broken torque wrnech - is it possible to fix it? | GTAMotorcycle.com

broken torque wrnech - is it possible to fix it?

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I have an SK torque wrench. It's about 5 years old. It does not have the big nut at the bottom.
It is adjustable with the numbers on the body.

I can remove the head held on by c-ring.

Problem - it does not tighten, it will click/spin but no pressure to turn the bolt. I do not use it to remove heavy bolts e.g. car wheels, just to torque them. I always stored it at 0.

I was told by SK that the inner dog ear is broken. They no longer make the replacement parts.
I get the feeling that perhaps something just popped out of place inside the head. I will take it apart later BUT before I wasted the time I thought I would ask.

Can anyone share some insight if I can salvage it or just toss it out.
It's a nice solid piece of metal, hate to just toss it out.

Thanks!
 
I have taken the head of torque wrenchs apart before when the ratchet went south. A little lube and it was good as new. Post pics of what you find inside the head.
 
GreyGhost said:
I have taken the head of torque wrenchs apart before when the ratchet went south. A little lube and it was good as new. Post pics of what you find inside the head.
Click to expand...
ok thanks, will do later, just have some projects to finish first. It feels like the locking piece is not in place or slipped passed or stripped so when you apply pressure to tighten the part is worn that it slips by instead of giving you the stop action to apply force to tighten.
 
Sounds like you don't have much to lose by opening it up.

SK doesn't have parts for a five year old wrench, though? Will make sure not to buy that in the future
 
TwistedKestrel said:
Sounds like you don't have much to lose by opening it up.

SK doesn't have parts for a five year old wrench, though? Will make sure not to buy that in the future
Click to expand...

The design doesn't sound like a winner. It's never good when the manufacturer instantly knows whats broken. They probably re-engineered after realizing the old design was hopeless and they couldn't keep them together.

As a worst case, the head could be welded or filled with epoxy and the torque wrench would still work.
 
Could be as simple as lube or a broken spring...not enough pressure to engage the lock tab. Take her apart ;)
 
I've broken ratchets before and it's the same thing, without the replacement ratchet mechanism it's a door stop. I have a couple of replacement heads from my Dad's old Williams tool set, probably as old as I am.

It may be possible to weld the head solid and turn it into a breaker-bar, albeit with torque values. You can also check ebay for the same wrench that may have the working head that you need. Did you try lubing it?
 
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I will deal with it later this week and post pics.
Yes, SK does have a new style unit.
This unit was around for a while, it's actually a nice solid unit.
I hope it's just something that is minor and the ideas of welding it in place, if I see the broken part.

The SK person said the EARS are worn or broken...if that makes sense to you guys.
 
looking at their website SK has lifetime warranty on all handtools, EXCEPT torque wrenches. Buy a new torque wrench that does have a lifetime warranty
 
The ears are basically a rotating arm with serrated teeth that grip in one direction and slides (ratchets) in the other. They can break from too much torque, but the arm can also seize in the neutral position, which is why people recommend trying to lube it first and working the forward/reverse selector back and forth to see if it engages. You really need to pull the head out and get a look to confirm.
 
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