That 6-month old torque wrench I trusted let me down hard

I've been using my click-type torque wrench for months on landing gear bolts, never dropped it, kept it in its case. Last Tuesday I was torquing a main wheel nut to 220 ft-lbs and the click came way too early, felt like maybe 180. Pulled out my backup beam wrench and sure enough, the calibration was off by 40 ft-lbs. Sent it in to the shop in Phoenix, they said the internal spring wore out, totally gone in 6 months. Anyone else had a wrench go bad that fast, or am I just unlucky with this one?

1 comments

1 Comment

hall.emma4d ago

Check the calibration sticker on that thing, most shops put a 90 day window on torque wrenches used daily. I had a CDI go soft after four months because I left it set at 180 instead of dialing it back down to zero, the spring stays compressed and loses its memory. Now I always back the handle off after every job and recheck with a beam wrench every few weeks. Did you happen to leave it stored at max setting between uses?