My uncle said to always use a torque wrench on aluminum heads, even if it takes longer.

I was rushing a head gasket job on a 2007 Civic and thought I could just go by feel. He warned me last year, but I didn't listen and ended up with a warped head after about 500 miles. Do you think this rule applies to all aluminum engine work, or was I just unlucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

sagestone1d agoMost Upvoted

Feel your pain, man. That rule is gospel for a reason.

henry_murray1d ago

Right? What's the worst example you've seen of someone ignoring that rule and paying for it big time? I watched a buddy try to cut corners on a project last year, and it blew up in his face so bad. He ended up redoing the whole thing from scratch, took him three times as long. Learned that lesson the hard way, just like the rest of us lol.

phoenix_burns281d ago

Oh man, what about when someone skips checking their references? My friend tried to build a whole deck without pulling a single permit, just to save a couple weeks. City made him tear the whole thing down, fines and everything. Total nightmare. Sagestone is right, it's gospel because the hard way to learn sucks. I mean, he lost so much more time and money than if he'd just done it right the first time.