The lead mechanic's torque wrench advice saved my skin on a 737 yesterday

Old Jim in the hangar told me to always re-torque after the first engine run, even if the book says it's fine. I skipped it once on a fan blade in Miami and had to pull the whole cowl again, now I never second guess him. Anyone else swear by a certain inspect-before-run routine that's not in the manual?

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ivanross25d ago

Fan blade bolts are a weird example since those get one-time stretch specs in most shops, and re-torquing those can actually mess with the tension reading. Jim's advice is solid for things like cowl fasteners or engine mounts that settle after heat cycles, but the blade is a different animal. The book's not always wrong, it just doesn't always spell out the real-world context like Jim does.