Faulty torque wrench and a cracked sump

ldxo15wus6fpgm

what are my chances of recouping the costs of this from the tool manufacturers? I have babied this wrench since I bought it last year and it has never been dropped or damaged. I've just checked and my 1 year warranty has expired as I bought it in April 2016.

Guy:Incognito

Do you always wind out the spring when it's not in use? Was it serviced in April? Does the warranty say anything about it being properly torque once a year ( or any other timeframe?)

kona

Which type of torque wrench is it? A ratchet type or do you need to turn it over depending on what direction you want to go?

Get a new sump pan, fit it and throw the torque wrench in the bin.

ldxo15wus6fpgm

Always reset to 0 when I'm finished and then store it in its case. Haven't had it serviced since I bought it, honestly I didn't think it would require servicing to keep working, just thought it would become a bit inaccurate, which I could live with. Its a rachet type. The really anmoying thing here is I wouldn't have cracked the sump with a normal rather as I wouldn't have tightened as much, I was always over cautious with it before I got this wrench.
Edit: nothing in the warranty about having to have it serviced or inspected.

Guy:Incognito

Byron Harsh Radioactivity wrote: »

Always reset to 0 when I'm finished and then store it in its case. Haven't had it serviced since I bought it, honestly I didn't think it would require servicing to keep working, just thought it would become a bit inaccurate, which I could live with. Its a rachet type. The really anmoying thing here is I wouldn't have cracked the sump with a normal rather as I wouldn't have tightened as much, I was always over cautious with it before I got this wrench.
Edit: nothing in the warranty about having to have it serviced or inspected.

It may well be faulty but I'd imagine , much like with a warranty when a car goes bang, I'd say the manufacturer will look for any way to not pay a substantial repair bill.

grogi

Byron Harsh Radioactivity wrote: »

B: what are my chances of recouping the costs of this from the tool manufacturers? I have babied this wrench since I bought it last year and it has never been dropped or damaged. I've just checked and my 1 year warranty has expired as I bought it in April 2016.

Zero. Even if it was under warranty, it would only cover the replacement of the tool, not any repairs to the car.

In general, the "clicking" wrenches are rubbish, they need to be calibrated very often. Get an "analogue" one, like this one... More awkward to use, but hardly anything to brake.

Tigger

What do you mean release of pressure ?

You have zero chance of getting anything off them and let this be a lesson to others. Whether it was broken or not torque settings for something like a sump should never be used. All it needs is to be nipped tight plus a bit more pressure and it's going no where. All its there to do is stop a drip and the sumps metal is extremely thin to be torqued to any great degree.

Manufacturers torque settings are often ludicrous, I would only use them on something like a caliper or suspension piece, never on something thin like a sump plug that actually serves no purpose other than to not leak.

Feel for you man but lesson learned, I seriously doubt they will even entertain you.

Also name the brand of tool so other can be aware, you say it's decent so presuming teng, snap on or facom etc? Which one

ldxo15wus6fpgm

Its a Draper wrench. Will never use one again on the sump, trust me!!

JohnBoy26

Byron Harsh Radioactivity wrote: »

Its a Draper wrench. Will never use one again on the sump, trust me!!

Are they really a good brand though? I always seen them as a cheaper brand tbh

shietpilot

Most torque wrenches have a minimum range that they can operate from and usually it's around the 28 Nm mark, which would have been above what you should have torqued the sump nut to.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I feel your pain but why on earth would anyone need a torque wrench for a sump plug? Even if I had a €1million supercar I wouldn't use one, the plug needs to be tight to stop any drips, you don't need a torque wrench to do that and if you do then you really shouldn't be servicing the car yourself. A hard lesson learned, unfortunately.

SuperS54

shietpilot wrote: »

Most torque wrenches have a minimum range that they can operate from and usually it's around the 28 Nm mark, which would have been above what you should have torqued the sump nut to.

Depends on the drive size, 3/8" could be min at 10Nm, 1/2" at 30Nm.

LollipopJimmy

Unless you were hanging out of it with a 1/2inch torque wrench it's fairly safe to say the sump was going to cracking anyway

gctest50

Bit late now, but you should always test torque wrenches - grab it in the vice and make sure it clicks

Byron Harsh Radioactivity wrote: »

I understand on my car the engine must be taken off it's mounts and the front axle removed. .......

oh noes! if they're whining like that - you've the wrong shop

shietpilot

shietpilot wrote: »

Most torque wrenches have a minimum range that they can operate from and usually it's around the 28 Nm mark, which would have been above what you should have torqued the sump nut to.

Thats big torque wrenches, I have a little small one for my motorbike.

On the big ones I wouldn't be too concerned using any brand, on a small one its russian roulette if not using a very decent wrench which draper are definitely not.

Tyre places are the worst, use an air gun to overtighten the **** out of it, then they use a torque wrench just to make sure it clicks even though its already overtightend to ****. Monkeys most of them

shietpilot

Khloe Nutritious Syntax wrote: »

Tyre places are the worst, use an air gun to overtighten the **** out of it, then they use a torque wrench just to make sure it clicks even though its already overtightend to ****. Monkeys most of them

They do that to make sure the wheel doesn't fall off on the customer