Need source for good torque wrench to set bearing preload

Yes, I did search. I found many threads discussing how and what to set preload to, but nothing on a source for the tool.

I am looking for a beam-style torque wrench that can accurately measure loads between 5 in-pounds and 50 in-pounds. Anybody know where I can find one, or better yet, where I can get a deal on one?

TIA

you don't need one. it sounds like i'm a retard, but you can do it with your hand. most of the time, the given preload specs are are a little high. i learned this from someone who owns over $100,000 in heavy equipment. and builds/sells 4x4's. you can get the proper preload by spinning the yoke with your hand. it needs to spin freely, but stop between 1-2 turns on it's own for new gears/bearings. if they are used, and being reinstalled, it should be between 2-3.5 turns. most shops that do gears use this method. do it to the spec #'s, and you will be barely able to turn it by hand, it will feel like there is something wrong. this is why people use the hand method.

rawbrown?

umm, I would do it correctly....

Here is a link for one:

http://www.handsontools.com/store-products-Best-Sellers-KDT2955-%3Cfont-color=red%3E%3Cb%3EKD-Tools-Beam-Type-Torque-Wrench,-1-4-Drive-Fixed,-0-to-60-In-Lb%3C-b%3E%3C-font%3E_6915921.html

It's not quite $100,000.....

Napa-$56

see if autozone has a loaner...

xuv-this said:

you don't need one. it sounds like i'm a retard, but you can do it with your hand. most of the time, the given preload specs are are a little high. i learned this from someone who owns over $100,000 in heavy equipment. and builds/sells 4x4's. you can get the proper preload by spinning the yoke with your hand. it needs to spin freely, but stop between 1-2 turns on it's own for new gears/bearings. if they are used, and being reinstalled, it should be between 2-3.5 turns. most shops that do gears use this method. do it to the spec #'s, and you will be barely able to turn it by hand, it will feel like there is something wrong. this is why people use the hand method.

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This is totally incorrect, Sorry bud, but I have to throw the BS flag. Do it by the specs and you will not be able to spin it freely 1 or 2 turns. It needs to be what it is needs to be for longer bearing life. The bearings will wear in, or become looser as they wear. Too low a preload and there will be slop in the pinion shaft inside 500 miles!!
Get an inch pound torque wrench.!
If a crush sleeve design torque to about to 160 to 180 ft lbs then start measuring preload. Torque 10ft lbs in between measurements so you don't over crush the crush sleeve. It might take as much as 200 ft lbs to actually crush the sleeve. Go slow so it's right.
Source: Randys Ring and Pinion, 0-50 inch lb torque wrench, $50.00

Derik

i'm not real knowledgeable about setting up gears yet, but i have done a couple, and no problems with either one. but i swear, it's not necessary. the guy i spoke of showed me how to do gears. he used to work at dana. now he has his own contract earthmoving/roadbuilding buisness. he also sets up gears for people. has for years. no complaints yet. he doesn't like to do it with a torque wrench because of something that he learned from heavy equipment. i don't know exactly why, but i will ask him on my way home tonight. like i said, but i don't know a lot about this yet, am still learning, but i do know that he works on everything from triple axle dumptrucks to graders to dana 80's to yota axles(those are pretty cool) to all kinds of stuff, and he knows his stuff. if he's working on the planetary box on a ford loader, and doesn't torque something right, the next time the person engages the pto, something could fly loose and crack the case. that's not a rebuild- it's a $20,000 tractor in the junkyard. this is really wierd. i'll try to post back tonight or tommorrow. i really don't think he's wrong, but i don't know lot about gears, either.

I understand bud. setting up earth moving equipment would be much like setting up a trail only jeep. It's only gonna move at a half mile an hour for most of the time. Close enough would be cool, and on mine usually is okay so long as I buy into the fact that I;m gonna check a few things before every trail run. (No one wants to be THAT GUY, You know, that guy that didn't tighten his U-joint nuts and had it come off on the fire road).
But the point here is most folks also drive their XJs daily at high way speeds, stopping from 60 MPH, hard acceleration and the like. As you build it, build it so it's safe and going to last with daily use, not just use at a half mile an hour.
That's what motivated my comments.

