Spent 8 years thinking I could just feel it on bolts under 15 ft-lbs. Been doing it that way since my A&P days. Then last month on a CRJ700 in Denver, I got called out for a flap track bolt that had a hairline crack in the lug. Lead mechanic asked me what I torqued that little one to. I said 'felt right.' He pulled out his Snap-on digital torque wrench and showed me I was 4 ft-lbs over. That crack was from years of me and probably other guys doing the same thing. Now I use a beam style for anything under 20 ft-lbs and I actually check the table. Has anyone else caught themselves guessing on small hardware and gotten away with it?
I spent a whole shift tracking down a slow drip from the fuel manifold, swapped seals and everything, only to find a clamp that was barely a quarter turn loose. Is it better to methodically check the simple stuff first or just dive into the hard work right away?
I work on old Cessnas mostly, and everyone told me you gotta follow the manual to the letter. But after stripping a third control cable bracket on a 172 last spring, I tried something different. I started using a beam-style torque wrench set to the low end of the spec, not my fancy clicker that's always off by 5 ft-lbs. Has anyone else found that the factory numbers are just not right for 30-year-old hardware?
Picked the digital model for the beeps and lights, but the old beam type was way faster for doing spark plugs on a Cessna 172 last Tuesday - has anyone else gone back to analog after trying digital?
Been doing it for years with no issues until a safety audit flagged me last Tuesday for missing seals on three engines. Anybody else ever get called out for skipping something that seemed harmless?
I used a beam style for years on Cessna tail bolts and always thought it was good enough. Last month I borrowed a digital torque wrench and found I was under-torquing by 15 lb-ft on almost every bolt. Has anyone else switched and seen a big difference?
I spent 3 years cringing every time I pulled a plug on a TCM 470 because the threads looked gnarly. Figured it was just old engines being old. Then I watched a senior A&P at my shop in Phoenix grab a torque wrench and set it to 300 inch-pounds on an O-360. He told me I was cranking them down like lug nuts on a Dodge. Now I check my torque wrench calibration every 90 days and my plugs come out clean. Anyone else get told they were way too heavy handed when they started?
Was pulling a shift at the hangar in Tulsa last Tuesday when this old guy walks in looking for the break room. Turns out he worked for American Airlines from 1978 to 2005. He saw me using my click-style torque wrench on some engine mounts and just started shaking his head. Said he only ever used beam-style wrenches for 27 years because click-types lose calibration after 5,000 cycles according to his old lead. I checked my logbook later and mine had 4,800 cycles on it. Has anyone else run into old timers who swear by beam wrenches over the digital ones?
I mean, I always thought the pliers were fine, but this guy with 30 years at Pratt said hand twisting gives better feel for tension and less chance of nicking the bolt heads. Tried it for a week and now my lockwire looks way cleaner. Anyone else get told to ditch a tool and stick with the old way?
I was working a 1997 Cessna 172 last Wednesday. Needed a 9/16 ratcheting wrench. Walked to the tool room like always. Found a padlock on the door. Manager said they switched to a shadow board system to save money. Spent 40 minutes hunting for my own 9/16. Never even found one. Had to borrow from the kid on B shift. Has anyone else's shop gone cheap on you like that?
Had a Lycoming come apart on me six years ago at a small shop in Topeka. Turned out I was just getting lazy and not double-checking my torque values on the prop flange. Anyone else learn a hard lesson because you got too comfortable with a routine task?
Spoke with a guy who's been wrenching since the 70s at the hangar in Tampa last Tuesday. He said digital stuff makes you forget the feel of metal and that cost me a stripped bolt on a flap actuator.
Been doing it for 10 years because the old timers swore by it, but after a cylinder miss on a Continental IO-470 at my shop in Tulsa last month, the lead mechanic showed me how it messes with the torque readings. We pulled three plugs and the threads were fine without the stuff anyway. Anyone else ditch anti-seize on plugs or am I the only one changing things up?
I've been using the same Snap-On torque wrench for 7 years in the hangar and never thought twice about it until last week when a senior mechanic checked it against his calibrated one and I was off by 8 ft-lbs on a 90 ft-lbs setting. Now I'm wondering if half the bolts I've torqued on engine mounts have been wrong this whole time. How often do you guys actually send your torque wrenches out for calibration?
Older guy says you should always back the spring off after each use. I never do that and mine has been fine for 3 years. Who's actually following the manual on this one?
Picked up a cheapo 12-ton jack from a surplus shop near the hangar, thought I was saving cash. First time I used it to lift a landing gear assembly, it started leaking fluid all over the floor after about 10 minutes. By the time I got it down, the seal blew and I had to borrow a proper one from a coworker. Has anyone else had a budget tool let them down like that?
Last Tuesday I had to pick between a used combination skinning tool for $45 from a retiring mechanic out in Tulsa or a brand new one for $120 from the catalog. I went with the used one figuring it was already broken in and the guy said he only used it on 40 planes. Well I got it in the mail and the locking pawl is sticky as hell, took me 3 tries just to get it to hold on a cable. Should I just eat the $45 loss and buy new, or is there a trick to cleaning these things up without wrecking the tension? Has anyone else gotten burned buying used specialty tools from some old timer?
This guy with 30 years experience showed me a trick for getting feel on critical fasteners that goes totally against the torque chart but he swore it saved his career twice, what side of that debate do you land on?
I used to crank down every screw on landing gear panels until my lead pulled me aside last month and said the spec is barely hand tight plus a quarter turn. He showed me how over-torquing can crack the composite panels on the 737s we work on at the hangar in Phoenix. Now I use a torque screwdriver set to 12 inch-pounds and my hand doesn't ache after a 10 hour shift. Has anyone else dealt with wrist pain from over-tightening fasteners?
I was reading a thread on another forum last week and a guy mentioned using a cheap dental mirror to check inside wing trailing edges. I grabbed one from a pharmacy for $6 and it saved me 20 minutes on a corrosion inspection on a Cessna 172. Anyone else got a weird tool they use for those tight spots?
Bought a cheap clicker from Harbor Freight for $60 back in 2021 for smaller jobs around the hangar. Last week I borrowed a Snap-on from a coworker to torque some control rod bolts on a Cessna 172 and noticed it clicked way sooner than my usual wrench. Am I the only one who's seen this kind of drift between budget and pro torque tools over time?
Doing a pre-buy inspection on a Cessna 172 that was supposedly "hangared and pampered" its whole life. Found a cotter pin between the trunnion and the downlock that was split right down the middle. Not a wear issue, looked like someone installed it with a pair of pliers that had a bad bite. That strut's been moving for years with half a pin in there. Owner said it passed an annual 6 months ago. Makes you wonder what else gets looked at with a flashlight instead of actually looked at. Any of you guys ever find something that dumb on a plane that just came out of a shop?