Warning: overheard a lead mechanic say torque specs are 'just suggestions'

Was on a break in the hangar at KMCI last week and heard a guy with 20 years experience tell a new kid that the numbers in the manual aren't a big deal. Said he's been doing it 'his way' for a decade. Took everything I had not to speak up right there. If we're ignoring torque values on flight control surfaces or engine mounts, we're all gambling. Has anyone else run into this kind of thinking on the floor?

2 comments

2 Comments

reeseanderson2d agoMost Upvoted

I get where you're coming from, but I used to be that guy who thought torque specs were 'just suggestions' too. Then I saw a control rod snap on a regional jet because someone hand tightened a bolt instead of using the wrench. That changed my mind real quick. Numbers in the manual aren't random, they're there because someone tested it and knew what would happen if you didn't follow them. Nothing wrong with learning the hard way, but it's better to learn from someone else's mistake instead of finding out yourself when the thing goes sideways.

mark_fisher482d ago

Yeah, you're right about that. I swear, I once almost learned that lesson the hard way when I put a new alternator in my old pickup and just cranked it down with a breaker bar. Thought I was being thorough, you know? Then a buddy who actually knows what he's doing looked at it and told me I was about a quarter turn away from stripping the housing. That would've been a fun Saturday afternoon, replacing the whole thing because I was too lazy to grab the torque wrench from the top shelf. Funny thing is, I still have that dented wrench my dad gave me, and every time I pick it up I feel like I'm proving something stupid to myself. Better to listen to the manual than to listen to your own ego.