PSA: My torque wrench lied to me and I snapped a head bolt on a 5.3L Chevy

I was putting together a 2007 Silverado 1500 last Wednesday, torquing the heads to 22 ft-lbs like the manual says. Thing clicked, so I moved on, but on the final pass I felt it give and snap. Turned out my old Craftsman torque wrench was 15 ft-lbs off at the low end because I never stored it at zero. Had to drill out the broken bolt and Heli-Coil the hole, took me 4 hours extra. Anyone else ever get bit by a mis-calibrated tool and swear off ever trusting them again?

2 comments

2 Comments

grace_gonzalez461d ago

Hate to be that guy but a snapped bolt and a heli-coil isn't exactly a catastrophic failure, just a hassle. @patriciah51 probably has a point about yearly calibrations but half the guys I know just hang their wrenches up and call it good.

patriciah511d ago

Marking the wrench with a paint pen at the proper setting before I start keeps me from second-guessing the click. Calibrating it yearly at a local shop saved my next engine build from the same headache.