To torque or not to torque, that is the question

[Rob L]

Valve covers, brake calipers, wheel fasteners, and steering/suspension fasteners get the torque treatment on my bike. Peace of mind is worth a few minutes of time and stripped fasteners can get expensive.

[T__]

Jeff, you forgot one option_____ None of the above..

 

Twisty

[Jim VonBaden]

Wheel bolts, head bolts, and any critical suspension parts is about all I torque.

 

Jim

 

PS That doesn't mean I am not aware of the proper torque values so I can avoid over tightening a bolt.

[Yankee_Dog]

dont forget oil plugs and such.

 

Yankee dog

[Bob Palin]

I'm in between "whenever possible" and "only critical", I torque things that are vital like lug nuts and brake components and things that I might screw up like the valve cover bolts. I don't bother with the screws in the fairing or the oil filter.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Cylinder stud nuts, axle/lug bolts, brake caliper fixing screws and damn little else. I can feel spark plug washers and oil drain crush washers doing their thing, ditto rocker cover bolts. They make wrenches in various lengths for a reason.

[11101110]

I use torque wrenches calibrated to NIST traceable standard. Of course when you have a torque calibrator at your disposal, why not.

[USAF1]

Hmmmmmmmmm, where's the guy who had the story about stripping out/cracking his valve cover bolts???

 

Pat

[Woodie]

Hmmmmmmmmm, where's the guy who had the story about stripping out/cracking his valve cover bolts???

 

Uhh...which one?

 

[RFW]

I use a torque wrench on fasteners that are critical. After 45 years of working on engines, I have my own built-in "torque wrench" that is sufficiently accurate for less critical items such as case bolts, oil drain bolts, spark plugs, and so on, that are not particularly sensitive to exact torque.

 

In many cases, it isn't even the VALUE of torque that matters much, but rather only that the torque is the same among a related series of bolts.

[Stan Walker]

It's a guy thing, real men don't use torque wrenches.......

 

Stan

 

[philbytx]

quote I don't bother with the oil filter unquote

 

You lazy old Git

[smiller]

Hmmmmmmmmm, where's the guy who had the story about stripping out/cracking his valve cover bolts??

I once stripped out a valve cover bolt because I was using a torque wrench! Accidentally set it to 18 nm instead of 8. If I had been tightening by feel I never would have applied enough force to strip it... so torque wrenches aren't always a good thing!

 

Seriously, an experienced mechanic can do pretty well without a torque wrench. I'll bet the guy you pay to work on your bike only uses a torque wrench for critical fasteners (if that.)

[Wooster]

...I once stripped out a valve cover bolt because I was using a torque wrench! Accidentally set it to 18 nm instead of 8. If I had been tightening by feel I never would have applied enough force to strip it... so torque wrenches aren't always a good thing!...

 

I voted 'whenever posible" yet recognize the dilemma; using a 14 inch long torque wrench to tighten a small fastener requires giving up most of the perception of force applied via appropriate sized wrench (say, 6 inches). Just the same, if a credible source lists torque value, I'll use it (the value and torque wrench).

 

Wooster with three torque wrenches

 

"old mufflers never die, they just get exhausted"

 

btw Smiller, in your example cited here , it wasn't the torque wrench's fault that some one set 18 nm instead of 8

[Baba_ORiley]

Oh, so I get it. The question is not whether to torque or not because tightening involves torque, but whether to accurately measure the torque applied and match that measurement to specs.

 

Answer: Yes. It adds peace of mind.

[AviP]

I use my torque wrench whenever any bolt has a torque spec mentioned in the manual. To the average mechanic, hand tightening results in way more torque than the spec..

 

There was a time when I never used a torque wrench and never had anything fail on me either. I just decided to get fancy one day.

[Byrdguy]

I don't torque much of anything, unless I'm building an engine, head bolts, rod and crank, etc. I've ben wrenching for over 45 years am "old school", I guess. I can feel how much to tighten a fastener without stripping.

[Silver Surfer/AKAButters]

I'm with Bob and some others. I don't torque the fairing screws and such.

[AviP]

I'm with Bob and some others. I don't torque the fairing screws and such.

Torque the fairing screws!!!

[notacop]

1+++. Maybe on something like swing arm pivot bolts at 80-90#. all others are by feel. From the sad tales posted about over torqued fasteners, folks need to be more practiced.