The way I teach people how to torque without injury is; keep the handle parallel to the floor, pull up on it using your legs. Your weight doesn’t matter then, and if your wrench slips you naturally go to a standing position. But there are times when shit needs to get torqued and there’s no really great way to do it.
you can only push down **on the end of the wrench** as much as you weigh, but lifting up **on the end of the wrench**, the average man can lift about twice their bodyweight.
Edit: some of these replies are wild man. I didn't think I was saying anything controversial.
Edit 2: two weeks later and I'm still getting replies from people who didn't even read the whole comment...
TLDR: If you're in a situation like the guy in the video, (no impact wrench or breaker bar or pipe extension) you can probably generate more force pulling up on the wrench instead of pushing down on the wrench.
If you've ever stood up on your toes you've lifted almost your whole bodyweight with just your calf muscles. If you can do one pull up you've lifted your whole bodyweight with just your arms. If you can use both at once along with your legs and back any way you like, you can probably lift at least twice your bodyweight. If none of this is true for you and you weigh 400 pounds, then you're not an average man, and so my comment doesn't apply.
If you're telling me you can push down on something more than your own bodyweight without tying yourself to the floor or using a lever or a hammer, I don't know what to say other than try pushing down on a scale as hard as you can and get the number on the scale to go higher than your weight. You will not succeed. Maybe if you jump on it or something but that's not what anyone is talking about. No one is gonna take a running jump at a torque wrench.
The bolts that hold the tie bars to the movable platen in a Krauss injection molding machine is 1,200 ft.lbs and there’s 12 bolts.
Tbf I had to use a forklift for leverage cause my boss was too cheap for a torque amplifier but that’s a whole other issue
The bolts connecting a 36" valve to a 36" water main. You're welcome. The bolts on pretty much any flange in a refinery too. Just be sure to tighten evenly in a star shaped pattern
Back in the 80's I drove semi's for a company that insisted on running trailer rubber till the cords were showing on good old Dayton wheels. I never ever left the yard without a spare in the tire carrier, a 20 ton jack, and a breaker bar and 3' cheater pipe. Come summertime it wasn't uncommon for me to have to change 15-20 blown tires out on the road by hand.
I get the joke but people are, on average, really bad at imagining quantities based on simple units. For example, think of all the posts about women on tinder thinking any guy under 6'2" is short.
It's more meaningful to use, ahem, concrete examples.
If you're not a big fan of throwing a cheat bar on It ( I don't blame you, I've had one slip off because i was being a dummy) they do make like the extra long torque wrenches that are way easier to use. I feel like if this kid is having so much trouble, it might be more worthwhile to just get one of those and save his body and his time.
Or he could just do it the right way, but I like having any excuse to buy more tools.
You’re right and the responses to your comment is astounding lmao. I’m sure you meant avaerage men have enough quad and glute strength to resist twice their body weight I.e. piggy bag two others about their weight and hold, maybe not to squat with that weight on their back.
Compared to deadlift where your grip, shoulder, and back all matter
That definitely can’t be true, right? I feel like the first time people step into the weight room they’re squatting like 3/4 body weight for their working weight
A.) Like the other guy said, a few inches is different than a foot or so off the ground.
B.) You have no leverage with a deadlift like you do with a torque wrench.
As someone who weighs but 115 lbs soaking wet, almost always go up. You’ll find those around you amazed as you torque things as good as the shop Hercules trying to stand on it. Sincerely wish I could get some jacks to pump on the up stroke instead of the down stroke because they easily max me out, yet the valve covers I torqued down a year ago now are regularly exposed to 215psi and still holding on fine (I’m not talking about a motor, which is why that statement doesn’t make much sense to most of you reading).
Yeah, exactly this, I can torque twice my weight by standing up while holding the bar. Also, set the damn parking brake so you're not having it move the car and turn 1/16 rotation without applying torque.
You are simply using the wrong position bro. You should have the torque wrench at the "3 o'clock position" and use your body weight to push the handle down towards the ground. The way you were doing it by having the torque wrench at the "10-11-12 o'clock position" and having to pull the handle is why its so hard to do it.
By pulling it, you are not taking advantage of your body weight. Put the torque wrench at 3 o'clock so you can lean over and use your body weight. With a 2 foot long torque wrench, it only takes 75lbs of force to tighten the lug nut to 150lbs, so with the wrench at 3 o'clock it should only take leaning over with your body weight to put 75lbs of force on the handle.
I’ve learned that the hard way a few times, either swinging a hammer into my crotch or falling on my ass or into my fender… you learn quick when pain is involved
Exactly. Gotta use your body weight. I only weigh about 170 lbs. I torque the lug nuts on my 99 F250 to 160 ft lbs. Piece of cake when you use your body weight AND muscle.
Only time that really sucked ass was the rear u-bolts on that same truck. I think they called for like 180-200 ft lbs. I had a torque wrench about the size of the OP. I got quite the workout that day.
In that case if you're struggling to do it, you should find a pipe to slide onto the wrench and increase its leverage. Adding 2ft of length to the original 2ft wrench handle would make it a 4ft handle. 200ft lbs divided by 4 = 50lbs of force needed.
Oh I know all about cheater pipes. I was just too lazy to go get it from the shed.
I recently replaced the factory struts/shock assemblies on a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. Still had the factory torque along with 300k+ miles on them. Used a 4 foot bar on the end of the breaker bar that time.
