Should i use torque wrench on untightening job?
 

Guys I bought this really nice long torque wrench was on sale, it saids can precisely measure the torque and not to be used to untightenning nuts, I rotated my tires today and I don't have another long extended lug wrench so I used it to untighted those nuts anyway, will this damage it's accuracy anyhow? It's 100bucks wrench , kinda regret using it..

No you shouldn't use it for loosening bolts/nuts, but you probably didn't damage anything unless you had to hit the handle hard to break the lug nuts free.

Get a 18-24 inch breaker bar for $10.

It is actually a common practice to break torque with a torque wrench in order to test the torque that was previously applied.

I highly doubt you have the correct torque wrench(s) for this however. Many use the same that they torque with to break torque, it's acceptable-ish but not correct really at all.

You need a torque wrench that has a higher rating then what you are trying to break the torque on. I.E. if you know the bolt WAS torque'd to 35 Ft. LBS, you would need a larger capacity to remove it. The problem in actually knowing what you need is after so many heat and cold cycles from running the vehicle and dirt and grime build up not only on top of the bolt/nut but on the threads as well, it could require more than double the applied force and if you exceed that wrenches capabilities you WILL throw it out of calibration, or it could have worked itself loose if it wasn't installed correctly in the first place. So it really is just best to try to avoid using it unless you know what you are doing and have been trained to do so.

I was the TMDE NCOIC for my company while stationed at Ft. Hood as well as in Iraq and a few other places. TMDE is basically all items that need to be Calibrated to include torque wrenches.

But as RIWWP said, just use a breaker bar it's easier, quicker and i highly doubt your actually testing the previous torque. There is also a lot less risk in damaging your equipment.

Have a nice day everyone.


Travis

Ty guys, great detail, and Travis: I realized what you mentioned there, I changed torque setting to 150 ftp after I removed my 5th nut, before 5th it was set to zero while untightening... That is what bothers me.. rx8 standard nuts torqued to 65-87ftp, and my wrench is set to torque up to250 FTP, it's this gonna be alright?

** capacity of it is 250, I was using 150 to loose the rest of the nuts.. **

If you have another torque wrench, check it against it.

With it set that low, and pulling a lot of tension against it, it is a possibility you damaged the spring.

The only real way to tell is to test it against another torque wrench or send it to a calibration facility.

Im not really sure if advanceauto or anyone like that offers these services but im sure you can find one somewhat close to you.

It's likely that being the first time it's been used, and if it is decent quality, it should be ok. Just dont do that again.

If you have a friend with another torque wrench i would still test it to be sure, before you go trusting it to install tires or anything like that.


Out of everything i said above earlier, just focus on this part.

""The problem in actually knowing what you need is after so many heat and cold cycles from running the vehicle and dirt and grime build up not only on top of the bolt/nut but on the threads as well, it could require more than double the applied force and if you exceed that wrenches capabilities you WILL throw it out of calibration, or it could have worked itself loose if it wasn't installed correctly in the first place. So it really is just best to try to avoid using it unless you know what you are doing and have been trained to do so.""

That is why i say dont do it again haha.

Any other questions or concerns dont hesitate to ask.


Travis

Hey you know what, hehe XD.