I need to pick one up for my lawnmower. I'm looking at a craftsman beam torque wrench 0-75 ft lbs but I'm wondering if I'll need to go higher 0-150 ft lbs for anything on the TL? How much do the lug nuts need? I rarely have a need for it, just get tired of borrowing it once or twice a year, so I don't want to spend a lot.

 

Yup need more since lugs are typically 80lbs.

 

I believe the lug nuts are torqued @ 80 lbs. I bought my torque wrenches at harbor freight and they are great! I recommend the 1/2 inch for wheels and it runs < $25 at Harbor Freight. The 1/2 range is 20-150lbs and tbhe 3/8 is 5-80lbs. I wound up getting both for < $50 three years ago and they have come in handy many times: tire rotates, sway bars, drain fill bolts, etc.

Craftsman seems to have taken a big hit in quality when I was shopping for a torque wrench so I decided to give the Harbor Freight tools a try and couldn't be happier.

 

Also, the brake caliper bolts are 125 pound ft. (If you have the brembos)

 

Man, sounds like I need to hit Harbor Freight up. That sounds like hell of a deal!

 

I have a Snap-On that goes up to 80 ft/lb's. For anything high I bought a cheaper one from Harbor Freight since I don't have a regular use for a 1/2" drive torque wrench.

 

Damn, that is a lot for caliper bolts.

 

I have three. One is measured in in/lbs and is the one I use for my TL oil changes exclusively because it is shorter and therefore clears my driveway when using it. The other two are max 100 and 150 ft/lbs respectively.

This highest torque bold spec I know of on the TL is the crankshaft bolt that secures the belt pulley. It is 180 ft/lbs as I recall.

 

For those of you going to Harbor Freight, here are the must-buys related to the torque wrench:

1/2 inch impact drive lug nut (metric) socket kit - forgot price but < $20.
1/2 inch breaker bar - somewhere around $10
Socket adapter kit so you can use your 3/8 sockets with these new 1/2 inch tools

For less than $40, you'll be set!

 

Just saying in harbor frieght ads they have a +/- 6% accuracy on reading in the ad lol but I assume thats over time which I found kinda funny (I shop at hf occasionally...They make good breaker bars and pry bars lol). Anyway I have like 20 or so tq wrenches sitting at home ranging from in/lb to ft/lb lol. I usually use the 150ft/lb half inch drive most of the time. Usually bolts in the engine bay I snug unless it is a critical component that needs torquing.