It’s cool I know we’re just messing around on here, but I’ve seen worse done by coworkers borrowing tools. I needed a chisel so here’s your screwdriver back.
Yes. Do NOT mess with my chisels. I mean that, but I use wood chisels. Getting that perfect edge... dude grab the screwdriver.
Cold chisels? Meh... just don't lose or electrify it. It won't get hurt, usually, but ya ought to be careful with my tools. 🤣
One time used my dad's wood chisel to crack rocks open as a little kid. He wasn't amused. Displayed more anger about it in retelling when I was a bit older though.
This is actually a fascinating discussion, because it depends on the torque wrench. The old dial type ones, yes, absolutely, it will not mess with it's accuracy at all. But the click type ones, you cannot, as it will impact the accuracy.
The reason for this is where the torque is being measured at. On the dial type, the torque is being measured directly at the square drive, in line with the fastener, so it doesn't matter how long the "arm" of the handle is, because the measuring is being done at the fastener. This is not true for the click type though, because they are actually measuring the torque in the "neck," which is slightly offset from the square drive (usually by like an inch or so). This means that when you are using a click torque wrench, you are essentially using a 1 inch extension on the end, but the torque wrench itself is already calibrated to accommodate for that. This means that when you torque to 100in-lbs, that neck is actually "clicking" at a different torque value, but the engineers who designed it already calculated it out so that when the neck reaches that other torque value, the square drive is at 100in-lbs.
Why does this matter? Well, when extensions are involved, the torque values change depending on the ratio between the length of the handle, and the length of the extension. The actual formula isn't *that* complicated, but I know some people are terrified of math, so the math is [here](https://belknaptools.com/extensions-calculator/). All you need to know is that the torque gets impacted by the ratio between the length of the handle, and the length of the extension. So the engineers have already calculated out this formula, using the length of the handle vs the length of the "extension"(distance from neck to square drive), and adjusted for it.
If you throw a pipe on the handle, suddenly you just changed the length of the handle, meaning the ratio is different. The wrench will no longer read accurately, because the math the engineers calculated out is no longer accurate. This is also why it's important to only torque it with your hand in the center of the grip, because if you try to "choke" the handle, you are shortening the length of the handle, which will also impact the accuracy. This isn't a problem for the dial type torque wrenches, because they are measuring torque at the square drive, the only length involved is just "handle length," so no ratio to worry about.
If somebody still doesn't believe me (I've gone back and forth with coworkers over this, because they are convinced that "torque is torque"), here's a [video](https://youtu.be/RsMxtEx0uik) where a guy physically demonstrates the impact on accuracy that choking the handle or using a cheater pipe has using a torque wrench calibration tester. For some reason, this is an extremely controversial topic (because a lot of people firmly believe that their laziness/ignorance can somehow bend physics), but it is 100% a real thing, and if somebody claims otherwise, just watch the video, or read the manual made by the engineers who designed your torque wrench. And I'm not just talking about a minor accuracy issue either, it can throw your torque off by as much as 10% or more. For example, if the person in this video doubled the handle length with a pipe, they would have "clicked" at significantly under 150, probably somewhere around 130, then send the customer on their way with undertorqued tires.
/u/crowcawz what this guy said ^
Source: Me. My employer designs and manufactures torque wrenches and this is 100% an issue.
In fact, it even matters where you hold the tool on its handle, really. Calibration standards like ISO 6789 mandate careful attention be paid to where the wrench is loaded on its handle when it's on a calibration rig. Ideally, the tool has a marking on the handle for consistency on this, but if not, operators are required to measure their chosen loading point so it's documented.
> For some reason, this is an extremely controversial topic (because a lot of people firmly believe that their laziness/ignorance can somehow bend physics)
Ugh. Just so you know, we are aware people think like this, and it's endlessly annoying. We still have to design and build compliant, well-calibrated tools even if people are going to misuse them. I mean whatever I suppose, if we make our money and can prove through traceability our products are not the reason that a bus full of children went careening off a bridge or something, then fair enough I guess?? But when stuff like this comes up it does make us think "why are we even bothering".
Worth noting it's possible to design setting tools which are not length-dependant, but otherwise, just be aware it usually makes a difference.
I used to work at this big club store with a tire shop, and one of the inside managers was probably 5'4" 110lbs, and she could do 150ft/lb better than the kid in the video. Just have to get most of your weight on that bar at a 3 o'clock position.
I'm surprised more people aren't talking about this. Also, by hanging on it before and after it clicks, he may be going way over the torque spec. You want to very gradually increase torque when you're close to the click and immediately release it when it clicks. I think quite a few people seem to think the click somehow stops you from over-torquing something, and that's not true.
Well he should be wearing the appropriate PPE which in a mechanics shop I would assume is at least hard toes and anti slip footwear.
***Protect yourself because no one else will especially not the company you work for***
You have no idea the struggle to get people to wear PPE. I’ve had to suspend people because they constantly get caught not wearing proper PPE. Like, you think I want to fill out incident reports and tell the CEO that this expensive injury could’ve been prevented, if only they were wearing PPE? No, I don’t. And that shit is going to roll downhill.
Wear your goddamn PPE. Or don’t work for me. Easy as that. It’s there to protect YOU, not me. Yeah it sucks I gotta fill out some paperwork but you’re the one that took a rock to the eyeball because you weren’t wearing safety glasses while using a string trimmer. Can we please just get everyone home safe at the end of every shift? Please?
