tolerances. Beam torque wrenches do not need breaking in either.

When choosing a torque wrench, chose one theat has a mid-range at the torque you plan on doing. If the torque is 50 Ft/Lbs, choose a 100 Ft/Lbs torque wrench and so on. If you get too close to either end of the wrenceh's range, the accuracy deminishes. I have over $5,000 in torque wrenches (from zero inch/lbs to 600 ft/lbs) just to stay within range of the work i do.