Old timer told me to stop fighting the torque wrench

Guy with 40 years at a Ford dealer watched me wrestling a control arm bolt. He said "son, if you're grunting, you're doing it wrong." Told me to use a breaker bar to crack it, then use the torque wrench just for the final click. Changed my whole approach. Saves me probably 10 minutes per control arm job now. Anyone else have a simple tip from someone that just clicked?

2 comments

2 Comments

price.ben5d ago

My buddy runs a shop and said an old diesel mechanic told him the same thing years ago. He was fighting a stuck caliper bracket bolt and the guy just handed him a long pipe and said "let the tool do the work." Changed his whole mindset too.

logan_mitchell5d ago

Buddy of mine learned that exact lesson on a frozen ball joint, nearly threw his back out.