Question on re-using caliper mounting bolts.

[Jaymar]

so customer cars got the slap-dash tosser treatment but when it was your own life on the line you used the proper tool?

Completely different circumstances with completely different use cases. No road car is going to suffer a brake failure if a competent tech didn't use a torque wrench and only the completely histeric ninnies with zero actual experience would believe any such nonsense.

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[shogun32]

only the completely histeric ninnies with zero actual experience would believe any such nonsense.

I guess I needed to have added the smiley/devil icon. But I stand by my assertion. if a torque is called out you use a torque wrench, not guess and by golly even if your meticulously calibrated forearm is good for less than 5% error. It's not just for legalistic ass-covering. A paid mechanic's JOB is to follow the engineer's specifications as specified. Not just rely on 'good enough' and make it up on a whim. That's Ford factory assembly-line workers' domain.

Now if the engineer made a gross error and you know that from 20 years of experience, that's a different matter.

 

[Jaymar]

I guess I needed to have added the smiley/devil icon. But I stand by my assertion. if a torque is called out you use a torque wrench, not guess and by golly even if your meticulously calibrated forearm is good for less than 5% error. It's not just for legalistic ass-covering. A paid mechanic's JOB is to follow the engineer's specifications as specified. Not just rely on 'good enough' and make it up on a whim. That's Ford factory assembly-line workers' domain.

Now if the engineer made a gross error and you know that from 20 years of experience, that's a different matter.

Sorry, I didn't mean anything personal there I was just going off on a rant. My apologies.

My point is that engineers and observers can argue theory all day long but an experienced technician knows how to make things work as designed. We know where to use torque specs and when not to and more importantly we know why. If you add in unnecessary steps to cover an unproven "what if" scenario you inadvertently increase your labor costs and pass that on to your customer with no tested justification. The engineer doesn't have to answer to the customer but the technician sure does. If I have to justify to my customer that my higher rate than everyone else is for their good I damn well better have some solid data to back it up.

 

[Veteran]

I agree with the use of a torque wrench.
However, I have been in the situation where the torque wrench was missing and I had to feel by hand.
When the opportunity arises to check by hand, I’ve always been reasonably close.
I am not a tech, just a diy”er with some practise. I am sure a tech who does it daily could repeatedly get damn close to spec.

Just saying, but I’d guess most half decent diy”ers would get by without a torque wrench if Needed.
But I agree, use one if you can.

 

[K4fxd]

After a while one develops a feel for when a bolt is properly tightened.

If we had to change rotors in the pits during a race, the torque wrench stayed in the tool box.

 

[GTP]

I put paint pen index marks on all my suspension fasteners. I use blue threadlock a lot, but I use red threadlock for the caliper bolts because of track days.

Once, I tightened some suspension bolts to align the index marks, and then checked them with my torque wrench. The torque hadn't changed. In fact, I also added index marks to bolts that were never loosened since the factory. I checked their torque, too, and they were to spec, perhaps a little on the low side.

The only thing that bugs me (a little) is that the 85ft-lb caliper bolts are only 15mm. Seems they should be 18mm. But being an engineer myself, I don't doubt the Ford engineers.

 

[DougS550]

When I had dedicated race cars we did not change caliper bolts.

The only bolts I had ever changed were "Special Bolts", torque limiting bolts, Stretch Bolts, Shear or Torsion specific bolt. As of yet outside of the engine I have not seen such a bolt so I reuse mine. But, that's a comfort level question for each owner. Good Luck

 

[shogun32]

The only thing that bugs me (a little) is that the 85ft-lb caliper bolts are only 15mm. Seems they should be 18mm

why? they are in sheer. no amount of pad friction is going to generate forces for the bolt to notice.

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