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Looking to get! What do I need?
Torque wrenches
- Thread starter the_worrier
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Jobs to be done are brake disc/pad changes on BMW 330d F31. ZF8 transmission service.
Don’t know what I need to buy. Length? Drive type?
Never had a torque wrench.
Don’t know what I need to buy. Length? Drive type?
Never had a torque wrench.
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You ideally want two torque wrenches, 3/4 upto 60Nm and 1/2 that goes up to 210-310Nm.
Always remember to unwind it completely after using it.
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Soldato
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Is that a thing? I use cheap torque wrenches on my MX5 and to be honest I was impressed that I was even using them
.Is that a thing? I use cheap torque wrenches on my MX5 and to be honest I was impressed that I was even using them
yes, very well known thing beause it warns you in the manual
It literally says it in the manual, lol...Is that a thing? I use cheap torque wrenches on my MX5 and to be honest I was impressed that I was even using them
Soldato
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I would hope the Venn diagram of "people who actually torque things to spec" and "People who read the manual" is pretty close.
It is very easy to put your wrench away and forget to take the tension off though
It is very easy to put your wrench away and forget to take the tension off though
I would hope the Venn diagram of "people who actually torque things to spec" and "People who read the manual" is pretty close.
It is very easy to put your wrench away and forget to take the tension off though
Also technically you are supposed to have them calibrated once a year - though mine went about 3 years and was still within spec.
Not to put anyone off - everyone has to start somewhere, etc. but changing discs and pads without knowledge of the tools required is jumping in the deep end a bit.
Such a simple task, yet I've seen some of my mates fail miserably when I offered to teach them.
This is a good representation how to do it properly and easily, it applies to most cars..
The fun starts, when the callipers are seized, bolts are welded with rust etc.
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Soldato
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Plus the risk of doing it wrong - it's not fun driving your car around wondering if your brakes will fail because you missed a bolt or bled them wrong.
If something is wrong, you can usually tell when you take it around the block, you always do slow speed test before taking it further.
Op, what tools do you currently have? You'll need a jack, axle stands, socket set etc.
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I dunno - the way they are using a wire brush to clean stuff I was always told was a big no no on those parts - I usually (saying that like I do it often LOLs*) use either Autoglym or Motip cleaning spray. Their use of copper grease as per the comments, how I was taught and posts in threads on here probably isn't the best either.
* I literally paid someone £500 to do it for me yesterday.
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I usually clean the hubs and leave them as is... I give a smudge of copper grease on bits that move. My car had copper grease on the hubs, I left it on when I was changing discs. It was a bit of a test, to see if I would get brake judder - no symptoms though.
Wire brush will get rid of loose debris, I doubt it'll affect the surface to the point it affects anything. I did a bit of research recently to the different greases used for brakes, after seeing @JonRGV250 post. I was always told to give it a smudge of copper grease to stop the new brakes from making weird noises as they bed-in.
Soldato
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I use wire brushes but careful not to snag any rubber seals e.g. on the piston or sliders. For lubricating the brakes themselves (pads and sliders) I use Ceratec, copper grease is more reserved for things I don't want seizing together later.
Soldato
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for brakes i'd get a 1/2" drive torque wrench which will have around a 20-200nm ish range, that'll be plenty for what you'll be doing and will cover most things you'll be DIY'ing on a car.
Make sure you've got the right sockets to use with the torque wrench, most socket sets for working on cars will be 3/8" drive so you'll need an adapter or some 1/2" sockets.
Watch lots of videos before hand and double then triple check your work as you go if its your first time, if you can have someone who knows their stuff either help or check it once you're done.
You can take pictures as you go as you want everything to go back together as it was before you started so can be helpful.
If its a fairly new car you should be ok, its if you do your first brake job on a 10+ year old car where everything is rusted and seized you're going to be in for a bad time as it's easy to make it a lot worse if you don't know what you're doing
Fwiw i've always used a wire brush on the hubs and copper slip, never had an issue in the 10's of brake jobs I've done over the years but i'm sure there'll be scores of internet experts who will tell you the wheels will fall off imminently if you do that.
Make sure you've got the right sockets to use with the torque wrench, most socket sets for working on cars will be 3/8" drive so you'll need an adapter or some 1/2" sockets.
Watch lots of videos before hand and double then triple check your work as you go if its your first time, if you can have someone who knows their stuff either help or check it once you're done.
You can take pictures as you go as you want everything to go back together as it was before you started so can be helpful.
If its a fairly new car you should be ok, its if you do your first brake job on a 10+ year old car where everything is rusted and seized you're going to be in for a bad time as it's easy to make it a lot worse if you don't know what you're doing
Fwiw i've always used a wire brush on the hubs and copper slip, never had an issue in the 10's of brake jobs I've done over the years but i'm sure there'll be scores of internet experts who will tell you the wheels will fall off imminently if you do that.
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My thoughts...
1: Lots of people will claim they never use torque wrenches and just do it by feel. Ignore this advice. It's better to have even a cheap torque wrench then to guess things. Yes, of course you can do things by feel... we've all been there, but where you can use one and you can obtain the torque ratings, you should use one. There is never a disadvantage to using one, other than time and access to the thing you are trying to use a torque wrench on.
2: I've never had mine calibrated ever. I'm not proud of this. Just saying I haven't, and I've never had issues in over 15 years of use on a good number of cars, motorbikes and mountain bikes. I did buy good quality ones though.
3: Unwind it after each use without fail.
I have an 8-60Nm and a 60-300Nm. Both get used a lot. On my Mountain bike, there are some more delicate things that call for torques from as little as 5Nm up to about 20Nm. For that, you can get a dedicated one from about 2-25Nm which will be more accurate at those low values, as opposed to using an 8-60Nm.
1: Lots of people will claim they never use torque wrenches and just do it by feel. Ignore this advice. It's better to have even a cheap torque wrench then to guess things. Yes, of course you can do things by feel... we've all been there, but where you can use one and you can obtain the torque ratings, you should use one. There is never a disadvantage to using one, other than time and access to the thing you are trying to use a torque wrench on.
2: I've never had mine calibrated ever. I'm not proud of this. Just saying I haven't, and I've never had issues in over 15 years of use on a good number of cars, motorbikes and mountain bikes. I did buy good quality ones though.
3: Unwind it after each use without fail.
I have an 8-60Nm and a 60-300Nm. Both get used a lot. On my Mountain bike, there are some more delicate things that call for torques from as little as 5Nm up to about 20Nm. For that, you can get a dedicated one from about 2-25Nm which will be more accurate at those low values, as opposed to using an 8-60Nm.