It doesn’t matter if it’s an oil pan drain plug, a water pump, a brake caliper, or any component on a vehicle that has a torque specification. If you’re working on one of these jobs, there is a small piece that could cause you a lot of grief if you’re not careful. This right here, it’s called a pivot block. This is inside a click style torque wrench. What this little tiny pivot block does is pretty amazing. It rests on a tang inside the torque wrench, and it is held in place with a spring. When enough torque is applied to the pivot point, it dislodges and causes that click we’re all familiar with. But with a torque wrench, well, that inaccuracy can be caused by dropping the torque wrench or using it improperly, or in some cases where. A torque wrench only has so many cycles in it before the pivot block starts to wear it down, and when it wears down well, it’s typically going to read a lower than normal value.
So, how do you know if this little tiny piece is damaged? Well, what you have to do is to look inside the torque wrench, know how many cycles it’s been through, but a quick and easy check is to check the accuracy counterclockwise and clockwise. In other words, it could be perfectly accurate counterclockwise, but clockwise tightening it, it could be off by 20 to 30 foot pounds, depending on the type of torque wrench. So, make sure that you’re taking care of your torque wrenches by having them calibrated or just general maintenance and making sure that you’re storing them in the proper box, and that you’re also winding them down to the minimal specification, so this spring isn’t fatigued over time.
This way you can be sure if you’re doing a water pump, a brake caliper, or an engine component, that it’s going to be torque properly. I’m Andrew Markel. Thank you very much.
