My old torque wrench gave out on a head gasket job

Was doing a head gasket on a 2008 Civic last Thursday. Got to the final torque sequence, about 30 foot-pounds in. Heard a soft click that felt wrong. The wrench just stopped holding. Had to run to the parts store and buy a new one, cost me $120. Has anyone else had a torque wrench fail right at the worst time? What brand did you switch to?

3 comments

3 Comments

abbyg1421d ago

My dad's old Craftsman wrench did the same thing on a water pump. I mean it's always when you're deep into a job, right? I just use a cheap Pittsburgh from Harbor Freight now and hope for the best.

amy_murphy8521d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly @abbyg14, going cheap on a wrench feels like asking for trouble. That old Craftsman probably just needed the ratchet gear cleaned and greased. My buddy's Pittsburgh socket split right on a caliper bolt, left him stranded. Sometimes the right fix is just taking care of the good tools you already have.

milestaylor13d ago

That "right when you're deep into a job" thing is so true. It's like the universe waits for the worst possible moment for stuff to break.