Torque wrenches are calibrated for dry threads, someone finally made me listen

My lead at the San Antonio hangar ripped me for using anti-seize on a wheel bolt and said it throws off the reading by 15%, so I looked it up and he was right, now I'm wondering how many other habits I picked up from old timers are just flat wrong, anyone else got told off for something they learned from a mentor that turned out to be bogus?

1 comments

1 Comment

derek_burns7d ago

Torque readings are always a range anyway, every shop has a different calibration schedule and some of them are way off. Youre talking about a few percentage points on a bolt that has like 5 times the safety factor built in. I got told the same thing years ago and I still use anti-seize on brake caliper brackets, never had one back out yet. Your lead isnt wrong technically, but acting like this is some huge discovery is a stretch. Half these guys will torque a lug nut with a breaker bar and a prayer, so worrying about 15 percent on one bolt seems like overthinking it.