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That old-timer in Billings who set me straight on injector line torque
I was up in Billings last month helping a buddy with a 7.3 Powerstroke that kept leaking at the injector lines. This grizzled old diesel mechanic, must've been 70, walks over from the bay next door and watches me for a minute. He says, 'Son, you're cranking those lines like you're tightening lug nuts. You're warping the flare.' I thought I had a good feel for it, but he showed me his trick with a short beam torque wrench set to 25 ft-lbs. He said he learned that lesson back in '84 when a bad torque job on a 6.9 IDI cost him a whole injector install. After I re-did all eight lines to his spec, not a single drip on startup. Has anyone else had an old timer show them a simple spec that changed how they work?
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ryan_shah381mo ago
Used to think torque wrenches were just for head bolts and mains, but ngl this changed my mind completely. Been way more careful with fuel line torque ever since.
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vera_robinson361mo ago
Son you're cranking those lines like you're tightening lug nuts" lmao thats about the most diesel mechanic thing Ive ever heard. I had a similar moment with an old guy in Spokane who told me I was tightening my fuel rail crossover lines like I was mad at them. He just laughed and said the torque spec is basically hand tight plus a quarter turn and a prayer. I argued with him for a solid ten minutes before trying it and sure enough it stopped weeping. Old timers have this weird magic where they can make you feel like an idiot and save your bacon at the same time.
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jamie9401mo ago
That old timer in Spokane was right, same thing happened to me with a lawnmower carburetor bolt like ten years back. There's this weird rule I've noticed where the stuff that matters most always needs LESS force than your gut tells you. Its like life does the same thing - friendships, fixing things, even raising kids - you gotta ease up to keep it from breaking.
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