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Old timer told me I was over-torquing everything and it stuck with me
A guy who's been wrenching since the 70s watched me zipping down a valve cover and said 'you ain't building a bridge, son.' Made me realize I was cranking bolts way past spec because I thought tighter meant better. Now I actually check torque values on plastic intakes and aluminum housings. Saved me from cracking a thermostat housing on a 2015 Silverado last month. Anyone else learn that lesson the hard way with something simple like an oil pan?
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nora5425d ago
Read a article a while back about how a guy snapped a bolt on his oil pan and ended up having to drill it out. Took him a whole weekend to fix it. I've been there too with a plastic coolant housing on a Toyota. Hand tight plus a quarter turn is usually enough for small stuff. Torque wrenches are worth the money for anything that seals liquid. Air tools are fine for big bolts but you gotta ease up on the dainty stuff. Your gramps was right, it's not a bridge.
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karenhenderson25d ago
Hand tight plus a quarter turn is actually too much for a lot of drain plugs, especially the ones with crush washers. Most of those spec out at like 18-25 ft-lbs which is way less than what a normal person can do by hand and a quarter turn. Learned that one the expensive way on a Honda once.
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