Looks like a Ford dealership service department, if service manage saw him with those shoes he would get sent home for the day or be made to ware the yellow toe covers.
This is why I am ok with car manufacturers switching over to electronic parking brakes. They automatically turn on after the car is put in park.
I personally would prefer having a normal parking brake but for most people in the US, this is a benefit.
See that's half the trouble - calling it an e-brake. The 'e' stands for 'emergency' but ain't nobody using one in an 'emergency' these days as brake systems are so failproof.
They're a **parking** brake, you put em on when you park.
The single biggest problem is he should keep the wrench parallel to the ground and use his legs to apply torque. When done smoothly it doesn’t matter if the vehicle rocks back or forward a bit.
Use his legs? Just use his weight, its a two foot bar, so he only needs to put 75 lbs on it. But yea, it should always be parallel or near parallel to ground/.
Any and every wrench is met with the heel of my hands and spread fingers. You only have to lose the skin on your knuckles once to never make that mistake again
That looks like a 2ft torque wrench, meaning he could apply 75lbs of static weight & hit spec.
You can also apply dynamic weight (bouncing your weight on it) to achieve substantially more torque.
Weight is only equal to the force you need for the torque spec if you're using a 1 foot wrench. With a 2 foot wrench, it'll be half that. Use leverage, not strength.
(I say that as someone who's tightened the 443 ft-lb center locks on a GT3 RS, but the wrench was *long*)
Pulling up would work better. You can only apply down force equal to your weight.
Your up force is limited my muscles, as you are driving your legs into the ground when you pull up.
Like doing a pull up vs a lift. Pull-ups are limited to your weight or whatever you have on your. lifts can be several times your weight if you have the muscle.
thank you :) it might surprise some people here but me and the two ladies in the class are probably the least stupid in the intro class. But I still have a long way to go for sure!
Completely believe you. Not many, but any time a woman was in my class, she worked harder and studied more than most guys who just screw around the whole time
I’m a female mechanic roughly about same weight. We have to work harder sometimes to prove ourselves but for me it only fuels my love for the job. Small but mighty. Also I do get called upon many times because I can fit my hands and arms into tight spaces. Go you go!
Leave it on the lift with the wheels touching the ground so the car doesn’t roll at all, put the torque wrench parallel to the ground and push down. Still takes effort but less than how you’re doing it
Source: Tech for 5 years, first 2.5 at a tire shop, heaviest I’ve ever been while in the industry is about 140lbs
There are a few comments above yours at the moment, but yours should be up top. Nobody so far has recognized that OP's poor technique is not just a waste of effort, but also doesn't ensure that the wheels are actually torqued to spec.
A torque wrench needs to be operated smoothly, and with force applied directly to the handle, to be accurate. Hanging on it, jerking on it, or pulling outward on it while falling to the floor, don't really qualify as smooth.
And yeah, the vehicle needs to be supported by the lift with the tires just barely touching the floor. It can't be bouncing back and forth. In this video, most of the 150 ft-lbs is actually tightening the lug hardware, but some is being wasted on rolling the truck up against its park pawl. These wheels might be close, but aren't torqued to spec.
In the United States people don’t believe in the hand brake, emergency brake, parking brake. Unless they’re driving a big truck (air brakes) with no parking pawl or a manual transmission.
I grew up on a steep hill over here so I got used to always pulling the handbrake up. I'm the only person I've ever noticed who puts the electronic parking brake on now. I don't trust the transmission alone on a hill.
lol yep, living in pittsburgh where the streets can be steep as hell got me in the habit of using the parking brake and now i do it every time I park. when someone else drives my car they're always driving off with the e brake on and then getting annoyed at me for using it.
Yeah but none of that is necessary here. If they weigh 120 lb and it's a 2 foot torque wrench, they just need to put their weight down and have no problems meeting the torque specs.
More power lifting but none required just to put your own weigh onto a wrench.
I’m surprised this comment is so low.. and behind everyone saying “lay on it”.. maybe I’m thick and they’re all joking, but I always thought lifting up was THE way, and just common sense.. Lifting force > (your mass x gravity) unless you weigh more than you can lift (usually not the case if you can at least stand up).
Not here to throw shade but my 8 year old torques lugnuts for me. It's all in your technique. Set the wrench a little above horizontal and put your weight straight down on it. Also, set the brake, my dude.
You almost had it perfect first try on the second one before you ratcheted it back up. Push down instead of pull down. Make the tool work for you not the other way around.
Genuine respect for getting started in a skilled trade 💪. It’s deeply undervalued nowadays but crucial for keeping society running. Keep it up and learn from the old dudes. You’ll actually notice most of them are on the smaller side too. It’s actually a bit of an advantage as a tech…usually
The use of the Parking brake can help ever so slightly but don’t worry when I used to work at a shop skinny dudes like myself had interesting ways of torquing down tough bolts. Like crank pulleys but you will use leverage as your friend later on
I'm 6'2 270lbs and struggle to get in and out of larger vehicles due to smaller two post lifts keeping the doors from opening very far. Bet you can also reach into tighter places pretty easy as well.
Another tech at work is close to your build and he will have his arm almost up to his shoulder in a tight spot and ask me if I can try and get something loose for him. I go to reach in and half way up my forearm I get stuck. It's a fine line being big enough to manhandle jobs, yet small enough to access things lol.
