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Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum > Tips, Toys, Tires, Ads, Misc > ATV Tech Tips > Torque Them Bolts! |
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| Torque Them Bolts! - ATV Tech Tips - Tips, Toys, Tires, Ads, Misc - Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum | ||||||||||||||||
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outlandish AWF Admin 
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Attention Class So what is torque? When you rotate or turn something, you are applying torque, like when you tighten the lug nuts on your car’s wheels. You apply force to the wrench handle, creating torque on the lug nut, which turns the lug. Torque is calculated by multiplying the force by the distance from the center. When tightening the lug nuts, if the wrench is a foot long — and you put 500 pounds of force on it — you generate 500 foot-pounds of torque. If you use a two-foot wrench, you only need half as much force — or 250 pounds — to generate the same foot-pounds of torque. That is why people have long pipes — or extenders — in their shops to lengthen wrenches and free seized bolts. By lengthening the wrench handle you are gaining a tremendous amount of torque even though you are not increasing the force applied to the wrench handle. Isn’t physics great?! Does It Matter? Of course it matters. When a bolt is torqued properly, it is working at its ideal efficiency. Too little torque, the bolt will vibrate loose; too much torque, the bolt could break. When a manufacturer goes through the trouble of giving you the proper torque for a bolt, it’s for good reason. Using a cylinder head for example, we can illustrate the importance of torque. When you mount the head on the cylinder, tighten each bolt finger-tight. Some manufacturers have a set sequence for torquing the bolts on the head, others do not. No matter what, however, never torque one bolt fully and move on to the next. Rather, tighten one a little then move on to the next doing the same until you torque all the bolts to the specified foot-pounds. By tightening each bolt, evenly, a little at a time, you spread the force evenly among the top of the cylinder and the head. Therefore you minimize the danger of warping the cylinder head. And if you warp the cylinder head, nasty things could result, all of which lead to engine failure. The Torque Wrench Torque wrenches are simple devices designed to give an accurate reading of the amount of torque on any given bolt. Just tighten the bolt like you normally would, then get out your trusty torque wrench and give the bolt its torque. There are basically two types of torque wrenches: the micrometer adjustable type and the beam type. Both work well, but for accuracy, the micrometer adjustable type is ideal. Prices vary, but you can find a good wrench for less than $100. After all, that amount is a lot cheaper than the consequences might be. Torque wrenches are invaluable devices that should be included in everyone’s stash of tools. They come in handy for automobile maintenance as well.
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| Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum > Tips, Toys, Tires, Ads, Misc > ATV Tech Tips > Torque Them Bolts! | |
