Torque Wrench Accuracy- How to easily test
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,305
Likes: 1,582
From: East Metro (Twin Cities) Minnesota
St. Jude Donor '21
Torque Wrench Accuracy- How to easily test
Guys, recently I was torquing a bold down on the C5 suspension and I just had that feeling that I was going way too tight and I was wondering if my torque wrench is no longer accurate!
It bothered me - so I found out how to make sure my torque wrench is in fact accurate and now I can sleep at night knowing my repair is correct.
I put together this short video showing the process.
It bothered me - so I found out how to make sure my torque wrench is in fact accurate and now I can sleep at night knowing my repair is correct.
I put together this short video showing the process.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,357
Likes: 1,592
From: Western NY
Good video!
Where I used to work, we had a "calibration lab", that could verify the accuracy of ANY measuring device you could imagine, be it torque wrenches, Vernier calipers, pressure gauges, "jo blocks", whatever. I retired, and miss that "perk".....
Where I used to work, we had a "calibration lab", that could verify the accuracy of ANY measuring device you could imagine, be it torque wrenches, Vernier calipers, pressure gauges, "jo blocks", whatever. I retired, and miss that "perk".....
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,804
Likes: 358
From: Northville, MI
Been using that method, 12" and 50 lb weight, for the last 20 years. Do it every January 2 on all my torque wrenches. It is scarry how much some will change in a year and how some have been very consistent.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,305
Likes: 1,582
From: East Metro (Twin Cities) Minnesota
St. Jude Donor '21
Wow! That is one heck of a cool, albeit unusual, PERK! Did you work for an aerospace company?
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Moderator, Tech Contributor
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 15,592
Likes: 4,055
From: Cape Coral, Florida
We too have a “cal lab” at the airlines since many of the tools have to be super accurate sometimes down to the ten thousandths of an inch !!...took my 40 year old Craftsman torque wrench in for a check up last year and it was still accurate to 1 foot pound...trick to keeping it accurate is DON’T drop it !!
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,357
Likes: 1,592
From: Western NY
We too have a “cal lab” at the airlines since many of the tools have to be super accurate sometimes down to the ten thousandths of an inch !!...took my 40 year old Craftsman torque wrench in for a check up last year and it was still accurate to 1 foot pound...trick to keeping it accurate is DON’T drop it !!
It's also important to "zero out" the wrench when you finish using it. I, too, had a 30+ year old Craftsman torque wrench that was also very accurate....right up to the day that it's internal spring reached it's "fatigue point" and broke.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,305
Likes: 1,582
From: East Metro (Twin Cities) Minnesota
St. Jude Donor '21
Mine was off by quite a bit and purchased in the early 90's. Easily brought back into calibration though - now I am much more confident when torquing a critical fastener!
Report back the findings if you would!
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,305
Likes: 1,582
From: East Metro (Twin Cities) Minnesota
St. Jude Donor '21