Good morning everyone.

About 2 weeks ago I replaced the suspension on my Jeep Gladiator Rubicon with the AEV Dualsport suspension and it has made a world of difference in how the truck handles.

One of the reasons I went with the AEV kit is its thoroughness. Every bolt had a torque spec on it and some were quite high (190 ft lb). As you can imagine, that was a struggle lying on your back with limited space to get leverage. Fortunately my son was home and he was able to help.

I currently have 2, 1/2” torque wrenches, one to 150#’s and one to 250#’s. In using the smaller one it seemed that I had to apply more force to get to a desired setting. I use the smaller wrench for up to about 110 ft lb’s and the larger one above that. To make a long story short I’m wondering where I could send these wrenches to be calibrated. I’ve seen several threads recently that mentioned torque wrenches so I figured that someone here may know.

Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks.

The longer the wrench the less force you have to use. There was a quote from Archimedes: "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world"

If you want to compare torque wrenches, put on a nut and torque it with one wrench and then take it off with the other wrench while checking torque. Then switch wrenches and do it again.

You don't mention the brand but Snap On offers that service for theirs. Flag down a truck or go to a local dealership that they frequent.

Chances are, wherever you're located, there should be several repair facilities near you. These can specialize in torque products or be industrial/contractor supply places that also have tool repair facilities.

If possible though, try to find a place with a torque tester to see if you even need them calibrated. I've been in the industry for a few decades and would set up a torque tester at a user site and have the employees bring theirs by for testing...most of them were still in spec, even with heavy use. These were typically your better brand TW's though so...YMMV if it's a Chinese wrench.

Thanks guys.
The smaller wrench is a Harbor Freight (Chinese) and the larger one is Teckton (Taiwan)so I think they should at least be tested.
I’ll see if I can find someplace nearby.

quote:

Originally posted by clang:
If you want to compare torque wrenches, put on a nut and torque it with one wrench and then take it off with the other wrench while checking torque. Then switch wrenches and do it again.

I keep beam style torque wrenches around for this purpose. You never need to send them out for calibration, b/c they're so easy to calibrate yourself. They only get out of calibration to begin with if you treat them like crap.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Thanks guys.
The smaller wrench is a Harbor Freight (Chinese) and the larger one is Teckton (Taiwan)so I think they should at least be tested.
I’ll see if I can find someplace nearby.

Testing is a good idea. Short of that, put them side by side and mark with blue painter’s tape where the handle of the smaller one is on the larger one. If you choke up on the larger one, holding it at the “marked handle”, they should feel very similar.

We've used Tool Testing Lab for calibration of some of our electronic test equipment. They also do torque calibration.

https://www.ttlcal.com/about/torque/

Can you rig up your test? Lock up the anvil on a vise, measure out a distance from the anvil to the handle, then hang a weight from the handle. Use math to convert ft-lbs, compare with the settings. Do it a few times at different weights and torque settings, and get an estimated delta?

Where are you located?

We utilize SUPERIOR SCALE & INSTRUMENT CORP for the testing of all our torque wrenches on the ship. They are based out of the Philadelphia/New Jersey area.

My wife works for a Calibration lab up here in Maine, they are all around but not often advertised.

Check with your nearest NAPA, they may have a local shop they can recommend.

^^^Who and where in Maine? I've go a Torque Wrench (actually a couple of 'em) I purchased on eBay that I need to get calibrated.

I'd start by doing a test like clang suggested. If they matched I'd think it unlikely they were both in error the same amount in the same direction and call 'em both good. Otherwise, then I'd go looking for a calibration facility.

Most fair sized cities have a tool repair company that does calibrations of all types of equipment .
We used JM Test Systems for anything that needed calibration or certification . They have locations in about 4 or 5 states .

I own about 5 torque wrenches both click type and old fashioned pointer. I wanted to get them calibrated and came across a video of a guy using a digital luggage scale. I set up a nut and bolt in a vice and adjusted the torque wrench to 25, 47 and 65 ft lbs. wrapped the strap of the scale around torque wrench handle and pulled until it clicked. It worked really well and happy with the results. But then again I'm not working on the space shuttle.

I have sent my snap-on wrenches to them, I had one that I left batteries in and it had to be rebuilt. Cost me about $150 if I remember (about 9 years ago).

As mentioned....most large cities have a place to get instruments and torque wrenches calibrated.


For your purposes...I would recommend going this route: https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-2...Y2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
I’m wondering where I could send these wrenches to be calibrated.

Are you in VA right now? I'm working on a calibration project this week with Master Gage and Tool over in Danville. I'll email you some contact info in just a moment.

My take on torque wrenches (as a non-mechanic driveway duffer). 1. Get enough torque wrenches to cover your needs where they are most accurate in their respective ranges, around 1/3 to 2/3 for any given wrench iirc. 2. For suspension work if your existing wrench is a little off it prob will be fine unless you're racing or off roading with expensive hardware. I have four torque wrenches, and am one short, but make do pretty well for suspension and engine work. A hobby of sorts. But my wrenches are not expensive. If you have quality wrenches you're ahead of the game already.

I have used Team Torque to calibrate and repair mine. They did great work.

What is the pricing to calibrate and repair. I have and use snap on wrenches and its pretty reasonable to send them in, but no idea on third party calibrators. But the OP has a harbor freight and on their website a new one is $22.