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I finally figured out why my torque wrench was drifting after 8 years of use
Last month at the hangar in Nashville I took apart my old CDI torque wrench and found dried-up grease caked inside the mechanism, so has anyone else dealt with gunk buildup ruining their calibration over time?
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sethm5829d ago
Right on dude, that dried up grease is a killer. Had a buddy who ignored his clicker for years until it started clicking at like 60 ft-lbs when it shoulda been 80, and the whole mechanism was just packed with that hard gunk. It's wild how that old lube turns into basically plastic after enough time and heat cycles, especially if it's got any cheap additives. Pulled apart a Snap-on ratcheting wrench that was acting up and found the same thing, a little bit of fresh high temp grease on the pawls got it feeling brand new again.
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kim_davis29d ago
Man that old grease turning into straight up plastic is no joke. I pulled apart a Proto ratchet last month that felt like it had concrete inside instead of lube. Took a pick and some brake cleaner just to chip it all out. Put some Super Lube on the teeth and now it clicks like it’s brand new off the truck. Crazy what a little maintenance will do.
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paige_bell8129d ago
Yeah but how do you tell when it's just dirty vs actually worn out? I've got a couple old ones that are skipping but I can't figure out if it's the grease or if the teeth are shot.
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sanchez.ivan4d agoMost Upvoted
Hang on, a small thing with your buddy's torque wrench issue. The problem with dried up grease is real, but that skipping is usually from worn teeth on the pawl or gear, not just the grease being hard. If the teeth are rounded off or chipped, no amount of fresh lube is gonna fix it. I had a similar issue with an old Craftsman, cleaned it out good, still skipped. Had to look real close with a magnifying glass to see the worn teeth. So yeah, clean it first for sure, but look for that damage too cause you might be wasting time.
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