The whole 'tighten until it strips' method needs to die

Honestly I keep seeing guys at the local Pick-N-Pull overtightening bolts on parts they're yanking off. Had a guy last Saturday strip a bracket bolt on a 2003 Civic and then blame the car for being rusty. Ngl if you're still cranking down like you're torquing a head gasket on a random 10mm you're just making more work for yourself. Why do people act like hand tight plus a quarter turn isn't fine for most non-critical stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.robert9d ago

Hand tight plus a quarter turn" is honestly the golden rule for 90% of what people do at the junkyard. I've been pulling parts off cars for years and I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone reef on a little 10mm bolt like they're trying to close a bank vault door. The funny thing is those rusty bolts on a Civic are usually just fine if you hit them with some penetrating oil and give them a little patience. Plus if you strip a bracket bolt you're just making the next guy's life harder and costing yourself a perfectly good part. The real trick is to get a feel for when the bolt stops turning easy and the metal starts to give that little "crunch" sound.

ninamartin9d ago

Yeah that crunch sound is a dead giveaway you're about to strip the threads lol. I actually snapped a bracket bolt on a Ford Explorer last summer because I got impatient and skipped the penetrating oil. Had to drill it out and use a tap and die set, which was a total pain in the ass. @walker.robert is right though, these rusty Civic bolts usually come out clean if you let the oil soak for like five minutes. I always keep a can of PB Blaster in my bag for this exact reason, saves so much headache.