Do brake shops realy torque bolts to specs?
 

reason i ask is cause i am getting my bushings installed soon, but i kind of have a feeling they may not torque the bolts to proper specs.. a few bolts need torqued to about 200 ft pounds that i worry about..

All depends on the shop!

all depends on the tech.

majority of the shops use impacts over torgue wrenches.

How many times have you seen a shop use a impact to tighen lug nuts vs a torque wrench.

Impact gun with a torque stick is what most shops use.

To make sure, you should torque the bolts on the car yourself after the brake job. If you don't have a torque wrench already, you should get one. Cambodian Tire usually has some in stock and on sale.

Most of the consumer torque wrenchs (eg from Canadian Tires) can't do 200ft/lbs.

Since the OP seems to suggest the application is for suspension / arm related parts. I don't think you can easily access those bolds with a torque wrench without the car on the lift.. Oh you are not suppose to use jointed extensions either because it will throw off the torque specs.

For any shop remember they make money by how fast they can cycle through customers. They will have to use air tools with torque sticks.

If the OP is really worried, make sure he gets an official receipt and check the shop name matches etc.. If anything go wrong, he can go to ICBC and file a claim? Else if the OP really want to verify himself, get yourself a lift, torque wrench and extensions (s because you will need a few of them).

Why would he need a lift, I've changed just about every one of my suspension components with a hydraulic jack and stands.

To go 200ft/lbs you have to exert a lot of force downwards. Do you really want to be underneath a car with just stands when you do that?

Fuck's a torque wrench? Never used one.

You use your fingers dont you? :troll:

Most if not all 1/2" torque wrenches should be able to do 200ft/lb. There's nothing wrong with a jack and stands. Just use some common sense when you're going to get aggressive.

all by feel baby:fuckyea:

usually fast paced shops that likes to get cars in and out fast as possible won't torque anything. ex canadian tire.

smaller shops that are more customer orientated will torque most things but not all, as some things are hard to reach.

i think all Kaltire shops use torque wrenches, well at these 3 of the kaltires i went to did.

I don't ever want to be under my car, but 200ft/lbs isn't a big deal if you have your car jacked up properly.

Actually cheapo stands even ones that are heavy duty have multiple points of failure and often can split apart. I always notch and weld 1/2" steel plates on my stands' bases just in case. (Basically you make 4 L shaped holes in the plate, ideally the plate will be a bit larger than the stand's footprint so more metal to hold the feet in, sand off the powdercoat paint, fit, then tig weld).

Sudden change of downward force on an already unstable mass is just not very bright. There is a board sponsor that rents lift space. Just use them. Car on the lift is much easier to leverage and to apply the force the OP says he need, since you are standing and you can adjust the car to a height you are comfortable with.

200ft/lb is typically off the scale for most torque wrenches.. as a reference typical alloy wheels torque at 90-100ft/lb. Most jobs involving cars don't go over 100ft/lbs.

PS Not sure if the place is still a RS sponsor.

PPS I hope the OP is sure he needs ft/lbs or not other units.

If the shop doesn't use a torque wrench for certain suspension bushings....i would probably avoid them like a plague.

If they're gonna cut corners for an extra few minutes, i don't think they're going to give 2 shits about what happens to your suspension when you pull out of their shop...

these shops that use impact guns are hack-job sites....you get what you pay for.

I haven't been to a shop that has not used a torque wrench on my lugs.

I can see a high volume shop to use impact wrench to do most of the tightening of the wheel lug or bolt and finishing off with a torque wrench.

However if a shop uses non silicone coated impact sockets on a wheel, it will mark the alloy. I can see a shop just use a torque wrench just to avoid customer complaints and the cost of sending the wheel off the nu-brite or panthers.

But again, the force that the OP wants to apply is more than double a typical torque used to tightening wheels.

I refuse to let any shop tighten my lugs,I do them myself.

The fucked up thing is,even the expensive shops with a good rep will cut corners just to save time.

What bushings on what car? I don't recall ever needing 200ft/lb on any vehicle I've worked on other then full size trucks and similar vehicles.
The wheel bearings on my truck need a torque of 200ft/lb and thats the onlt part requiring that much torque. Is it possible you mean inch pounds?

Should've seen when I was trying to take the transmission out of my old car... And I think you're being a little paranoid my friend, just a little.

http://my.is/forums/f89/suspension-b...21/index2.html

take a look, read post number #27 ill just copy paste it here..



That's not actually the tightest bolt down there though. The two bolts securing the #2 suspension arm to the #1 arm are secured to 181 ft/lbs vs 136 ft/lbs for the camber bolt. Make sure you have a torque wrench that can put that much torque back on.

WTF? why does my ratchet have numbers on it???? :troll: lol