If you do your own bike, car and motorcycle maintenance and minor repair, you know very well that you need the best torque wrench for tight spaces.
Just because the bolt is located in a hard-to-reach space, it does not mean you should ignore torquing it properly. There are types of torque wrenches made for that kind of hard job.
Types of torque wrenches to use for tight spaces
Here, the choice of the torque wrench to use depends on how tight the space is and the work setting. I will try to explain what I mean by this…
You see, a tight space in an industrial setting is not the same as a tight space in the engine bay. Therefore, you will find that you can use a really big torque wrench to tighten fasteners in tight spaces – in an industrial setting!
On the other hand, a small, digital torque wrench is appropriate for tightening fasteners in small spaces in the engine bay.
Pneumatic vs hydraulic torque wrench for tight spaces in industrial setting
As you can see in our article on hydraulic vs pneumatic torque wrench, the hydraulic one is most appropriate for small spaces in the industrial setting.
It comes in two types – the low profile hydraulic torque wrench, which is smaller and is designed to slip over the bolt/nut. Its recessed design makes it appropriate for heavy-torque fasteners in small spaces.
There is also the square drive hydraulic torque wrench, which is bulkier. It cannot help you tighten fasteners in tight spaces.
However … despite its bulky head, the fixed square hydraulic torque wrench is still better for small spaces than the huge, bulbous and bulky pneumatic torque wrench.
Manual vs digital torque wrench for small non-industrial spaces
Which between the manual vs digital torque wrench is better for the small spaces in your car engine bay, boat or other such setting?
Well, we would recommend you go with the digital torque wrench because it is easier to use. It also gives a combination of alerts when it reaches the set torque. It is hard to miss!
However, don’t write off the manual torque wrench just yet. If there is space to spare, use it. It’s accuracy is not compromised but you can miss the click easily if you are working in noisy spaces.
Why you need a torque wrench for tight spaces
If you have tried to pry loose a bolt that was over-tightened in a tight space, you can probably understand the importance of using the right amount of torque in tight spaces.
The best thing is to get the force application right in the first place. This means applying the right amount of torque on the fasteners in the tight spaces. That way, even when you have to undo the fastener in future, you are not going to need to use too much force.
Thankfully, for such fasteners in tight spaces, there are torque wrenches designed for just that. In “specific” terms, we refer to these as ergonomic torque wrenches. There is a good number of these so buying one is not a problem at all.
The last thing you want to do is to under or over-tighten the lug nuts of your car. Imagine a car rolling down the highway at the speed of 60MPH with loose lug nuts! That is not very encouraging.
To avoid this, you need to know the recommended torque level for the fastener. Check with the car service manual. You can find torque levels indicated for every fastener used on the car.
Some nuts and fasteners are in nooks and crannies that can be hard to reach. The good thing though is that there are torque wrenches that are designed to use in tight spaces. We shall see more about them here.
It does not matter whether you are a DIY-er or a professional mechanic, the fact is that you need a good set of torque wrenches. Among them, you must have one that you can use in squeezed spaces.
How do you torque a tight space?
Just because there are fasteners in tight and hidden space, it does not mean you should ignore to torque them.
Choose the right torque wrench for tight spaces
To torque fasteners in tight spaces, you need the right torque wrench. Most people prefer to use a break-over wrench.
This is aptly named because it has an integrated hinge. Once the set torque is reached, it “breaks” at the hinge and so you cannot use it to tighten anymore.
The dynamics of tightening fasteners in the tight spaces are not different from those of wide-open spaces.
If the space is very squeezed, there will not be enough room to fit the ratchet head and the socket at the same time. However, a break over torque wrench is going to work well in such spaces.
What makes the break-over wrenches fit enough for such jobs? The design is different from that of the ratchet head and socket wrenches.
Instead of a ratchet head, these tools come with a spigot-style head, a box or open-ended design. The good thing with such heads is that they are flatter, so they can fit better in squeezed spaces. They work the same as a manual torque wrench and they are very accurate.
This flexible design of the break over wrench enables you to tighten fasteners to the right torque, even when they are in inaccessible spaces.
Tighten to the specified torque level
It will take more time to torque bolts and fasteners in the tight spaces than it would take to tighten those in open places.
However, take your time and ensure that the bolts are torqued fully, until the torque wrench gives you the signal of having achieved the set torque.
Because of the positioning shenanigans, these fasteners deserve more care than others. If you do not torque them to the right level, you are going to have problems when you need to loosen them in future.
