Hey Vortex.

Sent in my 2.5-10 PST SFP.  Bought it used and it came with a super loose illum potentiometer; the dial spun relatively freely and shorted out, the result being the reticle illumination was inconsistent.

Anyway, I sent it in and you guys replaced the scope, as usual, kickass warranty that I greatly appreciate.

However, the notes in the box said that the scope was replaced due to "damage caused by over-torqueing scope rings."  

In the interest of me mounting this scope correctly, I will be using the torque values prescribed by the rings.  But how can torque on the main tube affect the illum dial on the ocular bell?  Are they one piece of aluminum, or separate (figured the mag ring being between the two parts meant they are separate).

Thanks.

Hey there - great question. It's likely that was not the only issue found by the technicians. Usually if an optic is replaced, the technician normally lists the cause of the replacement. It's possible in this case that there was an erector system impingement from over torqueing the rings that caused an unrepairable issue rendering them to replace the optic and list what they did on the service order slip. This would have no bearing on the illumination ring, just simply the reason the optic was replaced and unrepairable. An illumination dial is a fairly easy replacement, so most likely there was an internal issue found upon inspection.