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That one time a old mechanic told me to stop using so much torque on oil drain plugs
I was working on a 2015 Freightliner in Phoenix last summer and I always cranked those drain plugs down tight. This old guy walks over after I stripped the third one that month and says 'you're not building a bridge, you're just keeping oil in.' He showed me how to hand tighten then give it just a quarter turn with a ratchet. Changed my whole approach and now I haven't stripped a plug in over 6 months. Has anyone else had a senior mechanic drop some simple wisdom that saved them from dumb mistakes?
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lily_singh22mo ago
Never thought about how the same logic applies to almost every threaded fastener on a truck. Hand tight plus a little extra has saved me so many headaches with brake caliper bolts too.
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robert_anderson692mo ago
Rule of thumb says 15 ft-lbs minimum for caliper bracket bolts.
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craig.sage14d ago
Hear you on that, but what about torque specs for the caliper slide pins? Seen way too many guys just crank them down tight and end up with seized pins later. The hand tight plus a little extra rule only works if you know what "a little extra" means for your truck's weight and brake setup. You ever had to cut a pin out because some shop over-torqued it? That's the kind of headache that makes you double check everything. So how do you personally figure out the line between snug and too tight when you're spec-free?
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