by The Roadie » Wed Mar 12, 2014 4:07 pm
If you're trying to use the allen hex recess, start spraying it with PB Blaster a couple of days in advance. The basic insane design of these links is the hex recess makes the threaded part weaker with a thinner wall. And the amount of torque you can develop with the allen wrench before it spins in the recess is tiny. You can attempt to strengthen the threaded stud wall by putting a nut on it to increase the effective wall thickness, but why bother? You're going to throw it away later. Installing the link using the hex recess is usually not necessary, since the nut snugs up nicely without your having to hold the stud. Another trick to make sure they don't get noisy later is to severely OVERtorque the nuts you put on, and use loctite.