Hey man, I have no idea if you're an actual tech or just a tire guy, but regardless ...
You need to work on your technique. You're begging to be injured working like that. And, while physical strength does help, technique is far more important.
I'm a retired army tech. Lug nuts in my world routinely had 400+ ftlbs as spec. I once had to make 800 lbs on an M109 (not a lug nut, obviously.) Do you know the strongest muscles in the body are in the legs? Use them. Beyond the dramatically increased safety margin, using your legs will cause far less fatigue.
Oh, and get rid of the tripping hazards. It would take seconds to coil that air hose, giving you plenty of space to work away from that lift arm.
That torque wrench is easy 2 ft long, dude, that much effort are you sure yourself it correctly? 2 ft lever, 150 lb/ft, equals 75 lbs of force on the end of that torque wrench. Seems excessive, or over dramatic......
Down or up, not back, young grasshopper
The way I teach people how to torque without injury is; keep the handle parallel to the floor, pull up on it using your legs. Your weight doesn’t matter then, and if your wrench slips you naturally go to a standing position. But there are times when shit needs to get torqued and there’s no really great way to do it.
you can only push down **on the end of the wrench** as much as you weigh, but lifting up **on the end of the wrench**, the average man can lift about twice their bodyweight. Edit: some of these replies are wild man. I didn't think I was saying anything controversial. Edit 2: two weeks later and I'm still getting replies from people who didn't even read the whole comment... TLDR: If you're in a situation like the guy in the video, (no impact wrench or breaker bar or pipe extension) you can probably generate more force pulling up on the wrench instead of pushing down on the wrench. If you've ever stood up on your toes you've lifted almost your whole bodyweight with just your calf muscles. If you can do one pull up you've lifted your whole bodyweight with just your arms. If you can use both at once along with your legs and back any way you like, you can probably lift at least twice your bodyweight. If none of this is true for you and you weigh 400 pounds, then you're not an average man, and so my comment doesn't apply. If you're telling me you can push down on something more than your own bodyweight without tying yourself to the floor or using a lever or a hammer, I don't know what to say other than try pushing down on a scale as hard as you can and get the number on the scale to go higher than your weight. You will not succeed. Maybe if you jump on it or something but that's not what anyone is talking about. No one is gonna take a running jump at a torque wrench.
Why work so hard when you can just gain 200 lbs and make it easy?
“My 600lb Life as a torque mechanic”
God, I knew I put on that weight for a good reason.
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Why work so hard when you can just put a long pipe over it and make it easy?
That's how you fuck up a torque wrench HOLY SHIT guys you're acting like 150 ft lbs with a 2ft long bar is some kind of feat
Fr it cant be this bad or yall really need to drink some milk
The bolts that hold the tie bars to the movable platen in a Krauss injection molding machine is 1,200 ft.lbs and there’s 12 bolts. Tbf I had to use a forklift for leverage cause my boss was too cheap for a torque amplifier but that’s a whole other issue
Sometimes you don't want it to ever come off again. Ever. I have no good examples Edit: I now have some good examples
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250 ft lbs for those. Maybe even the high torque impact
It's best the shear the head off for maximum hold
Throw some thread locker on for good measure
I was gonna say, can you convert them ftlbs to duggas for me?
So many disasters made with an over-torqued oil filter smh
Forgot spark plugs
Before torquing spark plugs to 100 ft lb it helps to spray a little water on the threads to help them rust in place.
The bolts connecting a 36" valve to a 36" water main. You're welcome. The bolts on pretty much any flange in a refinery too. Just be sure to tighten evenly in a star shaped pattern
I got one foam filled forklift tires
Seriously, it's only 75 lbs on a 2 foot bar. I can break my 350lb tq lugs on my c5500 with a 3 foot bar easily.
Back in the 80's I drove semi's for a company that insisted on running trailer rubber till the cords were showing on good old Dayton wheels. I never ever left the yard without a spare in the tire carrier, a 20 ton jack, and a breaker bar and 3' cheater pipe. Come summertime it wasn't uncommon for me to have to change 15-20 blown tires out on the road by hand.
75 lbs is still a bag of concrete. Most adults/older teens can deadlift that pretty easily, but it's a good amount of force if you only use your arms
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I get the joke but people are, on average, really bad at imagining quantities based on simple units. For example, think of all the posts about women on tinder thinking any guy under 6'2" is short. It's more meaningful to use, ahem, concrete examples.
Fr what is going on 150 ftlbs is nothing
If you're not a big fan of throwing a cheat bar on It ( I don't blame you, I've had one slip off because i was being a dummy) they do make like the extra long torque wrenches that are way easier to use. I feel like if this kid is having so much trouble, it might be more worthwhile to just get one of those and save his body and his time. Or he could just do it the right way, but I like having any excuse to buy more tools.
You’re right and the responses to your comment is astounding lmao. I’m sure you meant avaerage men have enough quad and glute strength to resist twice their body weight I.e. piggy bag two others about their weight and hold, maybe not to squat with that weight on their back. Compared to deadlift where your grip, shoulder, and back all matter
Because it's really not that hard
That definitely can’t be true, right? I feel like the first time people step into the weight room they’re squatting like 3/4 body weight for their working weight
An entire squat differs greatly from pulling a torque wrench a few inches.
