The hardware store clerk who told me to ignore the manual

I was rebuilding a lawn mower engine about 10 years ago and a kid at Ace Hardware told me to skip the torque specs and just tighten by feel. Said he'd been doing it for years that way. I listened to him, got it all back together, and the head gasket blew after three starts. Cost me another 40 bucks and a whole Saturday to redo it. That clerk wasn't even working there a month later. Has anyone else gotten bad advice from someone who seemed confident but was just wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

craig.grant6h ago

See, I kinda disagree here. That clerk probably gave out bad advice but it's also on you for following it without double checking. Manuals exist for a reason and torque specs especially matter on something like a head gasket where you need even pressure. Maybe I'm just old school but I've never trusted random employees at big box hardware stores for mechanical advice. I mean, they're mostly just kids who stock shelves not certified mechanics. You gotta take that stuff with a grain of salt and verify from someone who actually does the work for a living.

blair_lewis854h ago

Read a thread on a mechanic forum once where a guy stripped his head bolts following a parts store clerk's advice. Ended up costing him way more than if he'd just checked the manual for five minutes. Trust but verify, especially when torque specs are involved.