A guy at a parts counter in Fresno said I was over-torquing aluminum valve covers. He was right.

I used to be right there with you thinking it was made up. Then I put a small crack in a thermostat housing by using a regular wrench instead of a torque wrench. Aluminum doesn't give you that metal-on-metal feel like steel does, it just fails. That parts counter guy has probably seen a hundred cracked covers from people using their big breaker bar.

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the_ray7mo ago

Over-torquing" sounds like a made-up problem.

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phoenix_perez977mo ago

Hot take: It's a real thing. Aluminum warps when you crank down on it. Those valve covers get a thin gasket that can't take much. You go past spec and you'll have a leak in a week. The guy at the counter sees it all the time from people using a big wrench.

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