The day I realized I was torquing bolts wrong for 5 years

I was working on a Cessna 172 throttle cable bracket last month and my lead mechanic walked over and watched me for a second. He asked why I was using a click-type torque wrench on aluminum threads without backing it off first. I had no idea the stored energy in those wrenches could over-torque soft metal. Has anyone else had that moment where you learn something basic that makes you feel like an idiot?

3 comments

3 Comments

angelarivera10d ago

Tbh that feeling of being a fool after years of doing something wrong is the worst. I had a similar moment when I learned I was cross-threading nuts on exhaust studs because I wasn't starting them by hand first. Felt like such a clown for thinking I was faster with a gun. The aluminum thread thing is real though, click wrenches can easily overshoot on soft metal if you don't back them off. Some of those little tricks feel like secrets nobody tells you until you mess up in front of someone. At least you caught it before snap city happened on an engine mount or something.

gray87510d ago

@angelarivera starting by hand is one of those things i had to learn the hard way too, still stings when i think about it.

sage_moore379d ago

Honestly that aluminum thread thing with click wrenches is a mistake a lot of us make. Running it down by hand first and backing the torque wrench off a click before the final pull saves a ton of headaches on soft metal. Just gotta get in the habit of listening for that single click and stopping immediately, not pushing through for a second one.