I have a very old, but little used Craftsman bending indicator style Torque wrench. Are they accurate enough for most applications? I'm about to reinstall a lower Rod cap. It was removed for a cursory inspection of the bearing & journal, while the pan is off for cleaning and a new gasket etc.

Paul

Torque wrenches need to be recalibrated over time. In your case, I would put your wrench and socket on a rod cap that is already in place and begin to apply pressure to tighten it. Read the torque reading as you approach the point where cap retainer begins to move. This will give you and idea of how near the wrench is in specification. Best case, borrow a Snap-On "clicker" torque wrench to be sure.



Mark

57 Black Tbird 312/auto

I have a couple of 50 year old beam type torque wrenches that just stay correct. Other types can go bad, especially the digital ones. The beam type stay accurate as long as you don't heat the beam. The big drawback is that you have to be able to see the pointer, but I got into the habit 50 years ago, and still use them on torque up to 150 lbs. I use the click type on bigger bolts. I have a 600 ft. lb. torque wrench for Diesel engines that clicks. I can't feature pulling 400 lbs and watching the pointer.

Kenneth

Fredricksburg, Texas

I have both styles and do beleive the beam type stay more accurate over time as long as they have not been abused. When using the beam type I install a piece of masking tape on the edge of the number I need and just bring the pointer up to the edge of the tape, that way I dont have to try to read the numbers.

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?