That awkward moment you realize you've been misreading torque specs for 5 years

I used to just crank bolts down till they felt right, you know, that grunt method. Then last summer I was working on a Cessna 172 oil filter housing and the old timer I was helping handed me a torque wrench and said 'you're gonna strip this, trust me.' Turns out I was over-torquing everything by like 30 percent. Now I actually read the manual for every single fastener, even the ones I think I know. Has anyone else ever had that moment where you find out you've been doing something basic totally wrong for years?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery_flores171mo ago

My torque wrench is basically a suggestion tool for me.

rose_reed1mo ago

You ever strip a bolt on a Sunday evening with no parts store open? That's how I learned. @avery_flores17, I hear you, but treat your torque wrench like a tool, not a suggestion. I had to replace an entire valve cover on an old Ford because I got cocky and snapped a bolt clean off. Now I check the spec, set the wrench, and walk away. Saves me money and time in the long run.

the_diana1mo ago

Are you seriously gonna tell me that you never had a bolt strip or break on you because you followed the book too closely? I mean, I've been building engines for years and I can count on one hand the times I've actually cracked open a manual for torque... I go by feel most of the time and my stuff holds together just fine. The "right" torque spec is a number written by some engineer in an office who never got grease under his fingernails. If you know your bolts, you know when they need a little extra or when to back off. I've seen guys break bolts at way under the spec because their threads were dirty or their wrench was off by 10 percent... and then they blame the tool. Honestly, I trust my hands more than a clicky wrench, and my stuff doesn't fall apart.