Had a master tech tear into me about using impact guns on injector hold-down bolts

Ngl, I used to just zip those injector hold-down bolts down with my 1/2 inch impact like everyone else in the shop. Then this old guy from down the bay, must have been 30 years in the trade, watched me do it on a 6.7 Powerstroke last Tuesday. He pulled me aside and said I was destroying the threads and crushing the copper washers unevenly every single time. Honest to god I thought he was just being a boomer about his tools. But I tried it his way with a torque wrench and a breaker bar on the next injector job, a Cummins ISX 15. The difference was insane, no fuel leaks on startup, no fighting stripped holes. Now I feel like a clown for all the comebacks I probably caused over the years. How many of you actually torque these down by spec or do you still send it with the gun?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_coleman1d ago

Same exact thing happened to me about 2 years back. Old timer at a shop in Denver watched me run down injector hold downs with my impact on a Duramax LBZ. He didn't say much, just handed me a torque wrench and a crinkled up service manual page. I was pissed at first, figured I'd been doing it fine for years. But I followed the spec on that job and the difference was night and day. No more pulling the valve cover a week later because of a dribble. That lesson stuck with me, I do it by the book every time now. It takes two extra minutes and saves you a headache later.

martinez.anna1d ago

Laughing at myself here because I've definitely been that person thinking I had it all figured out with my impact gun. Idk why it's so hard to just slow down and follow the damn manual when it saves so much time in the long run. Maybe it's just me but I've learned the hard way that two extra minutes with a torque wrench is way better than a weekend redoing a job.