I still use a torque wrench.... never had any issues...
I;m sure that one bolt you had would have been fine
if you torqued it... would have had the same clamping
force as the others... also I know my wrench is on
I have had it calibrated 4 times now and it still
shows good

Your very right MR P on just the TQ wrench alone, but it is a good backup to a point it seems.

I did my spray motor with a TQ wrench and no stretch check and have had no issues.

So what is one to do except do the best and try to avoid mistakes and bad parts.

Hey, Is a new TQ wrench say a Snap On and or Mac
cal. when new. Both mine are and ive been wondering if they are tested prior to sale???

I'll be honest and admit that I didn't bother using the new bolt stretch gauge I bought during my last rebuild because it seemed like a total PITA to use. I just strapped my ARP 8740s down to 65 #s (63 on Eagle's spec card + another 2 "just because") and went with it.

HOWEVER, I'll be going back through the same bottom end (and have another one that's in progress) and now plan to cross-check the stretch #s w/ the torque #s for peace of mind.

So can someone explain the process please ... do you use a torque wrench and watch the torque as well as the stretch ?? Seems to me you would have to otherwise you could theoretically have a bad bolt that would stretch the spec'd amount with only a few #s of torque !!

The problem that Ihad with the strech method, was when I received the rods with the bolts, they had already been torqued AT LEAST once, to hone the big ends of the rods. The strech method wants you to measure the bolt BEFORE being torqued, then measure as you are assembling. Or am I missing something, because I had no way of knowing what the bolts were originally torqued to, or the orig. length.
Brian