Mechanics develop what some jokingly call "torque arm" after some months
of using a torque wrench. You get a feel for what 25 lb/ft feels like
versus 8, versus 18 versus 80. If you get to the point in using a torque
wrench that you can set it to 2 lbs over, close your eyes, and tighten
the nut to the exact torque without it clicking, I'd say chunk your
torque wrench in the bottom of your tool box.

Until then, I wouldn't do ANYTHING on a VW without a torque wrench. The
staggering mix of alloys, thread depths, thread pitches, and heat/cold
environments just makes torquing by intuition far too risky. Unless you
just like doing the Helicoil thing...

Bringing your ideas to life,
G. Matthew Bulley
Bulley-Hewlett
Business: www.bulley-hewlett.com
AIM = IExplain4u
Phone: +1.919.658.1278

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
Of Marla Stelk
Sent: Saturday, October 05, 2002 11:30 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Torque Wrench

So just how important is it really to use a torque wrench?  A mechanic I
spoke to once said he never uses one for tune-ups.  But the Bentley
tells you to use one for almost everything.  I've got to take the top
off my thermostat - do I really need to go buy a torque wrench to put it
back on?  The buggers are pretty expensive.....

Thanks,
Marla
'87 Westy Van "Morrison"Get more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer
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