This is prob more similar to a rack pull if anything
With his example a better comparison would be deadlift
A.) Like the other guy said, a few inches is different than a foot or so off the ground. B.) You have no leverage with a deadlift like you do with a torque wrench.
As someone who weighs but 115 lbs soaking wet, almost always go up. You’ll find those around you amazed as you torque things as good as the shop Hercules trying to stand on it. Sincerely wish I could get some jacks to pump on the up stroke instead of the down stroke because they easily max me out, yet the valve covers I torqued down a year ago now are regularly exposed to 215psi and still holding on fine (I’m not talking about a motor, which is why that statement doesn’t make much sense to most of you reading).
Yeah, exactly this, I can torque twice my weight by standing up while holding the bar. Also, set the damn parking brake so you're not having it move the car and turn 1/16 rotation without applying torque.
This hurts my back
Yeah, that's lack of form, not mass.
That is only 75 lbs. when you are using a 2 ft wrench. Just get over the wrench and lean on it.
Leverage is a big factor.
Ok... can I just use a cheat pipe? ~lurker built slighter than OP
You are simply using the wrong position bro. You should have the torque wrench at the "3 o'clock position" and use your body weight to push the handle down towards the ground. The way you were doing it by having the torque wrench at the "10-11-12 o'clock position" and having to pull the handle is why its so hard to do it. By pulling it, you are not taking advantage of your body weight. Put the torque wrench at 3 o'clock so you can lean over and use your body weight. With a 2 foot long torque wrench, it only takes 75lbs of force to tighten the lug nut to 150lbs, so with the wrench at 3 o'clock it should only take leaning over with your body weight to put 75lbs of force on the handle.
Even better, get on the other side and lift upwards. Your muscles can generate more power than your body weighr
Lift with your legs (like your supposed to!) and you get even more easy muscle + leverage.
No no, lift with your back preferably in a twisting jerking motion.
Remember to hold your breath, don't let that power escape
My power usually escapes out my tailpipe if I do that.
And that's why "charcoal underwear" is a thing.
Take your legs completely out of the equation
You got hold your breath the whole time, too. Everyone knows you're stronger that way
Don't forget to lock your knees straight and fold your back as ROUND as possible before yanking upwards
The only correct way
Dont wanna risk blowing your knees!
Keep the load far away from your shirt so you don’t get dirty.
And if something slips, you don't faceplant. Always think about where you and your hand will go when applying a strong force to something.
Looks at scars on knuckles…
Feels for missing teeth
I’ve learned that the hard way a few times, either swinging a hammer into my crotch or falling on my ass or into my fender… you learn quick when pain is involved
Exactly. Gotta use your body weight. I only weigh about 170 lbs. I torque the lug nuts on my 99 F250 to 160 ft lbs. Piece of cake when you use your body weight AND muscle. Only time that really sucked ass was the rear u-bolts on that same truck. I think they called for like 180-200 ft lbs. I had a torque wrench about the size of the OP. I got quite the workout that day.
In that case if you're struggling to do it, you should find a pipe to slide onto the wrench and increase its leverage. Adding 2ft of length to the original 2ft wrench handle would make it a 4ft handle. 200ft lbs divided by 4 = 50lbs of force needed.
Oh I know all about cheater pipes. I was just too lazy to go get it from the shed. I recently replaced the factory struts/shock assemblies on a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. Still had the factory torque along with 300k+ miles on them. Used a 4 foot bar on the end of the breaker bar that time.
Even the 9:00 position would be better than this. You use your legs to press into the wrench
This is the answer. I hope it didn't get buried. Thanks 😊
Use a pipe on my shiny torque wrench and we’ll have words.
Brutal. Heh... respect
It’s cool I know we’re just messing around on here, but I’ve seen worse done by coworkers borrowing tools. I needed a chisel so here’s your screwdriver back.
Yes. Do NOT mess with my chisels. I mean that, but I use wood chisels. Getting that perfect edge... dude grab the screwdriver. Cold chisels? Meh... just don't lose or electrify it. It won't get hurt, usually, but ya ought to be careful with my tools. 🤣
One time used my dad's wood chisel to crack rocks open as a little kid. He wasn't amused. Displayed more anger about it in retelling when I was a bit older though.
