Talk about torque

Santa bought me a 3/8 torque wrench for xmas, cool i thinks mmmmmmm

So on the week i pull out my nice shiney TW out armed with my workshop manual lets torque all my wheel bolts now read the instructions .....nm .....f/lb now these are not to be mixed up are they.

First the front axel clamp bolts, check the settings 100nm gee that needs to be tight ok away we go crack goes the wrench next bolt crack goes the bolt mmmm that didnt feel right check the bolt oops a broken bolt no two broken bolts ..... Check the settings yep 100 nm check the workshop manual. Bugger 16nm . At this stage i painfully realise that this is why i work in employment services not a mechanic.

Luckily it was easily fixed with some easy outs . The question though is that the wheel nut on the axel is suppose to torqued to 100nm i started tightening but i am a bit shy to push it to 100nm

And a 100 nm of torque is required on the caliphers as well and there is no way i am going to crack those bolts up to that tight

So at this stage do you guys do those bolts up that tight

Unless it is something inside the engine , then I just use the 28th sense that is in my right hand. Tight. Then a little bit more. Then ... just a little tweak to be sure.

Jim, I totally agree with Hammy. Sometimes you have to let common sense, instinct and feel take over.
( its like dealing with women ). Most bolts need to be done up " al dente ". lean a bit more on
really important ones, ( like axles ). You know when its tight and when its not.

1/4" for a bike is all you need. Normally I wait for my elbow to click, but I do get the 1/4" out every so often. Had a mate do the same on his dirt bike filter bolts, he unfortunately didn;t get them out easily and it was a big headache to fix.

Anyway we all live and learn. Hope it wasn't too painful an experience.

I'mrebuilding my first rear shock at the moment, so thats new to me too. Cutting/grinding the peened end on the shock was a bit daunting, but so far so good. Will have the wifes 2001 RM80 back up and running as soon as the new seal head shows up from the states

I generally do smaller bolts by feel ( unless it it a critical bolt e.g. internal engine ) , but I do torque the rear axle nut to the proper torque .............if I was checking the torque of an already done up bolt / nut , I would undo it a little first & then torque it up .

Have a look at this site Jim


http://www.finaldrives.eu/PartsBoltTorque.htm

I thought caliper bolts was 23 or something like that, not 100.

Pretty sure axle pinch bolts are around the same, not 16.


*runs off to check bandit wksp manual for torque settings on bolts*

Caliper bolts 23

front axil 100nm

from memory

Tighten it till it strips then back it off half a turn

dhula wrote:I thought caliper bolts was 23 or something like that, not 100.

Pretty sure axle pinch bolts are around the same, not 16.


*runs off to check bandit wksp manual for torque settings on bolts*

Depends if you are torquing ft/lbs or NM.

It also depends if you read the workshop manual properly too in my case i did not. A bit eager to try the new toy . But on study i understand it all now . Front axel bolt - 100nm, caliper bolt - 26nm, front axel clamp bolts 23nm

Thanks guys for the guidence, this is one of the reasons i like this forum

Armed but only slightly dangerous

Now how do i get those spark plugs out

Use the tools from the toolkit for that. It is essential you don't overtighten them, as fixing a stripped sparkplug thread is expensive. It's easy to change them and all the manuals set out the steps

Jimcoleman wrote:Now how do i get those spark plugs out

Did you happen to get oxy/acetylene gear for Christmas?


I find it more important for stuff that goes into alloy, like the pinch bolts and the fork clamps, from memory the 1200 is 16ft/lbs for pinch bolts 30 ft/lbs for the callipers and 72 ft/lbs for the axle, which is roughly equivalent to yours.

kewwig wrote:Tighten it till it strips then back it off half a turn

No wonder I'm getting it wrong, I thought it was 3 full turns

Re-Cycled wrote:

Jimcoleman wrote:Now how do i get those spark plugs out

Did you happen to get oxy/acetylene gear for Christmas?


I find it more important for stuff that goes into alloy, like the pinch bolts and the fork clamps, from memory the 1200 is 16ft/lbs for pinch bolts 30 ft/lbs for the callipers and 72 ft/lbs for the axle, which is roughly equivalent to yours.

19 lb/ft for the 1250 calipers
8 lb/ft for the spark plugs

To check general tightness I go with a the general feel for firmness just with the correct spanner - no torque meter. Say before going on a long trip.

To use the torque meter all the bolts would have to be loosened of a bit or even removed if they are set in thread locker.

I do have a toque meter (1/4" drive) only coz I don't trust myself when fitting and removing bolts from the alloy parts.

Cheers GG

As a rule of thumb in alloy I hold a spanner or drive close to the centre so I don't generate excess torque. Gives me a better sense of tightness. I use a small Teng Tools torque wrench for most things. A critical area is the oil drain plug. Stripped threads there are fairly common!