Are Snap-on tools really better ?

can someone find a decent 3/4" drive torque wrench that one could use on lug nuts.......


Without costing as much as a set of steer tires....

 

600 ft lb for $699


http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/C...yle-Torque-Wrench-3-4-/_/R-CHQTW34_0380524553

 

I know.....That's what I keep finding them for too.....

 

well shops haven't charged me to tighten lug nuts yet. I just don't know if they can? You just want to do your own tire rotations?

 

I am starting to do more and more of my own work. Let's just put it that way. And do to tires/brakes, I feel a lot better with a torque wrench around.

 

If you want to do the work the work yourself, you need the right tools. Don't cheap out on a torque wrench, especially for wheels, someone's life may depend on it!!!

 

I have been turning wrenches on big stuff since 1986. Started on the farm, spent 14 years as a track mechanic in the Army Guard. Worked on everything from generators up to M1 tanks and a lot of the stuff in-between.

IMHO, unless you send your torque wrench in for annual calibration, it's nothing more than a fancy ratchet. But I also have no faith in using an air impact on a lugnut or any other fastener either. And I won't even get started on torque sticks.

Having the right tools also doesn't mean having THE most expensive tools either.

 

In case anyone doesn't know, most Snap-on trucks have a tester for 1/2" torque wrenches. I have a Proto dial one that has always been less than 1 ft/lb off at 200 ft/lbs. They cannot test a 3/4 one or in/lb wrench, so I have them sent out once a year.

I had a mechanic (that didn't last long) who had 90% Harbor Freight tools. He told me that the person made the mechanic, not the tools. He rounded off more bolts int he 2 weeks he worked for me than I have in the last 10 years. One day he was bolting down rocker shafts and actuator housings on a Acert. I gave him the torque specs and he grabbed his Pittsburgh torque wrench. I asked when he last had it calibrated. His response was, "What do you mean?" My response was, "Never use that here, take it home. I'll finish this job." When Snap-on came, I told him to check it. Set to 100 ft/lbs, it clicked at 73. My rule is no more that 4%, 27% is only worth scrap metal price.

Back to the original topic. Yes, Snap-on (or Mac) is usually worth the price, with a few exceptions. I have a set if stubby, SK wrenches. SK is about equivalent to Craftsman (maybe a little better). With stuby's, you wont have the leverage to round a bolt, no sense in paying top dollar when you usually only use them for swinging room after you break the fastener loose. I also have an SK 3/4" drive chrome ratchet set. 1/2 the cost of Snap-on and I know no one strong enough to break it by hand. My wheel bearing sockets are OTC.

Personally, I prefer Mac wrenches over Snap-on. Both fit and grab fasteners good, but Snap-on's hurt my hands more. I have a set of Crescent ratchet wrenches that I like over any other brand and they were a little cheaper than the Gear Wrenches the most other people have.

A few things that you should not buy cheapo's:
Anything that can hurt you if it slips or breaks (Screwdrivers, pry bars, snap ring pliers, etc)
Precision measuring tools (torque wrenches, micrometers, dial indicators, etc)
Anything that you use everyday
Drill bits, taps & dies

A good mechanic can get by without a Snap-on tool box. I have a Waterloo box that was $1300.00 for a double bay top & bottom and side box. The closest comparable sized Snap-on or Mac is over $6000.00. It not as heavy, but I'm the only one that uses it and don't beat it up, it's over 10 years old now and still holding up fine. It also came with drawer liners that Snap-on wants to sell extra.

One of the few Chinese things I have is a US general 5 drawer tool cart. I hated to do it, but for 169.00 it's just as good as the Crazy overpriced Snap-on big carts for 1/5 the price. 90% of my work is wheeling that cart from truck to truck, all my commonly used stuff is in it. My big box only moves about once a month to sweep the shop. When I need tools from the big box, I take what I need and put them in the cart.

 

I said don't cheap out. Sorry, didn't mean to insult you, sounded like you wanted to take the cheap route, just trying to help. Anyone with your background shouldn't have a problem finding a good torque wrench.
I hate to say it, but we always had the best reliability and performance from Snap On for the 3/4" 600ftlbs torque wrenches. For years our shop had a major contract to perform PDI's on school buses and medium duty chassis that all took 450 ftlbs wheel nuts. 40 to 60 per vehicle, several vehicles per day, over and over. We did have some other brands, to be honest, I can't remember what make they were, but the Snap On ones were the only ones that lasted. I'll ask around to see if anyone remembers them.

 

honestly, if I was turning wrenches daily, I really wouldn't think twice of buying a top of the line high quality wrench. Think of the market you are playing into.

You are a daily wrench turner. I expect you to have quality precision tools. Especially when it comes to putting things together in that engine of any one of us out here.

While I could and have done much of the same work, I choose not to because my day to day level of exposure to them isn't worth the risk of me screwing something up. The coolest project I ever did was tearing a turbine down on an M1 tank. Imagine the pucker factor the first time you fire that sucker up at 30,000+ RPM.

But your market and most truck owner/operators are different levels of fields. I might tighten up my tires 3-4 times a year. You might do it 3-4 a day. That $300 napa or Parts Central torque wrench will likely be sufficient for OUR needs. I'd still want it tested against a mechanic sometime for a pseudo calibration.

At one time I was all over Matco tools. I love their wrenches over the snap-on a lot. They have a thicker handle and I don't feel like they are that hard to pull against. Snap-on's are thinner and if you really crank on them, hurt to pull. I am not the only one that has commented on that aspect.

It's a professional mechanics tool. If you can afford them for the average shade-tree mechanic (my definition of a guy who does his own work to save a couple bucks now and then), more power to you.

But there are average tools that will get the job done for that shade tree mechanic.

But like you said.

Do NOT skimp on your precision tools like micrometers and measuring devices. If you need it to read 0.001", get one that will read to 0.0001" or better yet, 0.00005"

A professional mechanic needs professional grade tools. You will tear up harbor freight tools in a day or less. likewise, you will do more damage than good to your customers equipment at the same time.

I have bought throw-away tools to complete a job on the side of the road. The tools I needed were mostly in my tool box at the house and are now on the truck.