I figured I'd save some cash and grabbed one of those Pittsburgh torque wrenches for like $60 last month. Used it on a job torquing landing gear bolts on a Cessna 172 and something felt off. Double-checked with my coworker's Snap-on and it was off by almost 15 ft-lbs. Has anyone else had issues with those budget wrenches on critical hardware?
I had this old-timer at my first shop in Tulsa, must have been 30 years in. He used zip ties for everything, even safety wiring clamps that were screaming for lock wire. One day I watched him zip tie a fuel line bracket on a King Air 200 and I asked him why not use the proper clamps. He just looked at me and said 'it's held for 15 years, kid, don't overthink it.' It bugged me for weeks because our lead inspector would have flipped if he saw it. Has anyone else run into mechanics who just do their own thing no matter what the manual says?
I was doing a routine annual on a plane out of Van Nuys airport and spotted a hairline crack near the battery box. It ran about 3 inches along the lower firewall edge. Apparently the previous shop didn't tighten the battery hold-down properly and vibration did the rest. Anyone else ever caught something like this on a high-time airframe?
An old lead mechanic told me to have my torque wrench checked every 6 months, not just when it felt off. After a landing gear bolt came loose on a 737 at 20,000 hours, I finally listened. Anyone else caught skipping calibration till it bites you?
I was doing a routine check near the rudder pedals and found one of the push-pull cables had frayed through about 80 percent. Has anyone else run into hidden corrosion inside those conduit housings before they show external signs?
I figured a little seepage was no big deal until I saw the honeycomb panel delamination under a galley cart. Has anyone else found weird damage from what seemed like a tiny drip?
Was grabbing a coffee at the hangar break room Tuesday morning and overheard one of the new guys talk about torquing cylinder base nuts to yield on a Continental. Made me stop and think back to when I started in '98, we just torqued everything to a number and called it good. Now these kids have angle gauges and spec sheets for stuff we never even touched. Makes me wonder how many engines I got away with back then just by feel and a beam wrench. Has anyone else noticed how much the overhaul procedures have changed even in the last ten years?
I walked over to help a new kid finishing up a Cessna 172 brake job, and I noticed he had a tube of Aeroshell 5 right next to the calipers. He thought a little grease would help the pads slide in easier, you know, like on a car. I had to stop him before he closed everything up and explain that grease on brake pads means zero friction and a very short flight. Has anyone else seen a rookie try something like this on a simple job?
I read the manual for a 737 landing gear retraction test last night and realized that attitude is exactly why we have a whole drawer full of cherry max bucked tails, so has anyone else actually seen a non-spec bolt cause a failure or is it just the boogeyman story they tell in A&P school?
Spent all afternoon chasing a pressure drop on a Cessna 172 at KMHT, swapped filters and everything, only to realize it was a hairline fracture right under a zip tie I had checked twice. Anyone else get tunnel vision and miss the obvious stuff for way too long?
I was swapping a starter on a 737 at Hartsfield last month and this old mechanic walked by and saw me using a click torque wrench. He told me I was doing it wrong, said you gotta slowly pull the wrench, not jerk it, to get the real reading. I checked on a test stand after and sure enough my torque was off by like 8 foot-pounds on most fasteners. Anyone else ever had their torque technique busted by a veteran?
I always thought sharpening drill bits was a waste of time. I figured just buy new ones for $8 a pack at Harbor Freight and call it a day. Then last month I was working on a Cessna 172 panel at work in Phoenix and my coworker Steve handed me this old dull bit he had fixed up on a bench grinder. I drilled through that aluminum like butter. It took him maybe 2 minutes to do it. I looked up the cost of a good set of carbide bits and it's like $60 for five. So now I'm thinking I should learn how to sharpen. But the jigs I see online cost anywhere from $20 to $200. Has anyone here actually used one of those cheap drill doctor things or is a bench grinder with a cheap fixture the way to go?
I always used the budget torque wrench from the truck sale, figured they all do the same job. Last month I borrowed a Snap-on from a coworker to torque some cylinder head bolts on a 172. The difference in feel was night and day, the Snap-on clicked way more precisely and I didn't second guess each bolt. That cheap wrench had me over-torquing by at least 5 ft-lbs each time without knowing it. Has anyone else had a similar wakeup call with a tool upgrade, or is it just me?
Third engine this month on the midnight shift at KDAL and the #3 cylinder plug just seized up on me. Tried the usual penetrating oil and a gentle back and forth, but it twisted clean off. Had to spend 2 hours extracting it with a reverse thread kit and now the customer is breathing down my neck about the delay. Anyone got a go-to trick for these stubborn plugs before I lose my mind?
I dropped $400 on a so-called professional grade ultrasonic cleaner six months ago because everyone on here swore it was the best way to clean fuel injectors and small parts. After maybe ten uses the heating element gave out, and the company basically told me tough luck since the warranty only covers manufacturing defects. Now I'm back to using mineral spirits and a stiff brush, which takes a bit more elbow grease but costs maybe $30 a month. That cleaner just sits on my shelf collecting dust now, and I feel like an idiot for not just sticking with what worked. Has anyone else found a better budget method for cleaning small components that doesn't break the bank?
Had a 737 come in Wednesday with a stuck APU bleed valve that wouldn't budge after the usual PB Blaster and heat. Tried the old pry bar trick with a drift punch and still nothing, felt like I was gonna snap the bracket. Ended up soaking it in Kroil overnight and used a 4-foot cheater bar with steady pressure this morning, popped free with a loud crack. Felt good to get it done without having to cut the damn thing out. Anyone else run into these valves that feel like they're welded in place?
Had a chat with an old A&P last week who said he sees more electrical fires from loose battery terminals than anything else, and it hit different because I always just snugged them by feel. Has anyone else found a brand of terminal clamps that actually hold torque better than the cheap ones?
I was down in Tucson last month hunting for a cheap GPU box and stumbled onto an old 737 panel with all the original steam gauges still in it. Has anyone else ever come across random vintage cockpit parts just sitting in a yard?
Used to just balance blades by feel and call it good, but last year I got lazy on a Bell 206 and skipped the track and balance check after a blade swap. Three weeks later the vibration was so bad it cracked the grip bushing and I had to send the whole head out to Airtech in Tulsa. Does anyone else run a portable balancer like the Chadwick after every install now?
I had this King Air come in with an intermittent mag drop. Compressor checks were fine, swapped plugs, still there. Turned out to be a wire rubbed through inside the harness behind the firewall. Probably 2 hours of actual troubleshooting stretched across 3 days because I kept second guessing myself. Did a continuity test 4 times before I finally pulled the harness open and saw the copper. Anyone else ever chase a gremlin like that and feel dumb after?
Working on a 737 in Atlanta. Got a flickering NAV light on the right wing. Guess I was too quick to blame the ballast. Chased wiring for 5 hours before I realized it was just a bad ground pin in the connector. One crimp fixed it. Anyone else spend way too long on something that simple?
Was doing a compression check on a IO-360 engine yesterday afternoon and the cabin temp was pushing 95. My little battery powered Ryobi fan died on me after 10 minutes. Ended up using a shop vac on blow mode to cool the cylinders between tests and it actually worked. Anyone else got a cheap trick for staying cool in the hangar in summer?
Guy named Dave from Continental who's been doing this since the 80s watched me torque a cylinder base nut. Said I was going too slow and that the torque spec is for when the bolt is already warm from fast turning. Said I been undertorquing everything for years by taking my time. Anyone else ever get told this?