You can tighten the fasteners using two steps. First, set the torque wrench to half the needed torque and then tighten the fasteners half way. After that, you can set the final torque and tighten them fully.
Also, check the fasteners for rust because it can prevent you from tightening them accordingly.
You can use a torque adapter
Some parts in the engine bay are totally inaccessible. If this is the case, you can try to use an adapter, specifically one that’s designed for use in the tightest of spaces in the engine bay and other places.
Perhaps you are afraid that these torque wrench adapters will mess up with your torque settings. They will but you can recalculate the torque level you need to set. To do that, you would have to consider the length of the wrench and that of adapter.
Because of the extra length that the torque wrench is going to gain after adding the adapter, the torque will be higher. If you are not careful, you will apply more torque than the manufacturer of the fastener intended.
This will cause over-tightening the fastener, which can ruin its threads and compromise of the part it is holding together.
Once you adjust the torque accordingly, it will be so simple to use your wrench to tighten the fasteners. You need never struggle again with fasteners in tight spaces.
Which should you torque: bolt or nut?
Another question most people ask in this regard is: Does it matter if you torque the nut or bolt?
Short answer is… you torque the nut more often than the bolt.
Long answer is … This depends on the job at hand. In some cases, you might need to torque the nut alone and not the bolt.
In some cases, you can torque either and the result will be just as good. They will both give you a seriously tight connection.
When to apply torque on bolt or nut alone
If the hole that the fastener is going through provides an interference, you might want to apply the torque to the nut rather than the bolt.
If you are using the bolt and nuts to tighten a fastener that has a bigger hole on one side only, you will be using a fastener that has differently sized nut and bolt head.
If this is the case, you should always apply the torque on the head (bolt or nut) that is on the smaller hole side.
When you are clamping two types of materials together, you should torque the head (of bolt or nut) that is on the side of the material that is likely to have the lower friction coefficient. This is especially important to remember when you are clamping two parts of different materials.
When you are clamping aluminum and brass material together, torque the bolt or nut on the side of the material with the lower friction coefficient. In this case, that will be on the brass side as it has a friction coefficient of 0.51 while that of aluminum is 0.61.
When you are using long bolts, apply the torque on the head. If you apply it on the head of the long bolt, there will be torsional wind up.
Overall, as you have seen here, we torque nuts more often because they are stronger than bolts. If you expose a bolt and a nut to the same conditions, the bolt will break earlier, before the nut can strip. That is why in many tightening applications, you should torque the nut more than the bolt.
The right way to thread a nut over a bolt
The bolt is longer than the nut. There is a proper way to thread the nut over the bolt. Always leave the first two threads of the bolt exposed. Assume them to be misaligned or bad.
Best bang for your buck torque wrench (for tight spaces)
There are so many torque wrenches in the market that you can use for working in tight spaces. Do you want a low profile hydraulic torque wrench for small spaces in industrial setting?
Perhaps you a digital wrench for small spaces in your car’s engine bay. They come in their numbers.
Here is a table to show you a few such torque wrenches and their features:
EPAUTO 3/8-Inch drive – Best Click Torque Wrench
- Very affordable, also comes with 3/8-inch, 1/2-inch and 1/4-inch torque adapters
- Torque range is 10 to 80 ft-lb
- Knurled grip on the handle makes it anti-slip
- Usable for bike, motorcycle and car maintenance and repair
- Built to last with chrome vanadium, comes in a high quality plastic carry case
GEARWRENCH 1/2-Inch Drive – Best Digital Torque Wrench
- It has a 5-degree swinging arc so it works in tight spaces
- Has 72-tooth ratcheting mechanism
- It is water and oil-resistant so you can work with it outside
- High accuracy rating of +/-2% clockwise and +/-3% in counterclockwise direction
- Torque range is 7.37 ft-lb to 100 ft-lb
- Also available in flex-head design, comes in a nice plastic case
Atlas COPCO RTX-14 Low Profile Hydraulic Torque Wrench
- The housing is made of aluminum to keep it lightweight
- Has many axis (like pivot points) for the hydraulic pipe flexibility
- Low profile design enables it to slip over bolts in tight spaces
- Wide torque range of 2010-13400 ft lb to tighten or loosen fasteners
Wrapping Up
Fasteners in dinghy places in the engine bay require the best torque wrench for tight spaces. To recap the information we have given you here, you should use a break-over torque wrench because it has a smaller head.
It will fit in nifty places. If they are really hard to reach, torque them halfway and then set the full torque, and torque to the end.