Yes, as you tighten the adjuster after taking out any slack at top dead center, the "preload" is the distance the lifter plunger is compressed. On a 20 thread per inch thread like the stovebolt adjuster uses, 1 turn of the adjuster after reaching the "zero-lash" point would compress the lifter plunger 1/20 of an inch, or approximately .050". That would allow the lifter height to compress or expand a little to compensate for length changes due to temperature.
Jerry

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