My old shop teacher told me to stop using a torque wrench on lug nuts, and I can't stop thinking about it

Richard Young · 2026-10-08T09:00:04.365088+00:00

So I ran into my old shop teacher Mr. Delgado at a parts store in Stockton about three weeks ago, first time I'd seen him in like 12 years. We got to talking and he asked what I was working on, and I told him I was doing brakes and rotating tires all day on a fleet of vans. He laughed and said the torque wrench is the most misused tool in the shop. He told me that in 30 years he never torqued a lug nut to spec unless it was a German car, and he said he just used a 4 way and his arm. He said I'd be better off spending that time checking rotor thickness. That hit me different because I've been super strict about torque specs for years, I even keep a laminated chart in my box. Now I'm wondering if I've just been slowing myself down and looking like a rookie to the old timers. I'm not gonna stop torquing wheels, that feels wrong, but it did make me think about which habits are real and which ones are just stuff I was taught. Any of you older guys actually skip the torque wrench on wheels, or is that just him being old school?

Vivisector

Loading…

My old shop teacher told me to stop using a torque wrench on lug nuts, and I can't stop thinking about it | Auto Mechanics - Vivisector