Had a talk with an old timer yesterday who thinks torque specs are just suggestions

He said he's been wrenching 40 years and never uses a torque wrench on lug nuts, just sends it with the impact gun and I argued with him at first but now I'm kind of wondering if he has a point for daily drivers. Anyone else ever run into someone who swears by the old school feel method over specs?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah_perry17d ago

My buddy Mike snapped a stud off his F-150 a few years back using the ugga dugga method on a set of winter tires. He was just swapping them in his driveway, got in a hurry, and one of the rear lugs just gave up. Took him half a Sunday with a torch and a punch to drill that thing out, plus he had to buy a whole new hub assembly because the threads were mangled beyond repair.

christopher94318d ago

40 years and never stripped a lug? That guy's living proof specs are optional.

claire_hart5317d ago

Ask him how many wheel bearings he's replaced over those 40 years. Bet it's a lot more than someone who torques to spec. Overtorquing crushes the rotor and distorts the bearing races over time.