Reddit reviews TEKTON 1/2 Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench (25-250 ft.-lb.) | 24340

Hey! I started much where you are and had no real way of learning from someone else on what to buy, what to look for, etc. etc. I've got a few tips for you!

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When I first started wrenching, I thought I needed air tools. Every mechanic's shop has airtools. Cars are big and mechanical, and it made sense that I'd need something beefy to pull them apart. TOTALLY FALSE. I'll let you know that 90% of my tools are handtools from harbor freight and I probably spent no more than $200 on the collection. Here's a rundown of my most used/invaluable tools:

• 3/8" drive socket wrench from harbor freight. Composite handle, great mechanism, very comfortable, very light. I have a nice set of kobalt socket wrenches. They don't shine a light on this bad boy in my experience. I have and use 2 pretty regularly. You might be able to get away with just an adjustable wrench.
  
• Impact sockets. Little bit beefier than regular sockets, but I very rarely come across an instance when these are not the answer.
  
• Color coded deep sockets. When the impacts aren't the answer, these are. I've only got a set of metric, and haven't needed to buy the SAE set yet. I won't buy them until I need them. The color coding seems trivial, but is HUGE when you're sick and tired of being under the car, just want to finish since the sun went down and your tired. Going for the blue socket is much easier than sliding around in relative dark trying every socket to see if it's right. That fucking sucks.
  
• Universal joints. Not 100% necessary, so don't buy them until you need them, but holy hell do they make life easier.
  
• Extensions. Access is everything when it comes to wrenching. These ones wobble, you might not like that. Try them in the store. Poking 18" of extension up into a crevice is all fun and games until your socket starts flopping around and you can't control it. Double entendre. The alternative are non-wobbling extensions. I have the non-wobbly ones. They've worked totally fine and I don't find that I need the wobble ones.
  
• Adapters to make all your junk work together.
  
• Breaker bar. When your arms fail you, this won't. Don't go for the cheapest. I did and snapped off the end. Totally fucked myself in my work parking lot.
  
• Torque wrench. Almost the most expensive tool in my arsenal. Torque specs are very important. This wrench is cheap as fuck, and people say it's a comparable buy to the snap on wrench. I love mine to death.
  
• Adjustable wrench Like having an entire socket wrench set in one single tool. More elbow grease, but very convenient.
  
• Body panel pry bars. You will need these for general "gentle" prying on body panel snaps. Where a screwdriver would mess up the paint, these are surprisingly effective.
  
• My crown jewel: The impact driver. This is my singularly most used tool. Get this with a set of bits, and you'll be unstoppable. Of course it's not necessary, but it makes 2 minutes of wrenching a 2 second affair. Add it up and it saves a lot of time. These and These are what make my impact driver the best tool in my arsenal.
  
• JACK STANDS. Cars are heavy, make sure it's safely supported and you'll be confident every time you go under your car.
  
• Jack to actually get your car up.
  
• Plywood squares to put under your jack stands, and jack. Jackstands have small feet that sink in grass and asphalt. Plywood stops them from sinking
  
• PB Blaster, or penetrating oil. This stuff will pay for itself the first time you use it. Loosens the bullshittiest of bullshit.
  
• OBD2 reader This bad boy combined with a $10 app on your phone (DashCommand) will let you communicate with your car's computer. I can read codes, clear codes, see voltage, and boost and vacuum pressures. I can see RPMs, engine timing, rich/lean conditions and any other shit that I'll never need to see. Troubleshooting is 100 times easier with this. Most auto stores will read codes for free, but they won't clear them.
  
  And that's basically it. Lift your car on level ground. Use jackstands. "Getting to" the actual issue is always like 80% of the work. The work itself is pretty easy generally. Youtube and reddit ( r/mechanicadvice, r/cars, and r/justrolledintotheshop ) are invaluable resources. These people know their shit and they know yours too. PB Blaster is magic oil. If something goes wrong, get it on video for the experts to see and hear instead of describing a skrrt skrrt sound when you're turning left then right, you know? Get cheap tools to start with. When they break, you know that you use them enough to justify better ones. If I've told you not to skimp somewhere, it's because I've skimped there before and I don't want you sitting there defeated. Buy tools as you need them. Start basic, then expand. It's not called a collection because you bought them all at the same time from the same place.
  
