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Pittsburgh torque wrench

2K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  mikeinri 
#1 ·
Here is my short review on this Pittsburgh click style torque.

The story: I recently bought the 1/4 inch in lbs torque wrench to torque the head bolts on my toro lawnmower that I done a complete rebuild on the Briggs and Stratton engine, and because it was on sale for $9.99. I always read reviews before buying, and what I came up with is. They either work, or they do not. Well the one I bought did not, and broke the first head bolt. Never made the clicking noise going forward at 70 in lbs, I went past 70 lbs, and reversed the wrench. Then it made the clicking. Needless to say I was furious. Luckily Harbor Freight let me return it.

As the old saying goes... You get what you pay for.

Pro's - Good price, and it is shiney

Con's - They either work or they do not work. Therefore it is NOT worth finding out the hard way.

Conclusion: I will NOT buy harbor freight precision tools, electric tools, air tools, or 12 point socket sets from them again.
 
#2 ·
!2 point sockets are pretty useless here in the salt belt regardless of the brand name..

Even 6 point sockets are lucky to get old rusty whittled down bolts and nuts off things here..

I saw a 1/2" torque wrench on sale at Aldi's Supermarket a few months ago,for 16.99!--of all places,I never expected to see tools sold there,especially a torque wrench!--but they do sell some weird things like generators,lawn furniture,and other things that aren't exactly supermarket items!..

Harbor Freight tools are OK for the short term...some I have had lasted a lot longer than expected,and others didn't "die" but lacked enough power to be very useful--like a 4" grinder that couldn't cut a 3/8" bolt off without stalling out the minute you pressed it against the bolt..it was more of a sander,than a "grinder"..
 
#3 ·
:howdy: I too will not buy precision tools from HF. All my torque wrenches 1/2, 3/8 and 1/4 are Snap ON,s. that I have calibrated every year, my Buddy is a Snap On dealer and I get them done for free. As I maintain all his small engine equipment thru out the year. All my tools are either Snap On/Craftsman. i do have a couple of HF hand tools that were for one time use. :smilie_fl
 
#5 ·
I had a HF click wrench, but decided I'd like something of higher quality because precision does matter in torque wrenches. I mentioned it, and my wife (nicely) bought me a set of Craftsman torque wrenches for Christmas. They look a little nicer than the HF ones, but suffer similar issues. I've learned to sneak up on my final torque settings a couple steps at a time. That way if there is a failure to click, it's at a lower torque. It's no surprise to anyone anymore, but Craftsman = Harbor Freight quality. I drive by a Sears on my way to Harbor Freight, but you couldn't pay me to stop in.

My rule at Harbor Freight is that I don't buy anything there that my life would depend on, or that requires a high level of precision.
 
#7 ·
I bought one of these and used it on my truck engine intake manifold bolts. Seemed to work just fine.

Mike
 
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