The day a simple torque wrench saved my whole week on a Detroit Series 60

I was doing head gaskets on a Series 60 in a Freightliner, a job I've done maybe a dozen times. I always used my old click-type torque wrench, the one I've had since tech school. This time, I borrowed a buddy's digital one, a Snap-on TechAngle, just to try it. The difference wasn't just in the number on the screen. When I got to the final torque-plus-angle sequence, the old wrench would click and I'd guess the angle turn. The digital one beeped for torque and then counted the degrees exactly. I redid the first two bolts with the old wrench after checking with the new one, and I was off by almost 15 degrees on one of them. That was last Tuesday. The truck came back today for its post-repair check, and the coolant pressure test was perfect, no seepage at all. I used to think a torque wrench was a torque wrench, but seeing that exact angle measurement changed my mind. How many of you have switched to a digital for critical jobs like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

richard_mason27d ago

Quinn_flores80" nailed it, I've been there and it's a rough wake-up call for sure.

sage_fox2mo ago

Still using my old clicker and hoping for the best.

quinn_flores802mo ago

Wait, you were guessing the angle turn before? That's wild to me. Fifteen degrees off is a huge margin on something that precise. I can't believe the old method is that loose for a head gasket. It makes total sense why the digital one nailed it. I guess some jobs just need that exact number.