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  I got my start by changing my oil. Then my brakes. Then replacing this, then that, and now I'd feel comfortable working on a brand new vehicle. I'm no expert either. Just casual stuff. Building confidence is a big part of it. I wish you luck my man. If you ever need anything, let me know and if I don't have the answer, I'll find it for you.
  
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  To clarify. The tools I listed above are 99% of what I use.

Here is a torque wrench

TEKTON 24340 1/2-Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench (25-250 ft.-lb./33.9-338.9 Nm) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C5ZL1NS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_8xKQybQQE21EE

Should be easy to learn how to use with YouTube.

Here’s the manual hand tool, no vibration, way if anyone needs that:

Crank Pulley Holder Tool $15

Short Breaker Bar $14

Long Breaker Bar $35

Plus, the correct size 1/2 deep socket that fits on your crank bolt. $10-15

• Jack up the front of the car high.
  
• Put the pulley holder and small breaker on — to hold the pulley in place.
  
• Stick breaker handle between some strong suspension parts. This is going to hold the crank from spinning counter clockwise.
  
• Put your long breaker and socket on the bolt.
  
• Stand in-front for the driver headlight, and put your weight on the long breaker with your foot.
  
  I usually have someone look it everything is saying put while I put my weight on it.
  
  If you have a hard time getting enough clearance you can do the jack stand and multiple extensions trick.
  
  P.S. These guys used pipe instead of the long breaker, and socket wrenches instead — I would use breakers for both. How to Video
  
  Just be careful if you know it’s seized or suspect it is. Then you’ll need to explore other methods. Don’t want to snap the bolt.
  
  Then if you want to torque to spec, then a long torque that can hit your needed ft/lbs.
  example

Pyrometer

Low profile jack stands (flat feet, safe for tarmac)

Racing gloves

RaceQuip Helmet Support

A GoPro off-brand accessory kit To help mounting that GoPro to whatever you want to mount it to.

Some Mechanix gloves lots of options

Paint markers various colors.

F4 self-sealing silicone tape

Going Faster
Speed Secrets
High-Performance Handling for Street or Track

Another few things would be to find out what the driver uses for brake pads, brake fluid, rotors, oil filter, etc., as those can be pricey and nice gifts. (I use Hawk DTC-60 front, HP+ rear pads, Motul RBF-600 fluid)

Portable battery powered air pump for tires I have one very similar to this. It's cheap and great to use for adjusting pressures before sessions.

A decent tire pressure gauge This is the one I have and have used for several years and I have been very happy with it.

A subscription to Grassroots Motorsports

Torque wrench, +200 ft/lbs This is the one I have been using for a few years and it works well.

I've got lots of other ideas for tools and such; specific socket sets, impact gun & sockets, special bits for your car, magnet, flash lights/head lamp/stick light, channel locks, stubby sockets, various wrenches, extensions, breaker bar, bits, allen wrenches, vice grips, pry bars, adapters, pliers, cutters, etc that would be good to put on your list if you don't have them in your kit.

Happy holidays!

You can't. You can, but not with a standard air wrench. Air powered wrenchs with a specific torque are multi thousand dollar tools used in factories that have staff that recalibrates them every month.

What you need to do is find a different vehicle and run out to an Oriellys/AutoZone/AdvancedAuto/NAPA. Buy the bolt and do a free tool rental of a torque wrench that has a 44ftlb rating. It will be a wrench that is 2' long or longer. Looks like this. If its the first time using one, set the torque and torque down a random bolt/nut to the rating. Learn the click and get an idea of what 44 ft lbs feels like. Put it on the cab bolt, sneak up to but don't exceed the torque, get the wrench in the right position, handle it such that your arm is 90 degrees from the wrench shaft, and slowing pull until it clicks. Then reposition yourself so you can make a 170 degree turn without ratcheting to put the bolt into the final position.

