Three years ago I found out my torque wrench was off by 15 ft-lbs

I was working on a head gasket job for a buddy's 94 F150 back in 2021. Used my old Craftsman torque wrench that I had for like 10 years. Got the head bolts all torqued down, fired it up, and it blew the gasket again in a week. Took it to a shop and the guy checked my wrench. It was reading 80 when it was actually putting out 65. Cost me a whole weekend and about $200 in parts. When was the last time any of you actually checked your torque wrenches?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade471mo agoMost Upvoted

Learned that same lesson the hard way when my head gasket blew after trusting a wrench that was off by ten pounds.

brian3031mo ago

Your mileage may vary, but in my experience a lot of people just assume their tools are good forever. I've got a beam style torque wrench that I've had since the 90s and I still check it against a known weight every year or so. Digital or click style wrenches are mechanical at the end of the day, springs wear out, stuff drifts. That sucks about the head gasket though, that's a tough lesson to learn the hard way. I try to check mine at least once a year or before any big job, takes ten minutes and gives you some peace of mind.