Don’t quite understand, I’m positive if I didn’t use a torque wrench I would over tighten
I agree with the others on this....get to know the "feel." Using a torque wrench especially on small bolts will often end up snapping them because the bolt is already old and stretched. Sometime take a bolt and insert it in a part and test your feel for tightening it to a given number....say, 7 ft. lbs. for a small stud bolt. Then put a torque wrench on it and see how far off you are, if at all. The header studs on the Valk, I've never used a torque wrench, same with the small intake runner bolts that go into the head. The 1200 has a ton of small bolts the same size as the Valk intake runners, I have yet to use a torque wrench and have yet to have a leak of either oil or coolant. On non-critical stuff, just because the book calls for a specific torque number doesn't mean it has to be exactly that number. Just don't go over that number due to the size of the bolt and not necessarily because that's the amount of torque needed to do the job right or make that part function properly. Obviously, when it comes to engine assembly...torquing con-rods, crank bearing caps, heads, etc., out comes the torque wrench. But there have been many times in the past when I didn't have a torque wrench available so had to reassemble without it. Still never had an engine come apart.
And FWIW, using grease on threads often times will cause you to reach an incorrect torque number too early in the tightening process. As Bill mentioned, I'll use a slight amount of anti-seize, just a small dab and let the screwing in cause it to spread to all the threads. The main thing in most cases is you don't want a layer of grease to build up under the head of a bolt. It won't compress properly and gives a false reading.
