TIL my 'good enough' torque wrench habit might have cost me a customer's engine.

Had a 2014 F-150 come in last Tuesday with a blown head gasket. Customer said it was just serviced somewhere else. When I pulled the valve cover, half the bolts were finger tight. I used to just go by feel on stuff like that if the spec was under 20 ft-lbs, figured it didn't matter much. Now I'm checking the manual for every single fastener, even the little ones. How many 'comebacks' are actually just us being lazy with the clicker?

3 comments

3 Comments

reed.blake16d ago

Read an article once where a shop traced a whole string of oil leaks back to undertorqued valve cover bolts on a common engine. The writer made a good point that our "feel" for small torques is usually way off, especially after doing a bunch of bigger bolts. That click is cheap insurance compared to the comeback, like you said.

juliadavis16d ago

Reminds me of a guy who kept stripping oil pan bolts because he was used to working on heavy truck lug nuts. Muscle memory is a real thing (and a real pain sometimes).

riley_singh16d ago

But what if all that clicking is actually slowing you down and costing you money? I've seen guys waste so much time looking up specs and setting wrenches for tiny bolts that barely hold anything. Sometimes a good feel from years of experience is faster and just as safe, especially on simple covers and non-critical parts. The real problem is guys who don't know their own strength, not the tool they use.