Alright...so I thought I'd try to "elevate" my game (LOL, some will agree, some will ridicule, for me it was worth a lesson learned to do so) and decided to take the connecting rod bolt stretch approach this time around.

So here is the thing, I have Eagle H-beam rods which use their ARP 2000 bolts (supposed to be a Eagle spec bolt). I got myself a nice rod bolt stretch gauge, along with a nice 0.0005" Mitutoyo digital dial indicator. Even picked up a connecting rod vise. So far so good.

The free length measured out just fine, no problem, I can spin the bolt while mounted in the gauge and the indicator shows no fluctuation. My dial indicator uses a round shaped tip.

OK, so I toss the rod into my connecting rod vise, tighten and spot-check. The Eagle spec is 75 ft-lbs for a total stretch of 0.0064-8". Now here is the source of frustration: no matter how I hold the gauge with the indicator in it, no matter if I actualy remove the whole rod from the vise and measure that way, the readings on my indicator vary by more than 0.020"...so yeah, it's all over the freaking place!!! It's like I can't find the proper 'center' fit against the rod bolt.

I have a small assortment of indicator tips...you know, round, flat, pointed (cone), etc. So I tried the cone tip thinking that maybe my rounded one was moving around on me too much (which it seems like it was). Still, readings are no better!

No way was I expecting this to be so much of a PITA...it should be much simpler, so what am I missing here? Technique maybe??? Yeah, it's my first time trying this, but holy smokes...one shouldn't need a PhD. to pull this off...right? LOL

Help me out here...what have you guys used as far as setups go, and what do I need to watch out for in order to make my results repeatable?