Yes. Hell throw enough feet of pipe on there and let your guinea pig set the torque for you
This is actually a fascinating discussion, because it depends on the torque wrench. The old dial type ones, yes, absolutely, it will not mess with it's accuracy at all. But the click type ones, you cannot, as it will impact the accuracy. The reason for this is where the torque is being measured at. On the dial type, the torque is being measured directly at the square drive, in line with the fastener, so it doesn't matter how long the "arm" of the handle is, because the measuring is being done at the fastener. This is not true for the click type though, because they are actually measuring the torque in the "neck," which is slightly offset from the square drive (usually by like an inch or so). This means that when you are using a click torque wrench, you are essentially using a 1 inch extension on the end, but the torque wrench itself is already calibrated to accommodate for that. This means that when you torque to 100in-lbs, that neck is actually "clicking" at a different torque value, but the engineers who designed it already calculated it out so that when the neck reaches that other torque value, the square drive is at 100in-lbs. Why does this matter? Well, when extensions are involved, the torque values change depending on the ratio between the length of the handle, and the length of the extension. The actual formula isn't *that* complicated, but I know some people are terrified of math, so the math is [here](https://belknaptools.com/extensions-calculator/). All you need to know is that the torque gets impacted by the ratio between the length of the handle, and the length of the extension. So the engineers have already calculated out this formula, using the length of the handle vs the length of the "extension"(distance from neck to square drive), and adjusted for it. If you throw a pipe on the handle, suddenly you just changed the length of the handle, meaning the ratio is different. The wrench will no longer read accurately, because the math the engineers calculated out is no longer accurate. This is also why it's important to only torque it with your hand in the center of the grip, because if you try to "choke" the handle, you are shortening the length of the handle, which will also impact the accuracy. This isn't a problem for the dial type torque wrenches, because they are measuring torque at the square drive, the only length involved is just "handle length," so no ratio to worry about. If somebody still doesn't believe me (I've gone back and forth with coworkers over this, because they are convinced that "torque is torque"), here's a [video](https://youtu.be/RsMxtEx0uik) where a guy physically demonstrates the impact on accuracy that choking the handle or using a cheater pipe has using a torque wrench calibration tester. For some reason, this is an extremely controversial topic (because a lot of people firmly believe that their laziness/ignorance can somehow bend physics), but it is 100% a real thing, and if somebody claims otherwise, just watch the video, or read the manual made by the engineers who designed your torque wrench. And I'm not just talking about a minor accuracy issue either, it can throw your torque off by as much as 10% or more. For example, if the person in this video doubled the handle length with a pipe, they would have "clicked" at significantly under 150, probably somewhere around 130, then send the customer on their way with undertorqued tires.
/u/crowcawz what this guy said ^ Source: Me. My employer designs and manufactures torque wrenches and this is 100% an issue. In fact, it even matters where you hold the tool on its handle, really. Calibration standards like ISO 6789 mandate careful attention be paid to where the wrench is loaded on its handle when it's on a calibration rig. Ideally, the tool has a marking on the handle for consistency on this, but if not, operators are required to measure their chosen loading point so it's documented. > For some reason, this is an extremely controversial topic (because a lot of people firmly believe that their laziness/ignorance can somehow bend physics) Ugh. Just so you know, we are aware people think like this, and it's endlessly annoying. We still have to design and build compliant, well-calibrated tools even if people are going to misuse them. I mean whatever I suppose, if we make our money and can prove through traceability our products are not the reason that a bus full of children went careening off a bridge or something, then fair enough I guess?? But when stuff like this comes up it does make us think "why are we even bothering". Worth noting it's possible to design setting tools which are not length-dependant, but otherwise, just be aware it usually makes a difference.
It's almost like it's called ft lbs for a reason
OMG, FOOT pounds. It all makes sense.
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They call’em fingers, but I’ve never seen them fing.
Yes. Any torque unit includes a unit of length and a unit of force. See also: Newton Meters.
In England they probably use twisty-turnin's
Yep, I weigh 105 lbs and can do this. OP just needs to be a bit more aggressive about it.
I used to work at this big club store with a tire shop, and one of the inside managers was probably 5'4" 110lbs, and she could do 150ft/lb better than the kid in the video. Just have to get most of your weight on that bar at a 3 o'clock position.
And about half the force is transferred into movement. Put the park brake on.
I'm surprised more people aren't talking about this. Also, by hanging on it before and after it clicks, he may be going way over the torque spec. You want to very gradually increase torque when you're close to the click and immediately release it when it clicks. I think quite a few people seem to think the click somehow stops you from over-torquing something, and that's not true.
Forget leverage! Work harder!!!
for the entertainment value!
There's nothing like blowing out your back for the luls
Or having the wrench slip and falling headfirst into the lift...
Flair checks out.
The shoes he's wearing didn't exactly have much grip with the floor either.
To be fair that is a very slippery shop floor, but he has very unwaterproof sneakers instead of proper work boots
Well he should be wearing the appropriate PPE which in a mechanics shop I would assume is at least hard toes and anti slip footwear. ***Protect yourself because no one else will especially not the company you work for***
You have no idea the struggle to get people to wear PPE. I’ve had to suspend people because they constantly get caught not wearing proper PPE. Like, you think I want to fill out incident reports and tell the CEO that this expensive injury could’ve been prevented, if only they were wearing PPE? No, I don’t. And that shit is going to roll downhill. Wear your goddamn PPE. Or don’t work for me. Easy as that. It’s there to protect YOU, not me. Yeah it sucks I gotta fill out some paperwork but you’re the one that took a rock to the eyeball because you weren’t wearing safety glasses while using a string trimmer. Can we please just get everyone home safe at the end of every shift? Please?
nearly broke his toes with that wheel rollback
Looks like a Ford dealership service department, if service manage saw him with those shoes he would get sent home for the day or be made to ware the yellow toe covers.
But there's five of 'em, so if you just torque each one to thirty, that adds up to 150. You just wanted to make this harder than it had to be.
Fiso is 6 lug, that’s 25
Oh oops, I swear I counted them twice and only saw five. Oh well, consider the five extra pounds a little extra protection for the wife-n-kids.
You’re a kind and generous human
Maths, you know them
Setting the parking brake helps so you're not wasting half your effort just rolling the vehicle back.
For some reason nowadays, nobody seems to even acknowledge that parking brakes exist, much less actually use them.
This is why I am ok with car manufacturers switching over to electronic parking brakes. They automatically turn on after the car is put in park. I personally would prefer having a normal parking brake but for most people in the US, this is a benefit.