Derik

There are lots of techniques that people use to get the job done. An in/lb. torque wrench is the best way to know its right. The spec usually has a wide range and if at the tight end, yeah, its hard to turn. Thats why the finished assy. needs some break in time. I'll admit to doing them by feel, but I also set up hundreds of diffs. I still felt better when I checked it with a torque wrench. For someone who is trying to learn, absolutely use a torque wrench. When I learned, I was always told just do them by feel. I wasn't comfortable with that and used a torque wrench. The end result was that I could do it by feel pretty accurately. It doesn't mean that its the right way to do it. Keep in mind the desire for a lot of the techs to be "efficient" by cutting corners.

xuv-this said:

you don't need one. it sounds like i'm a retard, but you can do it with your hand. most of the time, the given preload specs are are a little high. i learned this from someone who owns over $100,000 in heavy equipment. and builds/sells 4x4's. you can get the proper preload by spinning the yoke with your hand. it needs to spin freely, but stop between 1-2 turns on it's own for new gears/bearings. if they are used, and being reinstalled, it should be between 2-3.5 turns. most shops that do gears use this method. do it to the spec #'s, and you will be barely able to turn it by hand, it will feel like there is something wrong. this is why people use the hand method.

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That is complete BS. You need to stop giving advice on gears until you get a clue. Sorry to be harsh, but that's how it is.

I don't use a torque wrench anymore for making that adjustment. However, I've done a LOT of gears, and would take a bet on checking my 'feel' with the torq-o-meter.

If you can't find an inexpensive beam wrench, you can get by with an accurate fish scale and a little math.

Sears. $25 for a Craftsman beam torque wrench.

How can someone modify a Xj and not be able to locate a torque wrench? How could you possible sit on your computer and not be able to think of where to buy one? Wow. Scary thought.

And to top it off there are about 5 replys with no suggestion of where to buy one. Why is it so hard to read a post and answer a question?

"you can get by with an accurate fish scale and a little math."
what the hell?

japril said:

"you can get by with an accurate fish scale and a little math."
what the hell?

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Glad to see I'm not the only one that has used this method!

Thanks to all of you that provided constructive input.

Japril-
Try looking at the Crafstman web pages, before preaching. That was one of the first places I looked. They offer 3 beam torque wrenches. One is a 1/2 inch 150 ft-punnd unit, the other two are 75 ft-pound 3/8 units. Please tell me how the hell you would use any of these to setup bearing preload.

Check out some garage sales in the papers and local want adds, look for a gauge type torque wrench, they have a circular gauge on them, they work great for setting bearing preload, you can spin it with one finger and watch the gauge. You don't use it to torque but to set preload. I picked up a snap-on one, 20+ years old, for $5 at a garage/barn sale at a local farm that had been sold.
The beam types work OK for heads and such but to me are not accurate enough for really really low settings.

Park Tools makes bicycle tools, considered the "Snap-On" of the trade.

pn TW-1, 1/4" drive, 0-60 inch pounds

pn TW-2, 3/8" drive, 0-600 inch pounds

About $35 per.

japril said:

"you can get by with an accurate fish scale and a little math."
what the hell?

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It's a lot more accurate than another poster's 'spin it hard and count how many times it goes round' reply.

Not all Sears stores stock all Craftsman tools. At one time, my options were a fish scale or a $300 Snap-On torq-o-meter. You can guess which one came first.

ok everybody: i found out why you DO NOT WANT TO USE A TORQUE WRENCH RIGHT OFF. my buddy that i talked to who showed me to do it the hand spin way told me this:
"never torque it down with dry bearings. the lack of lube gives more friction, and on such a precise scale, it gives a very false reading. the hand method is the most predictable way to do it when it's dry."
he also said the he did it the same when he changed gears on the dumptrucks that he uses on a daily basis.
" these bearings are much larger than the ones on our rigs. so the factor of friction is much greater. at the cost and availibility of most of the parts for this older equipment you don't want to do something the wrong way. it gets expensive."
so it's the same principle, just on a larger scale.
he also said that the bearings would wear to the preload that you put on it if it was within a reasonable range.
"i've seen people who thought they could take the pinion out and reuse the bearings if they set the preload. nope. it just can't work. the bearing surfaces are wore down to the preload that they were at. there's no way to get that preload to be exactly what it was before."
so when i asked him this, he did kinda look at me like i was stoopid kinda like the "i already told you this" look. so theres why, i guess when you torque it, you should just soak the bearings in oil before you do.

xuv-this said:

ok everybody: i found out why you DO NOT WANT TO USE A TORQUE WRENCH RIGHT OFF.

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xuv-this: shhhh!! :gag: Learn when to stop posting and let those who know how to regear correctly answer the questions. Btw, you put some assembly lube on the bearings when you install them...