MTFCA Forum

I had to replace the head gasket that failed on my 26 RPU, in replacing it there is always those two rear bolts you can't get a torque wrench on. Well I found a cure at Harbor Freight, a 3/8 drive torque wrench with a very thin flex type head. It gets in where I couldn't with any of my normal torque wrenches. I don't usually get tools from H.F. but in this case I made an exception. Hope this helps some of you out. Jim

A crows foot works too…, just saying.

Henry K. Lee wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 22, 2025 5:47 pm

A crows foot works too…, just saying.

Yeah, but what other justification do you need to buy yourself a flex head digital torque wrench other than its "My" Christmas present too.

Looks like harbor freight has finally copied my Snap On torque wrench.

Andy

Not digital it's analog so no batteries to go south when not in use. Plus my wife was happy to find something that I could actually use for Christmas. Jim

AndyClary wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 22, 2025 7:30 pm

Looks like harbor freight has finally copied my Snap On torque wrench.

They have copied more than the torque wrench. The ICON brand is definitely not the Harbor Freight most people remember. Harbor Freight hired engineers and product developers from Snap-On to help better their ICON line. I am not saying all of Harbor Freight tools have gotten better (I'm looking at you Pittsburgh and Doyle) but the ICON line is actually pretty good. I bought a pair of the ICON slip-joint needle nose pliers, as I already have a Snap-On set, not only are they identical but the fit/finish on the ICON is better than the Snap-On.

I have been buying tools from harbor freight since 1976. Keep in mind they are a family owned Co. out of Cal. Most of my tools are Snap-On,
Mac & Matco but a cheep correct tool beats not having the tool at all! I still have a 3/8 air drill I bought from HF in 1976 that still works great.
Keep in mind I have craftsman tools I got in 8th grade also. I don't think the newer HF torque wrenches have the reputation the older ones did
but as a perfectional mechanic with torque wrenches from inch lbs. to 500 lb. ft. I do like the major brands but I no longer have them certified
once a year because they don't get used everyday anymore. Thanks for letting us know there is a solution to the issue.
Craig.

I also have to say that the Harbour Freight tools have gotten better over time. The HVLP paint spray guns are pretty good too. I got some advice from the Auto Body instructors at the school I worked for about which spray guns to use when I restored my T’s.

I was surprised when they told me to use the HVLP spray guns from Harbour Freight. In fact they advised their students to buy those to begin with since they would spray as good as the high dollar spray guns would. I watched them spraying their cars with the HVLP H.F. guns and the paint jobs looked as good as anybody’s. I have 2 of them and they work and spray fine.

The September/October 2025 Vintage Ford has a detailed article describing how to join a box end wrench and a socket wrench to help with measuring the torque on the rear two head bolts (article and photos by Bud Redding) . Merry Christmas to you all !

The original sparkplug head bolt wrench does just fine and was made just the right length to tighten the head bolts to the proper torque without more cool shop tools!

Before you trust knock off shore tools take that torque wrench to any Snap On truck and check the accuracy of the calibration on the calibration device on any Snap On truck for free.
I'm not saying these off shore tools are bad just check them. Those back bolts are the last place you want to break a bolt. Think of the work to remove those broken studs.

just sayin'
frontyboy

Brand recognition these days is fraught by repeated mergers and company buy-outs, product line changes and different manufacturers supplying goods for different markets. The Craftsman and Crescent, Sidchrome and Bahco we all grew up with are no longer of the same quality.

Bahco was Swedish, and claimed to be the inventor of the adjustable wrench. Over time, they bought out Lindstrom and Berg, both Swedish manufacturers of excellent quality pliers and related tools, the quality of which was enviable. Then they opened a new plant in Spain to make their adjustable wrenches. Not only their branded ones, but multiple brands on the same tools. Guess what happened to the quality.

It will be interesting to see what happens now Bahco is part of the Snap-on conglomerate.

Allan from down under.

As far as twisted off Model T head bolts go there has always been people twist off head bolts and other types of bolts in various equipment.
I’m not the smartest guy in the world but I have enough common sense to know when to stop tightening.
Ford didn’t offer torque wrenches in his tool kits and if he did please correct me.
Using common sense on low compression engines and rebuilding them goes a long way.
A crow foot wrench or a good box end wrench works good for me for those rear head bolts for me.

John kuehn wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 24, 2025 10:23 am

As far as twisted off Model T head bolts go there has always been people twist off head bolts and other types of bolts in various equipment.
I’m not the smartest guy in the world but I have enough common sense to know when to stop tightening.
Ford didn’t offer torque wrenches in his tool kits and if he did please correct me.
Using common sense on low compression engines and rebuilding them goes a long way.
A crow foot wrench or a good box end wrench works good for me for those rear head bolts for me.

Actually, he did. The length of the head bolt wrench was designed so the average person could only pull so much torque on it with one hand. Same with the rest of the wrenches. Unless you are Magilla Gorilla or are putting both feet on the block pulling with both hands that is! Same with most all the wrench's supplied for T or A service.

frontyboy wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 24, 2025 1:02 am

Before you trust knock off shore tools take that torque wrench to any Snap On truck and check the accuracy of the calibration on the calibration device on any Snap On truck for free.
I'm not saying these off shore tools are bad just check them. Those back bolts are the last place you want to break a bolt. Think of the work to remove those broken studs.

just sayin'
frontyboy

After I moved to the PNW and started building my new shop, I took the opportunity to have my 10+ year old, click-style, HF torque wrenches in for calibration at a local A2LA accredited lab. As a hobbyist, I know that I don't put the wear on them in a year that a busy shop might put on them in a week, but I thought that I might as well check. Both wrenches (1/2 and 3/8 drive) were "left as found", i.e. already within ISO/ANSI spec, +-4%. I'm not sure that a more expensive wrench would fare better.

Keep crankin',
Eric

For clarification the torque wrench I was talking about are the ones we know about today. The Ford tool kits didn’t have the type of torque wrenches that are in the forum post. It’s all in the interpretation.

I have used crow foots.
My preferred way is to use my 1/2" proto torque wrench.
For the 2 rears, I use a long double box wrench on an already torqued bolt to calibrate my pull with that long wrench.
Not that I mind owning another neat tool(tool junkie here), but I am running out of room for all but the most essential new tools.

On a trip to Spokane once, I bought a Proto beam type torque wrench from a roadside stall selling all sorts of mechanics stuff. When the local machine shop was having their annual calibration of theirs, I have mine included. The tester thought it was a joke, till it pulled under two pounds at 100 pounds. he was amazed, and I was delighted. It was made when Proto was a respected brand.

Allan from down under.