If the overhaul manual requires a torque of 600 inch-pounds and you have a foot-pound torque wrench, what will you set the torque wrench to?

• A. 600 foot-pounds
• B. 6 foot-pounds
• C. 0.5 foot-pounds
• D. 50 foot-pounds

Answer: (D)

Understanding unit conversion is the key. Torque can be read in different units, and 1 foot-pound equals 12 inch-pounds. To match a specification given in inch-pounds with a tool that reads in foot-pounds, convert 600 inch-pounds to foot-pounds:

600 inch-pounds ÷ 12 = 50 foot-pounds.

So you would set the torque wrench to 50 ft-lb.

Why the other values don’t fit: 600 ft-lb would be 7200 in-lb (much higher than specified), 6 ft-lb is 72 in-lb (too low), and 0.5 ft-lb is 6 in-lb (also too low). Only 50 ft-lb corresponds to 600 in-lb.