sometimes little things go wrong- why?

[kwd509]

Mounting the 2a Throw-out mechanism involves replacing a joint washer and torquing 7 nuts (two sizes) to 10 and 15 ft-lbs. respectively. Started with the small self-locking nuts and to my shock the nuts disintegrated. Not seen this kind of failure in my limited experience........ some sort of metal fatigue? Or, is my cheapo torque wrench to blame (I've heard they can be inaccurate at the low end of their range)?

[mearstrae]

Sounds like the nuts were brittle, you can usually tighten a nut until it pulls out the threads without it shattering. (That is in 40 years of experience with such things...)

'95 R.R. Classic LWB
'76 Series III Hybrid 109
'70 Rover 3500S