I finally listened to my old foreman about torque specs

He always said 'tight is tight' on lug nuts but I was doing 150 ft-lbs by feel for years. Last week a wheel stud snapped on a customer's F-150 and I had to eat the cost. $280 for a hub assembly. Never again. Has anyone else ignored advice for years until a mistake proved the point?

2 comments

2 Comments

ben4022d ago

Wait, you were doing 150 ft-lbs by feel alone? Like with no torque wrench at all? That's insane man. I get that some old school guys have good hands but 150 is way past what most people can guess right. No wonder that stud snapped, that's like overkill territory for an F-150. I've seen guys use a torque stick on an impact and still end up over 100 but 150 by feel is just asking for trouble. That hub assembly cost probably hurts way more than a cheap torque wrench would have.

perry.jessica1d ago

Honestly that 150 ft-lbs by feel thing is exactly why I broke a hub on my old Dodge Ram last year. @ben402 you're spot on about the torque stick too, those things are hit or miss even in the best hands. I learned the hard way that a cheap beam style torque wrench from Harbor Freight costs like 20 bucks but a new hub assembly is easily 150 or more. The real issue is people think they've got superhuman hands from wrenching on lawnmowers or old Toyotas that don't need that much torque. Once you get past 100 ft-lbs your body just can't tell the difference between 120 and 150 without some kind of tool. That snapped stud probably made a nasty pop sound that you felt in your soul.