Just realized I've been over-tightening panel screws for years

I was helping a new guy on a Cessna 172 annual last week, and he asked me why I was putting so much muscle into the cowling screws. I told him it was to make sure they stayed put, like I've always done. He just shrugged and said his old boss at a shop in Phoenix showed him to use a torque screwdriver set to 20 inch-pounds for those specific fasteners, and that anything more could strip the threads or crack the composite. I brushed it off, but later that night I kept thinking about it. The next day, I actually looked up the maintenance manual for that model, and sure enough, he was right. I'd been going by feel for a decade, probably using double the right force. It was a real 'oh crap' moment. Has anyone else had a basic habit like that they had to unlearn?

2 comments

2 Comments

hart.taylor13d ago

Torque wrenches are your best friend now.

park.joseph12d ago

Yeah @hart.taylor, I learned that the hard way when I stripped a bolt without one.