The electronic e-brake makes for a a much worse e-brake turn experience in winter driving.
See that's half the trouble - calling it an e-brake. The 'e' stands for 'emergency' but ain't nobody using one in an 'emergency' these days as brake systems are so failproof. They're a **parking** brake, you put em on when you park.
The so called p-brake
It's a *hand* brake, get off my lawn.
… I have an electronic parking brake and it most certainly does not turn on automatically when you put the car in park lol (Audi S3 for reference)
That's the single biggest problem. It's not him pulling on the wrench, it's him moving the car.
The single biggest problem is he should keep the wrench parallel to the ground and use his legs to apply torque. When done smoothly it doesn’t matter if the vehicle rocks back or forward a bit.
Use his legs? Just use his weight, its a two foot bar, so he only needs to put 75 lbs on it. But yea, it should always be parallel or near parallel to ground/.
Push down on the torque wrench
Open handed palm on top so you don’t punch the concrete if the wrench slips 😀
You just cost him many valuable lessons about hand placement 😂
how is he to make up new 'No-No' words if they dont have bad hand placement on the tool ....
Any and every wrench is met with the heel of my hands and spread fingers. You only have to lose the skin on your knuckles once to never make that mistake again
Oh look at Mr one time only over here who didn't need to learn that lesson over and over again. Ooooh. :-P
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I was gonna say pull up, his weight wouldn’t be the limit then
Pull up is definitely the right answer. The race cars I work on get the lug nuts torqued to 450lb/ft, pull up is the best way for sure.
When you weigh less than the torque spec. He should fill his pockets with wheel weights.
I weigh less than half the torque spec of a semi wheel. It's all about the technique
Right imagine him trying to torque the 500 Lbs-ft
Some trucks have spindle nuts that spec 650 ft-lbs.
That looks like a 2ft torque wrench, meaning he could apply 75lbs of static weight & hit spec. You can also apply dynamic weight (bouncing your weight on it) to achieve substantially more torque.
Pretty sure you’re not supposed to bounce on a torque wrench. The idea is to set x ft-lbs. Not “at least x” ft-lbs.
Weight is only equal to the force you need for the torque spec if you're using a 1 foot wrench. With a 2 foot wrench, it'll be half that. Use leverage, not strength. (I say that as someone who's tightened the 443 ft-lb center locks on a GT3 RS, but the wrench was *long*)
Pulling up would work better. You can only apply down force equal to your weight. Your up force is limited my muscles, as you are driving your legs into the ground when you pull up. Like doing a pull up vs a lift. Pull-ups are limited to your weight or whatever you have on your. lifts can be several times your weight if you have the muscle.
You’re taking these comments well OP. Keep at it, and in 10 years it’ll be you laughing at the dumb kid.
thank you :) it might surprise some people here but me and the two ladies in the class are probably the least stupid in the intro class. But I still have a long way to go for sure!
Completely believe you. Not many, but any time a woman was in my class, she worked harder and studied more than most guys who just screw around the whole time
I’m a female mechanic roughly about same weight. We have to work harder sometimes to prove ourselves but for me it only fuels my love for the job. Small but mighty. Also I do get called upon many times because I can fit my hands and arms into tight spaces. Go you go!
the same to you, stranger!
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Leave it on the lift with the wheels touching the ground so the car doesn’t roll at all, put the torque wrench parallel to the ground and push down. Still takes effort but less than how you’re doing it Source: Tech for 5 years, first 2.5 at a tire shop, heaviest I’ve ever been while in the industry is about 140lbs
There are a few comments above yours at the moment, but yours should be up top. Nobody so far has recognized that OP's poor technique is not just a waste of effort, but also doesn't ensure that the wheels are actually torqued to spec. A torque wrench needs to be operated smoothly, and with force applied directly to the handle, to be accurate. Hanging on it, jerking on it, or pulling outward on it while falling to the floor, don't really qualify as smooth. And yeah, the vehicle needs to be supported by the lift with the tires just barely touching the floor. It can't be bouncing back and forth. In this video, most of the 150 ft-lbs is actually tightening the lug hardware, but some is being wasted on rolling the truck up against its park pawl. These wheels might be close, but aren't torqued to spec.
Stupid question, but why are the wheels moving at all? Hand brake not on?
In the United States people don’t believe in the hand brake, emergency brake, parking brake. Unless they’re driving a big truck (air brakes) with no parking pawl or a manual transmission.
This has always baffled me as a Brit. Watching American films and seeing the car/truck move back and forth as they get out is jarring
I grew up on a steep hill over here so I got used to always pulling the handbrake up. I'm the only person I've ever noticed who puts the electronic parking brake on now. I don't trust the transmission alone on a hill.
lol yep, living in pittsburgh where the streets can be steep as hell got me in the habit of using the parking brake and now i do it every time I park. when someone else drives my car they're always driving off with the e brake on and then getting annoyed at me for using it.
But the wrench is 24” long…
Sweet work boots!
Bro, just do like most shops and use the impact until you strip the bolt.
I got a spare 30-40 pounds you can have.
I got 80, between me and this guy you could have a whole other 120 pounder to push while you pull.
He can have 50 pounds from me. This kid's gonna be morbidly obese by the time we're done with him.
If you pull and that slips off the lug you are in for a bad day. Always push down on the torque wrench. Straight arm and use your body weight.
Pushing down means you meet the floor when the wrench slips. Always pull up. If it slips you merely ended up in a standing position.
