Re: Removing the flywheel -- and torquing it.

[Toby Erkson <Toby_Erkson@ccm2.hf.intel.com>]

My comment on the below question.

Last Thursday I replaced the hub on my left rear wheel -- boringly easy job to 
do (is 'boringly' a word?).  When I was tightening the castle nut on the axle I 
used a 5 foot tool with a socket at the end (my mechanic loaned it to me).  It 
hardly took any pressure to tighten the nut.  Whipped out the really nice torque
wrench (again, loaned to me by my mechanic) and snugged it up to the proper 
torque.  The torque wrench was only about 2 feet in length so it required a 
little more omph! to tighten the nut to the proper torque.  The rest of the 
procedure went smoothly.

What's to be learned?  Two things, 1) tight is a relative *feeling*, and 2) a 
good relationship between you and your mechanic can save ya some time and money!
:)  Ok, ok, the real idea here is it would be best for you tighten the nut to 
torque.  If you just use a standard 1/2" ratchet and hang on the handle you will
get the nut on "tight".  If you just use a long bar with a socket like I did and
really tighten down you'll break/crush/damage or twist off some part.  
Expensive.  How tight something is depends upon your strength, the leverage you 
have to impart upon the object and how you interpret the concept of "tight".  A 
torque wrench is the equalizer, the definition of "tight".  No matter who uses 
it, no matter where it is used, and no matter what it's handle length may be, 
the torque wrench will always give the same tightness.  There will be no 
confusion, no speculation, as to the question of whether a part is properly 
tightened -- is it too tight or not tight enough?  Think of the torque wrench as
the Baby Bear's stuff in the children's story "Goldie Locks and the Three 
Bears".  It's always juuuust right!

     Toby Erkson
     air_cooled_nut@pobox.com
     '72 VW Squareback 1.6L bored and stroked to 2.0L
     '75 Porsche 914 1.8L for sale
     Portland, Oregon, USA

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Removing the flywheel
Author:  type-3-errors@umich.edu at SMTPGATE
Date:    5/13/97 3:34 PM

...
Also, does one have to meassure the torque on the
flywheel gland nut exactly or do I just make sure that it is TIGHT.

Hope to hear from you soon

Regards

Adriaan Loedolff
adriaan@norton.ctech.ac.za
'69 Squareback Automatic (199 200 miles)