TIL the hard way that torque specs on rusty bolts are more like suggestions

Last Tuesday I was helping a buddy swap control arms on his 05 F150. We torqued everything to book spec, 148 ft lbs on the lower strut bolt. Drove it 20 miles and heard this god awful clunk. Pulled it back in, bolt was loose as a goose. Turns out the threads had old crusty rust and we didn't chase them first. The torque wrench clicked but the bolt never actually seated right. Damn thing backed off on its own. Now I always run a tap through any bolt hole that looks corroded before I trust the click. Anyone else had this bite them or am I just the unlucky one this week?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

seth_green852mo ago

Wait, it backed off on its own after 20 miles?

5