:behindsofa: :smow::moping:
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That's not an indexing mark really, its just a casting left-over. The Tab is just so it doesn't back off completely by itself.
That being said a of people do over tighten them, I like to just snug them with a ratchet and even then they can be tight to get off with heat cycling.
The tires... man that's always been a compromise for me. When I first got out of school I was all, "Torque Sticks and Torque Wrenches! Torque them wheels on! YEAH!" and was promptly laughed at and teased for months because of it. The reality is that the Flat-Rate system teaches all mechanics to just zap those wheels on, a little extra snug is better than loose because you're not getting paid enough for the oil change & rotation to do everything exactly and make hours (even more true with Toyota Auto-Care program.)
I can't say I'm not guilty of that or that I'm any better than the next guy who says, "I got a feel for it" (I kinda do, we tested it with a torque wrench; I'm usually only about 10-15ft over spec on wheels.) But it's just how the industry is, but when it comes to everything else most good mechanics bust out the torque wrench when it's needed (at least my co-workers and I do.)
Its hard because the reality is that the "higher-up" mechanics don't want to do "Lube-Line" stuff because it actually hurts our hours and pay check directly. But then you have all these typically under-trained, under-motivated, and/or under-skilled Lube Techs servicing customer vehicles and they don't often do the best job. Which sucks, because how is that customer supposed to feel confident in leaving their car with us, when they get their vehicles back with oil spots and loose filters and such. It's just how the industry has evolved and honestly it has always bothered me a bit. Part of it is on the customers (in general) who would rather spend $30 at Jiffy Lube for a 10 minute oil change than $50 for a half-hour/hour oil change done by someone who will actually care and make the effort to look and take care of the vehicle. The other part is the dealerships focusing on quantity over quality despite lauding they don't. Its always "don't rush, take your time, make it quality... but get it done in 10 minutes and get the Multi-Point on my desk in the first 2 minutes so I can nail them for up-sells when they can't run away."
My personal opinion is that oil changes should be at least .5hrs for a tech and give us the opportunity to make money while taking our time for up-sells, evaluating the vehicle, and applying detail touches (i.e. actually wiping down the valve cover/beauty cover, torquing the wheels properly, ect) But
the reality is then the company doesn't make as much money, customers feel like they're getting ripped off because Jiffy Lube down the street does it in 10minutes for half the price (even though that probably means they're just dumping used oil in the engine instead of good oil and not tightening the wheels.) Its all about them Benjamins, even most independent shops get stuck in this sort of industry accepted rut, only the higher end shops that can afford to spend the time and money per customer often have the whole "velvet rope" treatment.
