I finally realized my torque wrench was way off for 2 years

I had a 2015 Ford F-150 come in last Tuesday with a wheel that kept wobbling after a brake job I did 6 months ago. It turned out I was torquing the lug nuts to 100 ft-lbs on a spec that calls for 150, and I only figured it out because the new guy asked me to double check his work on a similar truck. Anyone else ever go that long using a setting you just assumed was right without looking it up?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor7591mo ago

Bet the dealership loves seeing that pop up on their alignment rack.

piper_dixon451mo ago

Man that is brutal but I totally get it. Did the same thing with my own impact gun a few years back on a Chevy Silverado. Thought I had it dialed in at 120 ft-lbs but it was actually closer to 80 the whole time. Wheel came loose on the highway and I had to pull over and tighten it by hand with the tire iron. Felt like an idiot when I finally checked the calibration and realized it was off by almost 40 pounds. You're not alone on this one.