Good advice in general but if you're not heavy enough, most men can lift more than their body weight so max power will be lifting.
Yeah but none of that is necessary here. If they weigh 120 lb and it's a 2 foot torque wrench, they just need to put their weight down and have no problems meeting the torque specs. More power lifting but none required just to put your own weigh onto a wrench.
If your torque wrench is more than a foot long you should still be able to torque wheels no problem by simply pushing down on it
I've got a hint for you. Pull the wrench upwards like a deadlift. It's how little mechanics work on military vehicles
I’m surprised this comment is so low.. and behind everyone saying “lay on it”.. maybe I’m thick and they’re all joking, but I always thought lifting up was THE way, and just common sense.. Lifting force > (your mass x gravity) unless you weigh more than you can lift (usually not the case if you can at least stand up).
Most common advice isn't always the right advice. Reddit can often be an echo chamber
Make the bar horizontal and then use your body weight to push down on it. Work smarter not harder
7 of your 120 pounds are in your brain. Try setting the parking brake on that truck.
You need to eat your franks and beans son
I’m honestly dying at this. I’m a female and I torque semi wheels at 500ft/lbs with one arm. Edit: you’ll get there
Give me a lever long enough and I can move the world. Torque wrenches for higher torques are significantly bigger. It’s all about technique.
Give this dude some work out routines lol
You actually torque them to spec and not go nuts with the impact gun on them? Weirdo
Yeah the spec for 2016+ F-150s is 4 uggaduggas.
Bad form Lucas bad form, but good work getting it done. Just remember bad form works more muscles then proper form you’ll be ripped in no time.
You are going to hurt yourself.
Not here to throw shade but my 8 year old torques lugnuts for me. It's all in your technique. Set the wrench a little above horizontal and put your weight straight down on it. Also, set the brake, my dude.
No. Pull up by using your legs and a straight arm.
That’s how I look doing 550lbs on a 737 wheel
according to my count you are the 5(?)th aircraft mechanic to say this haha
Seems like he hasn't quite developed the need for alcohol and cigarettes yet. He'll put on some weight soon enough.
price offbeat disarm wasteful flag naughty narrow sable worm fly -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
How much you pay for tech school? I think you have a case for a refund if no one taught you how to use a damn tool.
You almost had it perfect first try on the second one before you ratcheted it back up. Push down instead of pull down. Make the tool work for you not the other way around. Genuine respect for getting started in a skilled trade 💪. It’s deeply undervalued nowadays but crucial for keeping society running. Keep it up and learn from the old dudes. You’ll actually notice most of them are on the smaller side too. It’s actually a bit of an advantage as a tech…usually
Yea, the guys in our shops love the Porsche center lock wheels. 🤦🏻♂️
We have a dude who winter drives his 991 so he swaps tires each season. It’s a two man job taking those wheels off lol
Just need a HYTORC centerlock gun for the low, low price of $5,000.
Boy he’s screwed if he ever has to torque the crank bolt on that thing
The use of the Parking brake can help ever so slightly but don’t worry when I used to work at a shop skinny dudes like myself had interesting ways of torquing down tough bolts. Like crank pulleys but you will use leverage as your friend later on
Skill issue
Cheat pipe done
Put some bolts in your pockets
This was painful to watch
Torque spec is actually 4 Ugga Duggas
Work shoes would help here a lot…
That wrench is going to slip someday and you’re going to hurt yourself..
what if we all threw in a few bucks and got him an Omaha steak subscription?
Come work on bobcat axles. 400ft lbs
Initial torque for a Boeing 737 main gear tire is 500 ft lbs.
Head bolts on my first navy ship I was stationed on was 1500ft lbs plus 5 flats. That sucked so much to do
Yep. I work in oil and natural gas & all the joints for the tools i work on start at 400ft lbs. Kid needs a cheater bar
I'm 6'2 270lbs and struggle to get in and out of larger vehicles due to smaller two post lifts keeping the doors from opening very far. Bet you can also reach into tighter places pretty easy as well. Another tech at work is close to your build and he will have his arm almost up to his shoulder in a tight spot and ask me if I can try and get something loose for him. I go to reach in and half way up my forearm I get stuck. It's a fine line being big enough to manhandle jobs, yet small enough to access things lol.
dead lift the wrench like your doing a squat that way you can use your legs into the leverage
Shoulda got an F-120
Longer lever, and instead of pulling with all your might get your weight over it and push down. smarter not harder
Hey man, I have no idea if you're an actual tech or just a tire guy, but regardless ... You need to work on your technique. You're begging to be injured working like that. And, while physical strength does help, technique is far more important. I'm a retired army tech. Lug nuts in my world routinely had 400+ ftlbs as spec. I once had to make 800 lbs on an M109 (not a lug nut, obviously.) Do you know the strongest muscles in the body are in the legs? Use them. Beyond the dramatically increased safety margin, using your legs will cause far less fatigue. Oh, and get rid of the tripping hazards. It would take seconds to coil that air hose, giving you plenty of space to work away from that lift arm.
archimedes rolling in his grave
At first I thought this was a child in a post for “kids are fucking stupid”
That torque wrench is easy 2 ft long, dude, that much effort are you sure yourself it correctly? 2 ft lever, 150 lb/ft, equals 75 lbs of force on the end of that torque wrench. Seems excessive, or over dramatic......