I finally asked an old timer why he never uses torque wrenches

Was working on a 1995 Cummins N14 at a shop outside Tulsa, and he told me he can feel when the bolt is tight enough by the sound of the wrench. Said he hasnt stripped a head bolt in 35 years. How do you even learn that kind of feel?

3 comments

3 Comments

piperbailey1mo agoTop Commenter

That feel thing is definitely real but it takes a ton of reps to develop, almost like a musician learning to tune by ear. Cole_baker is right that watching an old timer long enough kind of rewires your brain to trust the feedback instead of just numbers. Still, I keep a torque wrench nearby for anything with a factory spec though, just in case my "mechanical ear" decides to have an off day.

cole_baker1mo ago

Wait, you used to think the torque wrench was the only way to go too? Honestly, I figured the old guys were just being stubborn, but watching a mechanic do that for a few months kind of proved me wrong. You just get a feel for it after a while, I guess.

nancyj111mo ago

My brother tried teaching me that feel thing on an old Ford and I ended up snapping a bolt clean in half lol. @cole_baker you just reminded me of that disaster, but hey at least it taught me the hard way what too tight feels like. The torque wrench is still my safety blanket for anything expensive though.