im having a hard time splitting my scat rods...even putting the caps back in is pita...how am i suppose to used the plastigauge without smudging it if the caps are so tight...and dont want to hammer the bolts and mess up a thread....if they only had studs and not bolts...way easier..

 

They're supposed to be tight, the dowels locate them and keep them from shifting. It's ok to hit the bolts with a rubber mallet to separate the caps, it won't hurt anything. That's pretty much how it's done.

 

yea thanks...after playing with them i got the hang of seperating them..putting them together to check platigauge without smashing the platic took alot of trial and error..