I've always wondered, how do you torque a bolt with a box end or open end wrench? I've seen attachments for torque wrenches but have no clue how to attach one to a regular 3/8" ratchet-style clicker wrench. For instance, I was installing new tie rod ends the other weekend and the manual specified a torque for the lock nuts so I just tightened them with an open-ended wrench as tight as I could. How the heck do I torque such bolts properly? Is this what I need? http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-2580-8-...etric+adapters

 

Yes, those can work. Because they are offset from the center axis of a torque wrench you have to do some math to arrive at the correct torque value. There are online calculators that can do the math for you. Just search for "how to calculate torque with crows foot".

 

Are there other options available. For example a crowfoot torque wrench? Is this the proper equation? Tdesired x Lwrench / (Lwrench + Lextension)

 

This isn't the right way, but what I have done sometimes, when there was simply no way to get a torque wrench into where I needed it, was to clamp a similar size nut in a vise, thread a bolt into it, torque the bolt to the prescribed tightness, then put the wrench that I would be using on it, to get a feel for how much oomph I needed to put on it, and duplicating that on the bolt or nut that I actually need to tighten. Again, it's not the right way, sort of like guessing how much a package weighs by picking it up, but I figure that it's closer than just reefing on something until it can't be turned any more.

 

In the aviation and I'm sure other industries there are many types of specialized torque wrenches. But since even a standard good quality torque wrench can several hundred dollars you're probably not ready for what a non-standard one costs. It makes doing the math to use a $30 Chinese one seem not so bad.