The Factory Service Manual is better than Chiltons or Haynes. It's available from your dealer, some bookstores, or possibly some places online. Most manuals don't cover aftermarket parts though. The mounting points for a strut bar should just use factory torque specs though. You shouldn't have to "tension" most bars.

Did your bar not come with installation instructions? Are they not available on a mfr website or through a phonecall?

 

Thanks Kommando, that was useful. I don't know, I haven't seen the brace yet, it may come with torque specs but I doubt it.

So what are the factory torque specs? This is for how much I should tighten the two adjustment bolts on either side..

 

Honestly man, it's not that big a deal. You're not trying to pull the two sides together, you're trying to add to the rigidity of the frame by stiffening up that area. So just do them till they're tight with a half inch drive wrench or something. If it was like wheel torquing, I'd say something different, but this is a non important spec and even if they did come lose (highly unlikely) nothing would happen.

 

Yeah thats a great idea until you strip the holes [:@]


OP, Find the Torque Specs

 

 

Thanks Solid_Snake, but I don't think people understand what I'm talking about. Let me explain in laymans terms.

In the below image I have illustrated two adjustment bolts. This adjusts the horizontal tightness of the brace.

This is why I am confused as to why people think something like this will be in any manual, unless there is a specific modification manual for my car, which I doubt.



Thanks for all your help, I think I will just tighten it untill I feel resistance.

 

OK. Now that we've seen a picture of what you're talking about, that model of bar DOES have tension adjusters. Those will NOT be covered in something like a service manual. They should be covered in the mfr's installation instructions, or available from the mfr by website or phonecall.