Dip360 you did adjust the gauge for your length bolt I got to ask? And I like to set it so the gauge is bout 1/2 through its sweep for good tension and then zero it. The arp unit works flawless from the box with the tiny adjustment...
Sure did, great question to ask though.
Here is specifically what I do:
1) measure the free length of each bolt with my micrometer
- the challenge here is that I do not have a point tip on the micrometer and so the length is measured from the top of the head down to the end of the bolt, ideally I would rather match to how the stretch gauge is measuring (the pitfalls of being a DIY guy with a limitted precision toolset)
2) I zero the dial indicator for each bolt when it's not installed in the rod
3) I then torque the bolt and spot-check as per the torque steps I highlighted above
- I tighten both bolts on the rod, but only measure one, which means I repeat this step twice - once for each bolt
4) I then re-check the free length when the bolt it completely removed to see if it got stretched beyond it's capacity
I have my dial indicator about 3/4 through its sweep, leaving just enough to clear the bolt head. I was trying to get the higher spring tension at the top end of the sweep that way.
