Torque wrenches, adapter, socket extensions-Read 1st post BEFORE Voting please!!

Remember here, we are not talking about adapters that make the effective length of the torque wrench LONGER, but a socket extension that does not increase the length.

 

my apologies misread. then that is correct the torque setting will not change if the socket extension is being used.

 

Cheater bars are used commonly on torque wrenches in the construction industry. A torque wrench with a cheater bar will still read accurately. Torque through the wrench is still unimpacted.

Krazie, I would agree with you to an extent. If you have sloppy tools and get the center of the torque wrench head far enough out of center from the bolt, I would guess you could affect the torque rating. Quality tools and a competent user would fix this issue.

 

This.

 

Ill take a look at a military Technical Orders ( tells us how to do our job) and see if mentions any thing with socket extensions

 

yep, you're right ( i wasn't thinking)

 

Hey, I had no intention of going there and that actually wasn't what I was thinking when I said that!

 

I'm just teasing!

No harm no foul! Hahaha!!!

It was too good to pass up there.

 

Krazie, you are always foul....

 

Just to have fun what about using a crowsfoot. Do you have to adjust for it or is there some other way without doing it?

I'm sorry about the hijack but I always like discussions like this.

Extensions don't affect torque on any military or civilian aircraft I have ever worked on for the record.

 

The Snap-On manual posted earlier is a good reference guide.

The crow's foot if installed at a 90-deg angle doesn't affect torque. Otherwise you have to do a simple ratio calculation.

I hope the other guy also knows that torque itself is simply a rough estimate of the preload in the bolt, highly dependent on the friction coeff in the threads. That's why the truly critical fasteners are checked with a stretch gauge in lieu of torque wrench, when access is practical.

 

I say yes, and there is two reasons I believe it does. One, I used to do alignments at walmart's automotive department and we had color coded bar sockets to tighten the bolts each color was a specific torque an coincidentially, a different length. The longer the lenght, the lower the torque. Although these sickets were not used in conjuction with a torque wrench specified by the OP, it gives you the insight that twist force plays a role on metal. The other reason, is because it has happened time and time again when I find myself using a torque wrench and when I have to use the extension because of access to the bolt, only to later find out that only those bolts I used the extension with, are the ones that came off loose or where fluid started to leak from. Not an expert on physics, but these two visual experiences, lead me to believe that it does affect. May be not to a considerable amount, but it does.

 

Those "color coded bar sockets" are called torque sticks. They affect- and limit torque when used with an impact wrench, by flexing a predetermined amount with each impact blow. This is well understood and Bamatoy was very specific in talking about manual torque wrenches.

And torque sticks are nowhere as accurate as a torque wrench. For lugnuts it's close enough... most of the time. You'd never use torque sticks when, for example, assembling an engine.

 

Correct on all counts. There is also a calculation available in my little black book on any lubricant/anti-seize used on threads. Stretch is the most accurate measurement in my opinion.

 

KenLyns beat me to it! Torque sticks are only for use with an impact gun. Their properties do not apply when using a torque wrench.

 

From my experience i general/begginer automotive and home improvement, i do not believe that tourque is affected. If you use it for more techical amd precise applications, I would not know.

 

If it is concerning and exact measurements are necessary, you can get max torque extensions which don't allow more torque than their rating.



Haha clearly I did not read the above posts well enough.

 

Again though, those are torque sticks designed to be used with an impact gun, not a straight hand-pull torque wrench.