What is a "secial service tool"?

[Molly Brown]

Would you consider a torque wrench to be a =93special service tool=94 even though what you=92re working on is not a vehicle but exercise equipment?

[DerbyDad03]

Uh...what are you talking about?

I'd call a "torque wrench" a "torque wrench" regardless of what I was using it on.

What is prompting this question?

[Molly Brown]

If you=92re working on a vehicle you would expect to have a torque wrench, but would you be expected to have a torque wrench if what you=92re working on is not a vehicle?

[DerbyDad03]

A torque wrench is not "expected" based on what type of machine you are working on, a torque wrench is "expected" when the fastener that you are tightening requires a specific torque.

It doesn't matter if you are working on a "vehicle" or a toaster oven or a door handle.

If the design specs for a fastener in question calls for it to be tightened to a specific torque, then a torque wrench would be "expected".

If the instructions for a fastener on any type of device says "Tighten to 25 Nm" or "Tighten to 18.5 ft lbs" then a torque wrench would be "expected".

[Vic Smith]

Depends. If torque settings are specified, you should follow them. I haven't used a torque wrench on non-auto applications, but I'm sure it's called for on things I haven't encountered. Just about every nut/bolt on a car has a torque spec. Many are needed because of expansion due to heat, and for gasket compression. Some so you don't get bearings too tight. Others are to keep you from twisting off bolts or studs, or stripping them, or breaking a flange corner. Unless you're tightening common brackets, you're best off following torque specs. My son broke 2 throttle bodies on his car before he wised up. Seemed simple enough to crank down the nuts on the studs. But if you over-torque, the cast aluminum corners with the stud holes break off, making the part useless.

--Vic

[DerbyDad03]

Well "anywhere" would be a stretch.

"Two eggs over easy, a side of sausage, whole wheat toast, coffee black and a torque wrench. To go, please"

;-)

More important than where you buy one is what type you buy. A torque wrench must be sized for the application(s) it will be used for.

A beam style torque wrench with a range of 0 to 100 ft-lbs might work for some applications while a click style with a range of 0 to 200 in- lbs might be better for others.

[JIMMIE]

Could be, some times things like exercise equipment are suppled with tools = for assembly and adjustment but may also other user supplied tools. Without= a better idea of the context of the use of the phrase this is my best gues= s.

Jimmie

[Gordon Shumway]

Absolutely not. A torque wrench is used to tighten any threaded fastener to a specific torque. A "special service tool" is available generally only from the manufacturer of the product being serviced. A "special service tool" is only useful for the specific and possibly unique task it was designed for.

An example of a special service tool is a clutch alignment tool. It is good for only that one task... unless you need something to throw at the neighbor's cat when it gets in your garage.

[gonjah]

I torque my toaster.

[DerbyDad03]

My toaster torques me.

It takes forever to toast a slice of bread and when it's done it looks like a zebra.

[gonjah]

Ambiguous term.

[DerbyDad03]

Exercise equipment?

I agree.

[Evan]

Absolutely...

Fasteners on a great many things have torque values they need to be tightened to in order for the equipment they hold together to operate properly and safely... To assume that such a tool is only useful for repairing vehicles is something that demonstrates your total unfamiliarity with any sort of real maintenance or repair operations...

~~ Evan

[gonjah]

I was thinking "special service tool". It depends on the type of work one is doing. I didn't carry one as a sewing machine mechanic. YMMV

[Jules Richardson]

Certainly not. To me, a "special service tool" is a one-off tool needed to service a particular device (or range of related devices) from a manufactuer, and is usually only available from that manufacturer (and at great expense).

Of course quite often it's possible to make something that will do the same task (e.g. I seem to recall a special tool for installing the stainless still windshield trim on Triumph cars; the accepted 'creative' solution was to cut three of the four tines of an old fork and bend the remaining one into the necessary shape - it worked just as well)

cheers

Jules

[Larry W]

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if woodchuck could chuck wood?

[HeyBub]

The most common "special purpose tool" that comes to mind is the wrench that fits the five-sided valve atop a fire plug.

[DerbyDad03]

...and I was kidding.

[gonjah]

Yeah. I got it later. :) I get into heated arguments then come back to friendly banter but I'm still in fight mode. My bad.

[Robert Green]

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