torque wrench

Looking to buy a torque wrench, just wondering what range of torque levels I should be looking for as there are a few different ones available?

For the jobs on a Landy you (ideally) should need three overlapping torque wrenches. Torque wrenches are only really accurate in the middle third of their range but if you are not daft many torque jobs can be sorted by 'feel' and an understanding of what the bolt, nut, fastener is there to do? Allow a bit of end float where required and don't 'White knuckle' everything.

If budget is an issue get a low torque type, 0 - 35 for example. It's far harder to guesstimate the low torque settings compared to the high torque settings. Also, high torque settings tend to be big fat bolts, big fat bolts are much harder to break than the the little ones

The other way to do it is decide what work you want to do, if it's a head gasket change (for example), then buy the appropriate wrench for that work, then later on buy the relevant wrench for the next job

The est advice I can give is buy a good un, don't buy cheap, a good un will last years, a cheap un will not only (probably) be inaccurate, but will also (proabably) bust early in life.

Whatever you get, make sure you set the torque back to 0 when you've done with it.

I have just been on the hone to my pal asking if he had a torque wrench I could borrow - he didn't have one, but recommended a Clarke one from Machine Mart as a decent budget buy. Don't know if that's good advice or not, but saw this thread and thought I'd mention it....

hammer, larger the better

thanks for the advice gents.......checking out machine mart.

Worth checking out the Halfords range as well. I have two, 1/2" and 3/8, both heavily hinted at as Christmas gifts! Very impressed with ease of use, just don't expect the Halfords guys to know what the are talking about.

the halfords ones are good i have a snap on 1/2 inch torque wrench had it years now and still looks mint if i was to sell it on. its got a good range on it 70-350nm.
if your on a budget id recommend the halfords range

Norbar are world renowned torque wrench manufacturers and not that expensive (116.00 incl VAT) if you want a reliable make. 30ftlb to 150lbft

Cromwell Industrial Tools UK: Norbar : 200(13046) ADJ. PUSH THROUGH TORQUE WRENCH 1/2"S/D : NBD-555-1235E

If you buy from Halfords make sure you keep the receipt and make sure that the location is away from direct sunlight. The life time guarantee dependsd on proof of purchase and while a credit card statement is legally adequate, the receipt kicks ass

If you go for the Cromwell one, haggle, they sell to industry a lot and give discount to the corporate customers, so it's worth asking on your own behalf.

I'd buy the Halfords pro version, but then I have a lot of Halfords pro tools and haven't managed to bust any yet