The torque spec on my new hydraulic brake calipers was way off from the manual

I was rebuilding a set of Shimano brakes last week and something bugged me. The little sticker on the caliper said 8 Nm for the mounting bolts. But the manual I pulled up online listed 10 Nm. I checked three different sources and they all disagreed. Turns out the newer version of the caliper has a different alloy in the bracket, so the spec changed. I torqued mine to 9 Nm as a middle ground, but now I'm wondering how many shops just slap them on with a hex key. Has anyone else noticed factory specs clashing between printed manuals and online databases? How do you decide which one to trust when they differ by that much?

2 comments

2 Comments

robinc603d ago

Is your torque wrench certified in the school of close enough?

patricia_hill602d ago

Close enough works until it doesn't, @robinc60, but a torque wrench that's off by 20% is just a really expensive breaker bar. Real calibration matters when your bolts hold something that can kill you if it lets go.