the_julia•8d agoMost Upvoted

Bought a cheap torque wrench off Amazon and it cost me a head gasket job

I picked up a $25 torque wrench from some no-name brand to save money on my '97 Civic rebuild. Snapped two head bolts before I realized it was clicking way before the spec, and had to pull the whole head again. Anyone else get burned by budget tools and regretted it?

2 comments

2 Comments

owens.willow7d ago

Blew up my alignment with a cheap Harbor Freight wrench back in '18 and swore I'd never cheap out again. I feel your pain on the Civic rebuild, that sucks. Way I see it, @blake_cooper's got a point about luck - I've got a $30 Tekton that's been dead on for years while a buddy's more expensive one drifted. But my rule now is to test any new wrench with a quick bolt-and-scale check before trusting it on head bolts, you know? Saves you pulling the head a second time.

blake_cooper8d ago

Torque wrenches aren't really a budget tool category though. I've had a cheap click type hold calibration for years while my buddy's expensive Snap-On drifted out of spec in six months. There's definitely some luck involved.