My uncle said to always use a torque wrench on injector hold-downs, but the old head at my shop swears by 'feel'.

I snapped a bolt on a Duramax following the 'feel' method after my uncle warned me. Who's right here, the manual spec or the experienced hand?

3 comments

3 Comments

williamh481mo ago

Tbh @emery_taylor3, if experience trumps paper, how do you explain my snapped bolt? That feel method sounds risky for something that serious.

emery_taylor32mo ago

Honestly that old head's "feel" method has kept more trucks running than any manual. You gotta understand those specs are for a perfect, clean bolt in a lab. Real world stuff gets corroded, threads get tired. A guy who's done a hundred of them knows the real feel of when it's tight before it sings. Your uncle isn't wrong for new parts, but experience trumps paper for old iron.

-1

elizabeth9632mo ago

Totally agree with @emery_taylor3, my hands learned that feel long before I ever saw a torque wrench.