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Taking Service Manual Torque Values as Gospel

Bill Hagan

Bill Hagan

GT Reference
GT di Razza Pura
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
Messages
1,709
Location
Above Pott's Camp along Braddock's route, Virginia
One word: Don't.

Had the fuel pump out of the Norge's tank; let's avoid asking why; what is, is. :S

So, when reinstalling it, the Norge service manual -- or, at least, the one I downloaded from the old site -- specified 25Nm for the M5 [as I recall] fasteners. Know, too, that the aluminum flange has a flat, but grooved, rubber gasket between it and the tank proper.

So, without thinking much about what that I meant, I got out the trusty torque wrench and started ... well ... torquing. About time I got to 10Nm, I thought something was seriously not right.

Called Wayne Orwig who said that sounded nuts to him for that size fastener. Then talked with Mike Haven at MPH, who -- after, of course, he gave me the "Torque wrench? I don't need no steenking torque wrench. I spit on you and your torque wrench" routine that artistes such as he can say and mean -- allowed as how that was wrong. Way wrong. "Snug it up and a bit more" was it.

So, thought I'd pass that along FWIW.

Bill
 
Bill,

I Agree.

The only time I stripped threads was with a torque wrench while installing an oil pan on an air head BMW. From then on, wrench art for fasteners that aren't critical to keeping the bike together. I only use a torque wrench now for "critical" items, e.g. rear wheel (single sided swing arm only), head bolts, flywheel bolts and the like.
 
john zibell wrote:
I only use a torque wrench now for "critical" items, e.g. rear wheel (single sided swing arm only), head bolts, flywheel bolts and the like.
Click to expand...

Hmmm well my story might add fuel to the fire, no bolt is immune, not even head bolts!. Many moons ago I had a trusty Honda 750 Four - four into ones, and tricked up in every way that I can't remember, but I digress.

At the time I was a Yanco Agricultural College student learning farm mechanics and of course like all teenagers thought I knew it all and didn't need anyone's advice or assistance for ANYTHING..... EVER.... because I could do it all!

So having just sat through a most interesting lecture on cylinder heads which of course diverged into the values of porting and polishing given the lecturer's penchant for motorcross racing, one Saturday I took the old girl down to the college farm mechanics workshop where they had all sorts of interesting toys to play with while no one was around.

Now Tourque wrenches are absolutely accurate - aren't they? They must be they are made to be that way - aren't they? So they will just do it up right every time - won't they? After several happy hours of polishing and generally mucking around doing things that I thought would make me king of the standing mile the next weekend, it was nearly time for tea for which I needed the old girl running as the workshop was about 5 miles from the dorms on the other side of the College farm. All was well until while utlising my new found mechanic skills to reassemble the head the tourque wrench tourqued and the number 6 head bolt went "ping" and my heart went "clunk".

Unfortunately I msissed out on tea and it was actually some time before I got back to the dorms that night - it was high summer in western NSW and bloody hot, so after pushing my pride and joy the 5 miles back to the dorms in order that no one would know I had been in the workshop which was strictly forbidden on weekends without supervision, I was needless to say feeling very sorry for myself :huh:


Had to go sheepishly to the local Honda dealer for help, who gave me a right bollocking and then proceeded to show me how to do it properly - a lesson I have never forgotten.

Moral of the story is the same as Bill's - use a tourque wrench with your brain in gear.


As a postcript, the Honda dealer is still in business, although he is now over 80 and helped by his sons. I sent him a letter a while back telling him that I was now the proud owner of my then bike of dreams - a Guzzi, and he wrote back warning me to be careful with "that tourque wrench" No problem with his memory - how embarassing :S
 
One note about torque wrenches. In the aviation industry torque wrenches must be calibrated and certified periodically. My $35 Craftsman wrench may not read the same as your $400 SnapOn tool. If a torque wrench is over 2 years old it is probably a good approximation tool, good for iron and steel parts. As John Zibell says, 'trust the feel'. Of special importance is spark plugs; when you feel the crush washer collapse, STOP.
 
Mike.C wrote:
As a postcript, the Honda dealer is still in business, although he is now over 80 and helped by his sons. I sent him a letter a while back telling him that I was now the proud owner of my then bike of dreams - a Guzzi, and he wrote back warning me to be careful with "that tourque wrench" No problem with his memory - how embarassing :S
Click to expand...
Nothing to add to the topic, but what a wonderful story Mike... NICE ONE.
 
For those of us who haven't yet embraced the metric system and/or have that 40 or "400 dollar" torque wrench that reads pounds-feet there is a useful web-site; www.convert-me.com. Just click on the "Newton Meter Conversion Chart" and read down to the part where it says "British and US." Of course if the Guzzi 'service manual' has bad information this won't help.
 
> Nothing to add to the topic, but what a wonderful story Mike... NICE ONE.

Exactly what I was going to say!
 
I use a Craftsman Digitorque that I've had for the last 22 years. Cost a lot back when I bought it at the Sears store but well worth it. I also have a smaller Craftsman for the sub ten foot pound torques. I use them religiously on just about every nut and bolt I tighten, especially those that are going into aluminum. Thus far I have yet to strip out any threads since using the torque wrenches.

But when I was young, more dumb and poor and couldn't afford a torque wrench I was always working on my first vehicle, a 1973 Datsun pick-up. I must have stripped every bolt hole in that engine that wasn't made of cast iron. I also misaligned the timing chain and sent a couple of valves through the pistons:unsure: . It's funny to think of it now but It wasn't back then.
 
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