Torque sticks on impact guns, my mistake cost a rotor

I kept using a torque stick on my Milwaukee 1/2 drive to do lugnuts, but I never checked the calibration. Found out the stick was off by 15 ft-lbs after 2 years of use, caused a warped rotor on a 2017 F-150. Now I always finish with a click torque wrench, even if it adds an extra 5 minutes per corner. Anyone else trust those sticks too long without testing them?

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1 Comment

kimreed22d ago

Man, I feel your pain. I did the exact same thing with my old setup and it cost me a set of rotors on my own truck. Those sticks are so convenient that you just forget they can drift over time, especially with heat and constant use. I remember the day I finally checked mine with a cheap beam wrench and found it was way off, I felt like an idiot. Now I use the stick to get close and then always finish with a manual torque wrench. It takes longer, but I sleep better knowing my wheels are actually torqued right, especially on a heavy truck like that F-150. Lesson learned, and now I check all my torque tools once a year with a calibration gauge.