I have the bigger brother of the tekton you mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-24340-2-Inch-ft-lb-33-9-338-9/dp/B00C5ZL1NS

Since I drive an F150 with lug nuts that need 150ft/#. And as with most precision devices, they don't operate their best at either extreme.

The thing is solid, and all my tekton tools have been a pleasure to use. But I have read online as I am sure you have that spring types like the tekton can lose calibration A) over time, B) if you do not return to the lowest setting.

The Tekton would be fine probably forever, but if you bite the bullet now you can get the generic version of the snap-on for about 3X: https://www.amazon.com/Precision-Instruments-PREC3FR250F-Silver-Torque/dp/B002XMSFIM/

I came across this link on this subreddit about who actually makes the tools for snap-on, and you can find it here: http://www.toolchat.net/

Since most snap-on are just re-branded. The 2nd wrench I linked is a split-beam and does not have the associated accuracy-over-time issues of the spring type ones.

That said, with the Tekton you can spend that other 100$ on more needed tools, then graduate to higher quality over time. Having a spare around is awesome.

Heres a fairly general 1/2" torque wrench by TEKTON. Its $57 (plus tax), does 25-250 ft lbs, not digital however, but is a very reliable brand for the price.

https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-24340-2-Inch-ft-lb-33-9-338-9/dp/B00C5ZL1NS/ref=pd_cp_469_4?pd_rd_w=1pkqa&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=PJNVXXD0RXZHB8H433KD&pd_rd_r=55f6a626-87d2-4d13-9f8a-3dfe8736a9da&pd_rd_wg=TF8s9&pd_rd_i=B00C5ZL1NS&psc=1&refRID=PJNVXXD0RXZHB8H433KD

If you wanted to venture to Snap-on territory, this is one made by their supplier for $158

https://www.amazon.com/Industrial-CDI-2503MFRPH-Adjustable-Micrometer/dp/B000KL4H80/ref=sr_1_5?crid=35YOXOJXYGC4J&keywords=cdi+torque+wrench&qid=1564268944&s=hi&sprefix=cdi%2Ctools%2C181&sr=1-5

In case you didn't know, Tekton makes a 1/2 torque wrench goes goes up to 250 ft-lb. Link

They make two 1/4 ones as well, do you have the one that goes up to 150 in-lb or 200 in-lb?

I have a bridge to sell you for that interior 😲

These are things I have found especially useful. I've used these more than anything in my huge toolkit, but I'm glad I got it for other general wrenching.

• 3/8" and 1/2" breaker bars and torque wrenches if you don't like to guess whether you're going to strip a fastener like me. I found the Tekton brand is solid for torque wrenches, here's the 1/2" 250ft-lb.
  
  
• 22mm deep well socket (steering wheel)
  
  
• 8, 10, 17mm sockets, deep and standard
  
  
• socket extensions (u-joint probably wouldn't hurt)
  
  
• Flare wrenches, if you're doing the brake lines
  
  
• penetrating oil (liquid wrench or the like)
  
  
• Zip ties
  
  
• Work lamp - I found this one at Menards and it is so useful. Magnetic/rechargeable/lasts for hours
  
  
• Jack/Jack stands: picked up a cheap, durable set of Torin stands with a jack. I was thinking about something from Harbor freight, but I don't want to cheap out with something that I'm relying on to keep the car up.
  
  
• cheap multimeter
  
  
• spare wire (for jumping your oil service light after a DIY change)
  

This is the one I have in my garage.
https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-24340-2-Inch-ft-lb-33-9-338-9/dp/B00C5ZL1NS/
The 25 to 250 ft lbs will cover 99.9% of everything on a passenger vehicle, and the 1/2 inch drive is a good size for the sockets that will be used for wheels and suspension.