Just realized I've been setting door locks wrong for years

Was at a hotel job in Denver last month and the lead mechanic pointed out my gap was always 1/8 inch too tight, causing nuisance trips. Anyone else pick up a basic adjustment trick way later than they should have?

3 comments

3 Comments

ben_ross5114d ago

Man I feel that. Picked up wrenching on my own cars for like 8 years before a buddy showed me I was tightening lug nuts way past spec because I thought "tight" meant grunt until it stopped. Stripped two studs before he finally called me out on it. Now I just use a torque wrench and follow the manual like a normal person.

the_holly14d agoMost Upvoted

Won't lie, I've seen people get all worked up over lug nut torque like it's gonna cause the wheel to fly off at 70 mph if it's off by 5 ft-lbs. I mean yeah you don't want them loose obviously but if you've ever watched a tire shop gorilla arm them on with an impact gun you know half the cars on the road are running way over spec. Been driving for 20 years and never had a wheel fall off or a stud snap just from going a little tight. Feels like one of those things where the manual says 80 ft-lbs but your buddy's been doing it by feel for decades and somehow his wheels stay on too.

oliviagrant11d ago

Is that really something you can just learn from feel though? @the_holly I remember reading that even pro mechanics torque to spec on anything wheel related because heat and vibration can change things. My dad always told me to just go "tight plus a quarter turn" on his old truck and I never had issues, but that was a different era. Now every car I've worked on has a torque spec in the manual and I just follow it. Did you ever check what your actual lug nut torque was after a tire shop touch? I bet it was way over.

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