What torque wrench to but for a series 3?

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The Mad Hat Man said:
at the end of the day, James, if you are happy. that is all that matters. Maybe the OP hasnt the same choice?
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And that's the point isn't it You can spend a couple of grand on a nice shiney tool kit from SnapOn but it would be pointless if all you ever do is service a car or two in your own time.

My tool kit has been built up over the last 40+ years or so and I've never been stuck or failed to undo a fastner one way or another. So my gear is "fit for purpose for me". Few of the tools I own cost a great deal except the ones that needed to, because to be "fit for purpose" I had to buy expensive.

Oh and if you want to work on that series Landy I've got a set of Whitworth King Dick ring spanners that are older than me and they really are "quality" tools. I wonder if the SnapOn man would have Whitworth ring spanners on his van? I don't know but I would be interested.
 
waldershelf said:
And that's the point isn't it You can spend a couple of grand on a nice shiney tool kit from SnapOn but it would be pointless if all you ever do is service a car or two in your own time.

My tool kit has been built up over the last 40+ years or so and I've never been stuck or failed to undo a fastner one way or another. So my gear is "fit for purpose for me". Few of the tools I own cost a great deal except the ones that needed to, because to be "fit for purpose" I had to buy expensive.

Oh and if you want to work on that series Landy I've got a set of Whitworth King Dick ring spanners that are older than me and they really are "quality" tools. I wonder if the SnapOn man would have Whitworth ring spanners on his van? I don't know but I would be interested.
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upto recently they certainely sold sockets as i use the 3 needed for series boxes
 
The Mad Hat Man said:
at the end of the day, James, if you are happy. that is all that matters. Maybe the OP hasnt the same choice?
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if you use them for a living its not about as long as your happy ,id already stated that for ocaisonal diy i wouldnt bother because of cost ,and if your stuck you can go and get someone else to do it ,you cant if your the somene else
 
waldershelf said:
Yawn Yawn SnapOn Yawn. Most of us live in the real world and don't need the supposed "quality" of SnapOn and certainly aren't prepared to spend SnapOn money. If you can drop on SnapOn tools second hand at the right price fair enough.

I certainly wouldn't pay £150 for a second hand torque wrench whatever the make in preference to a new one from Halfords for £50, you have no idea how it has been treated or how far it's calibration has drifted. Or do you pay the SnapOn man to send it away for regular calibration? If you don't you should because it will have drifted.

There are plenty of other tools available at cheaper prices that are just as "fit for purpose" as SnapOn especially for the home mechanic.

When I used to work in the motor trade most of the workshop tools were SnapOn, not because they were better than the alternatives but because the SnapOn rep' used to call every week and replace all the things we had broken, admitted their guarantee is very good (or rather used to be, increasingly there are get outs)

For the OP's information Hafords pro range of tools are more than good enough quality for the home mechanic and come with a lifetime warranty (just like SnapOn) and their torque wrenches always get very good reviews in independent tests (check out the autoexpress website).
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I only use decent tools, and the torque wrench and my diagnostic equipment is the only snap-on things i have. Everything else i have tool wise is Britool, Teng or Beta so :p :D

Ive discussed and seen this discussed many times. Halford's pro may have a lifetime warranty on their tools but they are not high quality items and it really does show.

I was living with a friend of mine who had some Halfrauds "professionally" tools and they really are shoddy compared to decent gear. The ratchet mechanisms are a joke and so stiff and seem to have about 8 teeth. Ive broken numerous spanners and the socket fitments over rusted bolts cause so many nuts to round off due to shoddy fit.

Id really recommend Beta or Teng if your going to be doing any proper work.

Do not buy new Britool as since last year its all French crap
 
jamesmartin said:
because you wouldnt be able to undo half the stuff i have to at the speed i do with cheap **** , even if you bought lots of them ,ie bihex bolt heads are bad enough when new ,and you try and use the bolt extractor sockets on bihex head ,not all rules of thumb cross over
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Exactly. My 1/4 inch Britool ratchet with stubby thin walled sockets has been one of the most valuable tools i own. The ratchet itself costs about the same as an entire halfords socket set
 
Do you lack expertise or are you rough with tools? Working for a porsche specialist using mainly SnapOn or working at home with my modestly priced kit I can honestly say I don't have problems with tools. I simply don't get in the situation where I say "damn this cheap spanner I wish I'd bought SnapOn"
 
waldershelf said:
Do you lack expertise or are you rough with tools? Working for a porsche specialist using mainly SnapOn or working at home with my modestly priced kit I can honestly say I don't have problems with tools. I simply don't get in the situation where I say "damn this cheap spanner I wish I'd bought SnapOn"
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As I said I only have a SnapOn torque wrench and diagnostic equipment. Im not rough will my tools but I use them constantly for my livelihood. Therefore i have high quality tools as stuff like draper or halfords would wear out and is also not up to the task.

When a cheap ass spanner or socket causes you to round a rusted nut or just breaks then yes i do curse crap tools. That is why I run high quality stuff.

Decent stuff saves you a lot of hassle and money in the long run.
 
Also if Halfords was as good as Teng, Beta or SnapOn, and at a 1/4 of the price, all these companies would be out of business. But Halfords are still cheap poor quality tools so professionals and people who rely on quality products have to buy proper manufactures.
 
Halfords entry level tools are probably not the best but their Professional range are very good (i believe they are made by Sykes Pickavant).

I know plenty of professional mechanics in the motor industry who use the socket sets and spanners and have had very few problems apart from worn ratchets (through continued use).

For the weekend mechanic these tools are, in my opinion, the best value for money around.
 
Weekend mechanic i completely accept that the halfords range is acceptable. For the professional they are not.

But back to the torque wrench. As it is an accurate tool i recommend the best you can afford as cheap ones that are not accurate can cause serious problems with snapped head or cam bolts, or even leaving them too loose causing engine failure.
 
scrappyloz said:
Also if Halfords was as good as Teng, Beta or SnapOn, and at a 1/4 of the price, all these companies would be out of business. But Halfords are still cheap poor quality tools so professionals and people who rely on quality products have to buy proper manufactures.
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Its your money you buy what you want.

However to come on landyzone and suggest that perfectly usable tools are "crap" and "rubbish" and "poor quality" is not only inaccurate but doesn't help the OP make his decision on what to buy.

They might not be made to the same exacting high standards as the very best tools but that is not the point. Halfords pro range of tools are perfectly usable and fit for purpose for the home mechanic and to suggest otherwise is just wrong.
 
waldershelf said:
Its your money you buy what you want.

However to come on landyzone and suggest that perfectly usable tools are "crap" and "rubbish" and "poor quality" is not only inaccurate but doesn't help the OP make his decision on what to buy.

They might not be made to the same exacting high standards as the very best tools but that is not the point. Halfords pro range of tools are perfectly usable and fit for purpose for the home mechanic and to suggest otherwise is just wrong.
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In the case of the OP he was asking about a torque wrench, and all i mentioned is what i had, Then everyone jumped down my throat and went completly off thread.
 
I have some recent Halfords ratchets (due to breaking the old one I have on a weekend) the new pro ones are far superior to the old ones. Machine Mart do some half decent stuff.

One question though, how accurate do torque wrenches actually need to be? Recently fitting a new, expensive, component (naming no names) I snapped a couple of sets of stretch bolts. Turned out they'd printed the wrong torque settings in the instructions for a few years...I was the first person to actually bother using a torque wrench!
 
final tightening of stretch bolt is by angle not torque wrench ,as angle is more accurate than torque ,id use torque wrench on head bolts ,con rods but not much ewlse on a series
 
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