Can we talk about the time a customer called me out on my torque wrench habit?

I was doing a brake job on a 2018 F-150 last Thursday and just snugged the caliper bracket bolts by feel like I always do. The customer, who turned out to be an old school mechanic, watched me and said, 'You know, guessing on those is how you get a comeback for a noise.' I felt pretty dumb. I stopped right then, grabbed my Snap-on tech wrench, and torqued them to the book spec of 125 foot-pounds. Now I pull out the torque wrench for every single bolt on a brake job, no exceptions. Anyone else have a simple habit they had to break after getting called on it?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_nina6d ago

Good on you for listening. That old timer saved you a world of trouble.

bennett.james6d ago

Totally, a world of trouble is right. It's wild how much easier things go when you just take the advice from someone who's been there. Saved me from learning the hard way more than once!

andrew_hall326d ago

Wait, hold on a second. That book spec for the caliper bracket bolts seems way off. On that truck, it should be 148 foot-pounds, plus a 90-degree turn. 125 is for the caliper pins. That old timer was right about using the wrench, but you gotta make sure you're looking up the RIGHT spec. It's a super common mix-up.