Why you can't torque anything with a crush washer

[beemerdons]

Wow.
And I thought that I had some geeky friends and geeky conversations.

My Dear Andy, did I really have to tell you out loud that Old Michael is Marky-Mark's BBB (Best Butt Buddy!) jes' sayin' and nuff' said!

 

[johnny80s]

********!

 

[RadioHowie]

 

[SkooterG]

Harder to get the right value by "feel" since you never know the sweet spot.

Huh?

I find it extremely easy to find the sweet spot when tightening with a fresh crush washer.

Perhaps you need to go back and repeat kindergarten?

 

[odot]

Dangit, skootyG.....I just reached my limit of likes and was about to call you a *********.....hope yer ok with that.

 

[dcarver]

Sure, crush washers are easy-peasy..

But what about wave washers?

 

[RossKean]

Harder to get the right value by "feel" since you never know the sweet spot.

Huh?

I find it extremely easy to find the sweet spot when tightening with a fresh crush washer.

Perhaps you need to go back and repeat kindergarten?

No problem telling when it makes contact, starts to crush and is finished crushing (making it a flat washer). I just can't tell by feel what's the right in-between torque for a particular application; especially spark plugs. I have done lots of plugs with and without a torque wrench and have never had a problem so maybe there's a broad range of "acceptable"?

 

[XWinger]

I always figured the torque value gave you the correct amount of "crush"

 

[Falko]

Civil engineer, huh? Well, since crush washers have nothing to do with crap floating, water running down hill, and not being able to push a rope, I'm going to say he's out of his element. Crush washers are all about torque, as my esteemed colleagues have already stated.

 

[Chuck35]

I think the felt "sweet spot" and the specified torque may well be one and the same. I have been turning nuts and bolts for 40 years now. After the first decade or so I got a pretty good feel for it.

 

[odot]

After 38 years of living and breathing, I thought I knew a sweet spot. Then I got married and after three years there ain't no sweet spot...in fact, apparently I know nothing about anything(according to me wife). Tighten it til it's tight and yer good to go.

 

[Chuck35]

After 38 years of living and breathing, I thought I knew a sweet spot. Then I got married and after three years there ain't no sweet spot...in fact, apparently I know nothing about anything(according to me wife). Tighten it til it's tight and yer good to go.

Sometimes you can't seem to get the nut ito feel right. In those cases roll it over and screw it the other way. It will tighten up!

 

[CAJW]

Bench racing with a buddy of mine (KoolAid drinker BTW) the subject of what to torque and what not to torque came up. During our discussion he mentioned that torqe values on anything involving a crush washer were meaningless.
Piqueing my curiosity, I requested that he elaborate.

The purpose of the crush washer he explained was to form itself into the nooks and crannies of the two parts it rides between.

Marky,.

Tell your Buddy he's wrong. Either that or he just got crush washers confused with Thomas' English Muffins.

BTW, I dare you to print out this thread and let him read it. He'll take one look at this and start bench racing elsewhere.

 

[odot]

No he won't.....he'll call us all idiots......it's the standard call.

 

[Falko]

Mmmmmm, english muffins......

 

[willboe]

Well, duh.

Plus 1

 

[willboe]

Utter nonsense. It is possibly more important to torque a fastener with a crush washer. Too loose and a leak is almost certain - not to mention that the bolt could back out with vibration. Too tight and the washer is compromised. Harder to get the right value by "feel" since you never know the sweet spot.
And since its friday I thought I would mention that I am planning to replace the oil drain bolt crush washer on my '07 this summer. Sometime in July it should have 100,000 miles on the original one and decided I would buy the Feej a present to celebrate the milestone. I will torque the bolt to something a bit less than the factory spec!

Ahhh, so you will do it by 'feel' then.

 

[willboe]

I always figured the torque value gave you the correct amount of "crush"

That is a reasonable assumption until you remember that these values were determined by humans.

 

[willboe]

After 38 years of living and breathing, I thought I knew a sweet spot. Then I got married and after three years there ain't no sweet spot...in fact, apparently I know nothing about anything(according to me wife). Tighten it til it's tight and yer good to go.

Try turning her over . . . < well intentioned joke. < never mind, I just noticed that Chuck35 got here before me, and with some greater degree of articulation. Nice straight man job though odot

 

[willboe]

Bench racing with a buddy of mine (KoolAid drinker BTW)

Is 'KoolAid' code for LSD?