Old timer at the shop told me my torque wrench was junk after I snapped a bolt on a Cummins ISX

I was doing a head gasket job on a 2015 Freightliner at Pritchard's Fleet down in Denver, and a 5/8 bolt just twisted clean off at 90 ft-lbs. A retired mechanic named Walt walks over, picks up my old Craftsman torque wrench, and says this thing hasn't been calibrated since Clinton was in office. He handed me his Snap-on and I finished the job in half the time. Anyone else had a seasoned guy save your bacon with a simple tool swap?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sean15d ago

Old school guys always know the right tool for the job.

ray_carr15d agoMost Upvoted

Feel you on that one. It's wild how many times I've watched some older guy just walk over and grab the perfect thing off his truck. Saves hours of guesswork and frustration. Makes me wish I paid more attention to the old timers when I had the chance.