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Vent: lost a job because the harbor freight torque wrench was off by 15 ft-lbs

Was doing a head gasket on a 2002 Civic in my driveway last Thursday and the bolt snapped at 55 ft-lbs, found out later the wrench was clicking at 40, had to tell the guy I couldn't finish the job and now I'm out $300 and a reputation, has anyone else had a cheap tool cost them real work?
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3 Comments
paige_bell81
My buddy had the exact same thing happen with a harbor freight torque wrench on a Subaru head gasket job. He torqued the cam caps to spec and three bolts snapped clean off. Had to tell the customer the engine was junk and ate the cost of a used engine out of his own pocket. That cheap wrench cost him over a thousand dollars in parts and lost labor. He gave up on harbor freight torque tools after that and now swears by buying used Snap-On or even just renting from AutoZone for critical stuff. You're not alone, that kind of failure is brutal.
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max_schmidt77
My torque wrench once turned a simple job into a scrap metal sculpture.
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ray_burns
ray_burns4d ago
Man that really sucks. I've been there with cheap tools costing me way more than they saved and it's a sick feeling for sure. Hope you bounce back quick from this one.
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