There’s no need to use a torque wrench to tighten 99 percent of the nuts and bolts on farm equipment. But if you work on engines, transmissions, final drives or other assemblies that require or benefit from fasteners being torqued precisely, here are a couple tips;
-Always grip a torque wrench in the middle of its handgrip when pushing or pulling to tighten a fastener. Torque is calculated based on the distance from the pivot point of a torque wrench to the center of the handgrip. Pulling or pushing from anywhere on the handle except for the handgrip gives a distorted torque value.
-Don’t jerk or lunge against the handle of a torque wrench during a “pull.” Torque wrenches give their most accurate readings if the wrench is pulled smoothly and steadily.
-Try to arrange so the torque wrench clicks or beeps (indicating desired torque value has been reached) in the middle or toward the end of a slow, steady pull of the handle. It takes more torque to start a bolt turning than it does to keep that bolt turning. So if you have limited room in which to swing the torque wrench handle, and have to reset the wrench, be suspicious if the wrench clicks or beeps in the first few inches of the fresh pull. In that case, the wrench is probably signaling the “breakaway torque” of the bolt rather than it’s actual turning torque. Most common bolts can be safely loosened then re-snugged, with the goal of getting the wrench to click in mid- or late-pull. The exception is when tightening “torque to yield” bolts, which are special, one-time-use bolts that should never be loosened and re-used after they’ve been tightened to full torque value.
