[Crushin_LT1]

Originally Posted by 2SS Capt

Might be a silly question but are you sure that wrench is in inch/pounds vs. foot pounds?

I definitely pulled that when doing the intake. Easy, obvious mistake.

[Whitespeed]

Originally Posted by auto_god

Most 1/4" drive torque wrenches I use at work don't make a click that is audible in most situations, you have to be paying attention to feel the click in the handle. It wouldn't be difficult at all to miss that click feeling in the handle and keep on cranking.

Try the wrench on something else that isn't going to break & get a feel for it.

This is a good possibility. Some wrenches operate by a brief change in resistance to turning and not an audible click. It can be easy to miss. That said, it could be a bad wrench too. I have a $20 5 to 100 ftlbs wrench from Harbor Freight that more often than not fails to indicate at anything over 40 ftlbs. Fortunately, I've tightened enough bolts over the years that my spidey sense was tingling the first time I tried it on a 50 ftlbs bolt. It felt like I was giving it more than was needed, so I tried another wrench that I have, and it indicated at 60 ftlbs. So I was already 10lbs over.

[Chutzpah]

Originally Posted by Whitespeed

This is a good possibility. Some wrenches operate by a brief change in resistance to turning and not an audible click. It can be easy to miss. That said, it could be a bad wrench too. I have a $20 5 to 100 ftlbs wrench from Harbor Freight that more often than not fails to indicate at anything over 40 ftlbs. Fortunately, I've tightened enough bolts over the years that my spidey sense was tingling the first time I tried it on a 50 ftlbs bolt. It felt like I was giving it more than was needed, so I tried another wrench that I have, and it indicated at 60 ftlbs. So I was already 10lbs over.

Good thing having those Spidey senses…I’ve basically sworn off anything from Harbor Freight. The only tools I haven’t thrown out in anger / utter disgust are screwdrivers.

[Briland_1LE]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

First time using a torque wrench and you snapped a bolt. I think others have covered the possibilities.

This thread isn't covered in tears, so I assume it snapped in a way it was easy to back out the broken bolt?

So I actually haven't had it removed yet. I just tightened the other bolts to a reasonable amount that was far below the force I used to snap the first one. There are no air leaks or codes and the car runs great so I won't worry about it yet. I can feel the engine has a little more sense of urgency in the last couple thousand rpms.

[martelds]

I had the same problem, I have used a toque wrench maybe times. I understand the difference between Inch pounds and FT pounds but yet snapped a Intake Manifold bolt trying to get it torqued to 30 inch pounds. It was easy to get the bold out. This seems like a common problem. It really pissed me off.

[james72]

Originally Posted by HDRDTD

I went through a similar situation a few years ago when I changed the strut brace on my 2013 ZL1. The bolts are supposed to be torqued to 16 ft-lbs.

I went out and bought a twist-handle style torque wrench, but when I went to torque the bolts, I could tell I was pulling much harder than it should take and the wrench wouldn't click.

I finally bought and old style torque beam style torque wrench and it worked like a champ. You could watch the beam on the wrench deflect as you applied torque and watch it approach the 16ft-lbs mark.

I have inch/lb and ft/lb beam wrenches. My cousin has been a mechanic for decades and even though he has snap-on this and that...he still uses the beam torque wrenches as he doesn't trust any clickers including snap-on.

I asked him the markings only go say 5, 10, 20, 25, 30...what if you need 27 ft/lbs? he said you're more accurate giving it a little extra tug at 25 with a beam type than any of those clickers. Found that surprising.

The 2SS Convert I ordered isn't coming with the strut bar. Why pay GM $300 when I can order the same thing for $160 and do it myself...and I will be using the beam wrench to get those 16lbs..lol

[KingLT1]

Anything that requires 89in/lbs or 7.5ft lbs can be snugged down by hand in proper sequence... Just use blue loctite on the threads. Trying to use a torque wrench on that light shit is a joke.

[Briland_1LE]

Originally Posted by KingLT1

Anything that requires 89in/lbs or 7.5ft lbs can be snugged down by hand in proper sequence... Just use blue loctite on the threads. Trying to use a torque wrench on that light shit is a joke.

Thats a good tip I’ll remember that. I’m a mechanical engineer but I don’t have much experience on a torque wrench (lol) so I wanted to be super precise but…

[PMCamaro]

Working at a US tool manufacture for over 30 years, China tools will come back to bit you.. However, I have found that if you weld one end shut on a deep well socket it makes a great plug for your gas can,