Someone ought to know on here...My torque wrench goes only up to 150ft. lbs. I need to attain 180ft. lbs. I've thought if I could do the math right, I could just add another so many inches to the wrench to attain the proper leverage to get that weight.Anyone know if I can do this with the torque wrench? Yea, I know where I can get the proper wrench that goes to 250ft. lbs. but its also $100 that I do not have at the moment.

You could use a 1 foot bar and stand on the end...... You do weigh more than 180 pounds, right???

What is the length of your current wrench?

It would be increasing the wrench arm 1.8/1.5*r. However, since the clicker and beam type wrenches measure the torque a the head and from the deflection of the beam from the distance between the head and needle, respectively... it doesn't matter. You can't increase the point where the wrench will measure.

So I guess your weight at a measured distance on a breaker bar is what you need.

I've got a pretty good document (with pictures!) that helps with these equations. I have been trying for too long to upload it and attach it to this I cannot figure it out. :banghead: Pretty Frustrating. Send me an e-mail at and I'll send it to you. Maybe somebody else can figure out how to attach it.

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I'm not sure what I did differently, but here is the attachement. I hope it helps.

That is for a crows foot attachment, and is showing how to compensate torque for the different angles of the attachment. We have had to use those occasionally over the years. JR

You could use a 1 foot bar and stand on the end...... You do weigh more than 180 pounds, right???

210lbs.... But you wouldn't think it!

What is the length of your current wrench?

Eh, shooting from the hip, probably 1.5ft.

It would be increasing the wrench arm 1.8/1.5*r. However, since the clicker and beam type wrenches measure the torque a the head and from the deflection of the beam from the distance between the head and needle, respectively... it doesn't matter. You can't increase the point where the wrench will measure.

I was thinking that maybe I could increase the length so I can get more leverage and cut the weight down. I.E. Make it 3 ft. long and apply 100lbs. of torque but in reality I would be applying 300ft. lbs. of torque. But what your saying, is that is not possible?

That is for a crows foot attachment, and is showing how to compensate torque for the different angles of the attachment. We have had to use those occasionally over the years. JR

It also applies to extending the torque wrench and if someone needed a higher torque, through witchcraft and math, they could use the equation to decide what it would take to achieve the desired torque.

You won't have an accurate way of knowing the final torque though. The equation in the link you posted is for the opposite end of the torque wrench. The leverage with a crows foot is in front of the head which is why you need to decrease the torque setting accordingly to the length of the extension. You could slide a 6 ft cheater over the end of a torque wrench and it's still going to click on whatever it is set at. JR

What are you trying to torque?

Since he is going for 180 ft lbs, I am assuming it is the big castle nut on the spindle that goes through the hub.Hey Hex, can you just rent a wrench from a local autoparts store? Places like Autozone and such will give you all your money back after you return the tool....JR

Since he is going for 180 ft lbs, I am assuming it is the big castle nut on the spindle that goes through the hub. Hey Hex, can you just rent a wrench from a local autoparts store? Places like Autozone and such will give you all your money back after you return the tool.... JR

Correctamondo! I did not think of that... that might have been what I did last time...

Never ever torqued one, I just burp the ol 1/2 inch IR impact until it is lined up to the closest key slot.:thumbup2:Just have a feel for things like this after pulling wrenches most of my life and knowing the capability of the impact gun.

I was thinking that maybe I could increase the length so I can get more leverage and cut the weight down. I.E. Make it 3 ft. long and apply 100lbs. of torque but in reality I would be applying 300ft. lbs. of torque. But what your saying, is that is not possible?

Ok, I misunderstood. You could ad a cheater to your torque wrench and make x ft-lbs easier to attain... However, I would be concerned that you won't get it very accurate, if that really matters since the wrench is likely going to flex differently than when it was calibrated. .

The closer you are to the lower and upper limits of a torque wrench the less accurate they are. I don't torque alot of things when I'm wrenching on a vehicle but if it has to do with bearings I like to follow the manufacturers recomendations. JR

The closer you are to the lower and upper limits of a torque wrench the less accurate they are. I don't torque alot of things when I'm wrenching on a vehicle but if it has to do with bearings I like to follow the manufacturers recomendations. JR

You are correct about the upper and lower limits of a TQ wrench but when it comes to the nut that holds the axle in the hub it has no affect on the bearing in this case, it is a shouldered splined shaft and pulls up tight against the hub of the wheel bearing assembly, all the nut does is keep the axle from moving in the bearing hub.

All good points that I would have brought up. Last night, before I noticed my hub/rotor being loose because of the studs, I torqued to 150, then took my breaker bar with a cheater and tightened it up more to get the hole to line up. By doing this though, I noticed it did seem a little more difficult than before to spin the rotor. So I thought there was more to it than met the eye.

I would be careful with the impact you can stretch the threads if you rattle it too much..... I'm not sure exactly how your going about it but I've never had any issues with a long drift pin and a bfh....you just can't be shy....The first time I did mine I thought a press would be the way to go as well but after screwing around for a few minutes trying to block the rotor/hub assy up and trying to hold an extension between the press and the stud I was trying to press and operate the press WITHOUT damaging the rotor I said screw that!!! And went to the drift pin/bfh. Much easier IMO.EDIT: Hmmm, I have no clue how this posted to this forum....oops. It was meant to be in response to the wheel studs.JR