Just wondering - if you have something like a lambda sensor that is supposed to be screwed in to 50Nm - 60Nm, how are you supposed to measure the fixing torque?

You can't put a normal socket on it because of the cable that comes out of the top.

Is it just a case of doing it up F.T. with an ordinary spanner? Or is there some clever gizmo that does the job?

I could put a spring balance on a ring spanner and work out how hard I'd have to pull it but, frankly, life's too short!

David

you can get lambda sensor sockets that have a cutout for the cable so you can get them on.

I would have said reasonably tight not FT for one of those - of course that's only an estimate

Cheers

mark

quote:

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Originally posted by dan__wright
you can get lambda sensor sockets that have a cutout for the cable so you can get them on.

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the free way of doing it would be to undo another nut and set your torque rench to the correct torque for the lamda, hold the wrench at a similar distance from the socket as your spanner length is, and get a "feel" for what the correct torque is.

Obviously it wont be exact, but its an option.

Use a spanner as a torque multiplier as shown in Norbar Webpage

when you feel the threads start to stretch stop...

Can't say I have much use for a torque wrench apart from head bolts. After a while you get to know how tight something should be. No I don't strip threads or have things falling off

I just tightend mine just like fitting a spark plug David,just nip it up,no need to go daft,its connected to a cable so even it vibrates loose its not going anywhere,it cant unscrew itself off all the way.

[Edited on 19/05/04 by PAUL FISHER]

There actually is a way to torque things using an open end or crow's foot attachment on your torque wrench. Just need to do a little math.
But I'm just an auto mechanic so I've never actually done it .
O2 sensors just need to be tight enough to crush the sealing washer a little. And yes, I have an O2 sensor socket and a crowsfoot although never torqued one before.
Cheers.

I'm with wippy! Don't bother with torque wrench unless its head bolts and many of these towards the end of the tightening process are +90 degrees not specific ratings any more!

You just need to develop that mechanical sypathy which is hard to teach but kind of in a sixth sense kind of way tells you something is tight enough but not too tight!

No sure that helps?

Bottom line is it aint critical for the O2 sensor.

There are two golden rules for tightening bolts - if it strips back it off half a turn , and if it snaps then its a quarter turn

Seriously , just tighten it untill it feels `right` , something that is hard to teach and can be even harder to learn .

It's OK - I'm comfortable with spanner wielding - I was just wondering how gizmos like the lambda sensor get fitted properly.

cheers, David

seriously for that job "feel" will be fine.

For torquing stuff that a socket really won't go onto, as was said further up, use a torque wrench, crowsfoot wrench, ruler and calculator, that's how we do injection press platen torquing at work! (though having done it a few times the values are all written down now so the ruler and calculator are no longer needed)

does the crowsfoot not just snap onto a normal torque wrench.


[Edited on 16/4/08 by Aboardman]

crows foot ,they come in ring or spanner type ,with quarter or three eight, half in ,and 1 inch ratchet or torque wrench or breaker bar used mainly for hard to get pipe fittings hyd pipes ext ,don't buy there expensive and you will hardly use it ,instead grab an old socket cut a slot in it beef up the rest of the socket with more weld and a old spanner to it or some bar like the guys said its only a sen sore use some lock tight on the threads or wire lock it sixteenth drill across the flats .

[Edited on 16/4/08 by vinnievector]

quote:

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Originally posted by Aboardman
does the crowsfoot not just snap onto a normal torque wrench

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Err!! Not if you us ethem at 90 degrees to the axis of the wrench

Mick