Budget torque wrench recommendations?

I’ve been in need of a torque wrench for a while now. I am not a big time mechanic, and I don’t need the most expensive snap on torque wrench. Does anyone have any recommendations on a pretty accurate lower price torque wrench? I’d ideally be wanting to use it on my dirtbike, and new 4Runner that’s coming in. Not sure how low/high each wrench can go. Maybe want digital for odd torque numbers such as for the dirtbike.

Thanks for any advice! Hoping to get a sweet deal being Black Friday.

 

I recommend Home Depot's Husky brand torque wrenches. They come with a life time warranty. A 3/8 drive that does 20-100 ft-lbs may good for most applications but in your specific case, you may need to opt to a 1/2 drive.

 

Yeah dirtbike can go from like 2ft/lb to over 100. And it’s weird specs like 4.4ft/lb, etc. so I’m not sure if there even is a torque wrench out there that can go from that small to high enough for most things on a 4Runner

 

Likewise I don't think there is a single Tq wrench out there that covers the range that you are interested in. For something that needs 2 or 4.4 ft-lbs, do you really need a Tq wrench for those? If you do, you'll need to grab a 1/4 drive Tq wrench as well. I bet HD must have a holiday special on its tools right now.

 

yeah like an important one would be bottom triple clamp 8.9ftlb, top 12.5ftlb. Overtightening those will cause binding in the fork.

 

So are the husky wrenches good? Looks like I can get the 3/8, 1/2, and 1/4 for $154 on Home Depot website. That seems like it’d cover everything.

 

I use 1/4” digital micro for my dirt bikes that cover a range of like 2-18lbs. Then have 3/8” that covers 22-100. Cheap torque wrenches scare me, but have heard the HD Husky line is decent. Personally, my micro is a snap-on and my 3/8” is a CDI (a snap-on company).

 

Harbor freight. Video comparisons show them to be pretty damn solid. That’s what I use for the once or twice a year I need one.

 

I don't mean to sound pretentious but what is the definition of "good"? You can certainly buy a high quality tool made by Snap on or Mac but as a mid-grade, Husky brand is "good" enough.

 

Ordered the husky’s. Thanks guys!


Yeah I don’t need anything super high end. Just something to get me close enough to spec on the occasions I’ll use them.

 

Not sure what you consider a budget value, but I personally love this torque wrench for the money.

When I got it on Amazon it was $193.00

$230 Precision Instruments PREC3FR250F Silver 1/2" Drive Split Beam Torque Wrench with Flex Head

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XMSFIM?ie=UTF8

Here is a similar wrench that is priced much lower.

Olsa 1/2" Drive Split Beam Torque Wrench - 32-250 ft-lb, +-4% Accuracy, 15° Flex Head

https://www.amazon.com/Olsa-Tools-P...id=1637948943&sprefix=Torque+,aps,228&sr=8-13

 

Love my gear wrench 120xp I think

 

+1 for Harbor Freight! I wouldn't use it to build an engine, but it's plenty accurate for suspension components and lugs.

 

I put a digital adapter from HF on an analog torque wrench to make sure it's accurate. It was $30 if I remember correctly.

Also just picked up a husky 1/2 torque wrench from Home Depot for $50. I actually wanted the Craftsman one from Lowe's, but the warranty on the Husky is lifetime vs only like a year or two on Craftsman.

 

I own both the Precision Instruments 1/2" and 3/8" torque wrenches - great tools and don't have to be turned down like the dial types.

 

x2 on CDI

 

I like Craftsmans new digital ones: https://youtu.be/eCNCKyE-JZ4

 

This is what I have. Cheap but so far no issues fixing skids, sliders, tires..

 

Most torque wrenches will be completely fine for basic work. You could probably even get one from Walmart/autozone (I can’t remember where I got it but it was $50 or so) and be okay. I know OP already bought one, but I used the walmart/autozone torque wrench for years and never had an issue.

I personally use craftsman now, but like someone said above, short of an engine rebuild where it is probably more important to be accurate, you can probably use almost anything.