A senior mechanic told me my torque wrench habit was lazy...

Been doing diesel work for about 4 years now, mostly on big trucks at a fleet garage outside Denver. I always used my torque wrench to tighten everything down to spec, every single time. Then last month, an old timer named Rick watched me torque a head bolt on a Cummins ISX and said I was wasting time and being lazy with the tool. He showed me how to feel for the bolt stretch and thread friction instead of just cranking till the wrench clicks. Turns out he was half right - I was relying on the tool too much and not reading what the bolt was telling me through the handle. Now I still torque the final pass, but I do the first two stages by hand and feel. It's actually made me way more careful about cleaning threads and lubing them right. Anyone else get called out by an older mechanic and had to change up your whole approach?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabeth9001mo ago

Wait, did he actually call you lazy for using a torque wrench? I had the exact same thing happen to me when I was working on farm equipment a few years back. Old timer named Joe saw me setting the torque on a head bolt and he said I was being too much of a robot with it. He showed me that trick of feeling for the bolt stretch and the change in thread friction through the handle. I was skeptical at first, but after trying it on a few engines I realized I was actually missing some of the subtle clues the bolt gives you when you just go straight to the click. Now I do the first passes by feel too, and I'm way more careful about cleaning and lubricating the threads before I even start. It's made a real difference in how my rebuilds hold up, and I'm faster now that I'm not stopping to set the torque wrench for every single step.

robertgreen1mo ago

@elizabeth900 nailed it - that old timer Joe sounds exactly like my uncle who taught me the same thing on tractor engines.