Do techs use torque wrenches to do repairs?

[burna]

For some things, the application of the correct torque is important for others it is far less so. Manufacturers need quote torque specs for some things as a guide as to how tight it should be. It doesn't mean you should necessarily use a torque wrench on every bolt or fitting. An experienced technician would know which ones are less critical and how much to tighten them without the use of a torque wrench.

If I saw someone actually using a torque wrench while fitting spark plugs (with the exception of an aircraft engine) then I would be seriously concerned whether they really know what they are doing.

The wheel nuts on your car are supposed to be torqued as well. Does anyone here carry a torque wrench in the back of their car?

A torque wrench is only as good as it's last calibration and its accuracy varies with temperature anyway.

 

[redacted]

For some things, the application of the correct torque is important for others it is far less so. Manufacturers need quote torque specs for some things as a guide as to how tight it should be. It doesn't mean you should necessarily use a torque wrench on every bolt or fitting. An experienced technician would know which ones are less critical and how much to tighten them without the use of a torque wrench.

If I saw someone actually using a torque wrench while fitting spark plugs (with the exception of an aircraft engine) then I would be seriously concerned whether they really know what they are doing.

The wheel nuts on your car are supposed to be torqued as well. Does anyone here carry a torque wrench in the back of their car?

A torque wrench is only as good as it's last calibration and its accuracy varies with temperature anyway.

I always use a torque wrench on my spark plugs and my lug nuts. Would you like to explain why that is a bad practice???

 

[Tortuga68]

He didn't say it was bad practice; he said that he would perceive it as a possible indication of lack of experience/confidence, and implied it wasn't necessary

For steel rims, it's not. Some alloy wheels - eg 1980s BMW, 70Nm - really need to be torqued as there's a fine line between not tight enough and warping. Plugs, well we already discussed that earlier in the thread

If you want to carry a torque wrench in your trunk, and torque your plugs, bully for you. No-one is telling you not to do it

...a coin slot driver

...you mean like, a coin?

 

[knowone]

It is unkind to watch people dislocating their bodies trying to wrench wheel nuts off that have been rattled on without thinking of stepping on the wrench.
These are even over torqued by hand.

How is it that manufacturers are so lax that they cannot design an inlet bolt that bottoms out as it makes contact externally?
Because the spec is not so precise?

All by hand except inlet bolt, swivel bolt and diaphram bodies.
Torque shmorque.

Are we talkin new, sh or pre stretched parts.

And again forget closin em, how many noodles over torque em openin em makin damage.
Because some of that stuff needs cracking open not twisting.
With softer things than brass and not those stoopid C spanners.


I laughed and then realised I made a coin slot driver for a Drager double hose, which looks wrong without the umlaut.

 

[Lake Muroc Diver]

Tortuga 68 Yeah a coin slot screw can be opened with a coin. (Quarter usually) But there is a tool that is designed to keep your digits from being abused.
It is not set up for some monkey with any old screwdriver.

 

[Lake Muroc Diver]

One more thing, as we beat this dead horse.
There is a difference between a Technician and a "Hack" mechanic. If you think your wrist is calibrated then you are a hack.
If you keep your precision tools calibrated and use them IAW the technical manuals, there is no question about assembly inconsistencies.
I have alum heads on my cars and have never had a problem because they get a torque wrench as designed. On the other hand I have had to helicoil spark plug holes, and seen warped sealing surfaces due to the poor workmanship hack job in some "experts shop" that my buddies had taken their toys to. Not always critical, but always worth the extra effort. Sorry if I offended anyone. Just my experience and my humble opinion. (and too much caffeine).
I do not but the no torque wrench required.

 

[halocline]

i don't think it is at all. it's a design process to innovate, then simplify.

even if you have a good qualified tech putting together your gear, it's inevitable he will damage something, some time. when the ramifications of that are possible death to a user,....

First and foremost, regulator failure should NEVER cause death in a diver. What do you think the air sharing training, buddy system, etc... are for?

I will agree that in the case of the MK5 turret bolt going from brass to SS, it's a design evolution, as the SS is simply a better material for the job. In the case of the MK20 yoke retainer, the modified part was no better than the original, it just had a step machined in it which would prevent it from damaging the reg in the case of severe over-torquing. I mean severe, not slight. Only an incompetent tech would tighten that yoke retainer to the point of failure, and since there were a few failures....

The crux of the problem is that the industry claims that servicing must be left to "professional" techs, yet the training for such a position consists of one or two days of no-fail seminar, for which the only entrance pre-req is employment at a dealer.

 

[burna]

He didn't say it was bad practice; he said that he would perceive it as a possible indication of lack of experience/confidence, and implied it wasn't necessary

If you want to carry a torque wrench in your trunk, and torque your plugs, bully for you. No-one is telling you not to do it

Exactly.

One more thing, as we beat this dead horse.
There is a difference between a Technician and a "Hack" mechanic. If you think your wrist is calibrated then you are a hack.

Utter bullsh!t! If you really think torquing plugs is necessary then you have no idea why you are doing it.

If you keep your precision tools calibrated and use them IAW the technical manuals, there is no question about assembly inconsistencies.
I have alum heads on my cars and have never had a problem because they get a torque wrench as designed. On the other hand I have had to helicoil spark plug holes, and seen warped sealing surfaces due to the poor workmanship hack job in some "experts shop" that my buddies had taken their toys to. Not always critical, but always worth the extra effort. Sorry if I offended anyone. Just my experience and my humble opinion. (and too much caffeine).
I do not but the no torque wrench required.

Applying the correct bolt tension to a cylinder head bolt is worlds away from tightening a spark plug. The main purpose of torquing head bolts is to apply even pressure to the head gasket as less pressure on one side could result in blowing the gasket. Getting the exact tension (within reason) is not as important as getting the same tension.

The idea with a spark plug is to provide just enough force to seat the sealing surfaces and compress the gasket (if fitted) to; a) provide a seal, and b)to stop the plug from working itself loose.

You can actually feel when this happens especially with a plug that is fitted with a gasket. An experienced tech does not need a torque wrench and if they do it shows they don't really know what they are supposed to be achieving.

I have never tensioned a spark plug, have never known of someone who has and have never seen one stripped through over tightening alloy head or not. I have seen them stripped from not removing them to check often enough and large carbon deposits have built up on the base of the plug which has stripped the alloy head when removed.

As Tortuga68 said, if you want to use one, then use it, but if you are not a qualified technician then I wouldn't be canning one who knows when to use a torque wrench and when not too.

That's my 2 ft/lbs worth!

 

[Tortuga68]

What he said, plus:

If you think your wrist is calibrated then you are a hack... I have alum heads on my cars and have never had a problem because they get a torque wrench as designed... I do not buy the no torque wrench required

As we discussed earlier in the thread before you arrived, angle torque works perfectly well for spark plugs; therefore there is no need for a torque wrench. I would estimate that I have changed about 10,000 spark plugs in my life and never, ever used a torque wrench (well, maybe once) OR damaged a thread as a result of not using a torque wrench

Not that it has much to do with the thread topic either way