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Torque setting OCD. Do you suffer from it?

Here's how I tightened mine.

The gun made this noise....

DerruerrrNAKNAKNAK.

I think 3 naks was the correct setting.

I realise this forum is as anal about "correct torque settings" as it is about removing the driving aids, but do you REALLY think that in the real world, in a real workshop, mechanic a is yelling out to mechanic b "hey is this bolt here 90 or 100 ftlbs? They're not.

I have replaced every suspension component, mount, drivetrain and subframe bolt, which the exception of the front subframe. (Have not had a reason to) I also track/best on my car more than most. Do I have issues? No. Did my car explode because I didn't use a torque wrench? No.

On the entire car I've used a torque wrench twice. On the crank pulley, and the flywheel. Because they're bolted to the crank. Everywhere else is just OCD bullshit.

Ever seen a pit crew / race team use a torque wrench on wheels/suspension arms?

I see people asking for torque settings for accessory mounting points, like a catch can. It blows my mind.

Now tell me how much of a butcher I am, and how wrong I am. And how much safer you are for having every bolt torqued just so, with what is probably a cheap torque wrench that doesn't read right anyway.

Edit, I also used a torque wrench when changing my final drive.

Here's a quick tip. If the bolt is just mounting something to a fixed mount, it almost certainly doesn't matter. Just use your common sense (if you have any) and apply an amount of force equivalent to the bolt use. Eg don't going using the snap on gun or the 100cm power bar on a 12mm bolt. Equally, don't just soft wrist tighten that big 19mm bolt.

But if it's some attaching to something, that both move very fast, and a slight over/under compression of something could seriously affect it, eg driveline/motor internals, crank attachments, then yes use a torque wrench.

At the shop I used to work at (high end european cars) we never used air tools and always torqued every fastener with high end digital torque wrenches that were calibrated every year.

That being said.... I use one if I have the specs handy since it only takes 20 seconds extra, but if I don't have the specs, or the wrench I don't sweat it.

I torque everything at least twice, and if I cant find a torque spec I measure the bolt and thread pitch and decide from there. My choice, my piece of mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diss7 (Post 1766843)

Ever seen a pit crew / race team use a torque wrench on wheels/suspension arms?

I'm pretty sure professional racing teams have air tools that are calibrated to release at a certain torque. How embarassing would it be if your team's car ate the wall because you overtorqued the lugnuts and the studs snapped?

Also, what happens when a part breaks and the dealer finds out that it's been torqued to double its rated value because that "felt about right"?

My rule of thumb is if it rotates or has a gasket, torque it properly. Improperly torquing gaskets can cause them to leak, split or fail prematurely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diss7 (Post 1766843)

...waits for tank air pressure to be lower than expected and naknaknak is 15 ft/lbs on a lug nut... (seen it happened 2 times)

For the things I assemble at work, I need:
to be currently certified in "fastener torque" (yearly certification)
a torque wrench with a calibration sticker that is current (calibrated yearly)
written directions that specify the torque (in an officially released engineering document)
and a torque witness (that is also certified) that must visually watch you torque the fastener.

Then the witness & a Quality Assurance Engineer must sign, date, & stamp the document that calls out the torque...
But NAK, NAK, NAK..... what the hell........go for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vroom4 (Post 1766945)

...waits for tank air pressure to be lower than expected and naknaknak is 15 ft/lbs on a lug nut... (seen it happened 2 times)

Or someone turned UP the air pressure and you wonder why you keep stripping lug bolts....

At the racetrack, we run the lug bolts in to Nak, Nak.
Then we torque to 75 ft-lbs with a torque wrench.
With what I hear about these cars & their crappy lug bolts, that is required.

I'm not talking about using air tools. Impact guns. Have three. Big boy snapon that'd undo anything. Middle ground cheapie Ryobi, that at its highest setting is perfect for my wheel nuts, and is about the same force as me and my weight on a standard power bar. And a little driver for smaller pieces. Under panels etc.

Electric impact wrenches are a fairly new thing; before that they've been air-powered since forever.

Have you verified the torque these things put out, or does it just feel good enough? Does the torque value change as the battery charge runs down?

Only use torque wrench on the lug nuts. Everything else is pretty much from experience.

Material in female threaded area + socket size dictates the torque applied.

-alex

Quote:

Originally Posted by mav1178 (Post 1767024)

Material in female threaded area + socket size dictates the torque applied.

That's what she said...

On a lot of things, experience gets me by just fine. I have "the feel" from being a mechanic for years and years. On critical things, I always torque to specs.

I always ask tire guys to hand torque my lugs.

Just a week ago I helped a friend with a flat, and the lugs had been impacted on so tight many of them broke, and all had smeared threads.

A simple flat tire turned into a bunch of unneeded work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mav1178 (Post 1767024)

Material in female threaded area + socket size dictates the torque applied.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gramicci101 (Post 1767042)

That's what she said...

Screwed?