10 years of torquing spark plugs wrong didn't click until a cylinder blew

I was always going by feel on those old radial engines until a Pratt & Whitney rep showed me the actual torque chart and my hand was off by 15 foot-pounds, anyone else ever get humbled by the manual after thinking you knew better?

2 comments

2 Comments

dakota_rivera1mo ago

Blew a head gasket on a 302 Ford because I was "experienced" enough to not need a torque wrench. Turns out 85 ft-lbs felt a lot different to me at 7am than it did at 3pm after a lunch break. My buddy who builds race engines still gives me crap about it to this day. Idk what it is about those old motors but they really punish you for guessing.

craig.parker1mo ago

85 ft-lbs on a head bolt is still 85 ft-lbs regardless of what time you ate a sandwich, man. @dakota_rivera I think that story is more about you being stubborn than the motor being some kind of punishment machine. A 302 Ford will take a ton of abuse if you just follow the basic steps, not like it's some fussy European engine that requires a blood sacrifice.