200 ft-lbs is very tight, I don't remember a single bolt on my car requiring that and I've replaced the entire suspension, control arms and bushings.

I work on my own car and rarely worry about exact torque specs. Once you've worked on a few cars you get a feel for what's tight enough. Plus if you use thread lock on the bolts that require it there's less worry if you're off torque a bit.

The only time I worry about torque specs is when tightening bolts into the aluminum block as I don't want to strip the block. Done that once, it sucks.

x2

I replaced the tie rod ends on my GF's car and was under the car yanking on a pipe wrench with all my force, including pushing against a wall with my feet.

When I do this I do take an extra measure incase the car slips off the jack stands. I throw the wheels under the car near the frame, that way if the car falls off the stands it won't completely crush me. Old trick my father taught me, works great for changing the spare on the side of the road with the crappy jack that comes with most cars that is prone to slip/break.

^What it amounts to is understanding how to safely jack up a car, so that if it does slip off the jack stands your safe. Personally I use 4 jack stands, wheels under the frame, I chalk the wheels well and I never work on my car alone; at the very least I make sure my gf is chillin inside just incase I do have an accident.

$89.99 for a torque wrench capable of 250ft/lbs from Canadian tire, its not Snap-On or Mac quality, but more than good enough for any home owner.

I wouldn't worry as much about the torque as I would pre-loading the bushings. Many bushings on control arms need to be tightened with the full weight of the vehicle on the wheel so the suspension is compressed to its "normal" ride height.

This is the "corner" most shops cut to save time - they just tighten everything up while the car is in the air and the suspension is hanging.

Do show us which one it is.. that is capable of 250 ft/lb as you suggest, not in/lb. That's a huge difference (factor of 12). I hope you don't mix between ft/lb and in/lb when you did your suspension, of course with if you are only apply in/lb you can do it underneath the car.

250ft/lb = 3000 in/lb conversely 250 in/lb ~ 20 ft/lb

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

Your right, that is in/lbs, I didn't read the website that carefully. No, I didn't mistake in/lb for ft/lb when I was working on my suspension, thanks.

ya

Most shops will not torque to spec, they will torque well beyond spec. Most 12-14mm suspension bolts will be torqued with an impact well beyond 200 ft/bs and likely far short of any torque that would damage these bolts. Its pretty uncommon for shops to literally torque every bolt they touch to spec. They only do it when/where it counts. Axel nuts on the S2K for example MUST be torqued to a certain spec, not enough causes common axel problems on these cars etc. Just make sure if you need an exact spec that you specify this to the techs so it isnt overlooked or ignored.