So my baffle came today and I wont to drill and tap holes but in the instructions it does not say how far down to drill the holes.Was wondering how you guys did the install. Chris
What size are the bolts? A good rule of thumb is a minimum thread engagement of 1.5x the diameter of the bolt (e.g., a M12 bolt should have at least 18 mm of thread engagement).
Like Ben said drill it all the way through and tap the holes. Don't forget to use loctite on the bolts before you install them, you don't want those suckers backing out inside the engine.
There isn't enough meat in this area for that rule........but they are under 0 pressure. I had to bend mine in a few spots to clear the block and lifters. Just drill and tap straight.......there isn't alot of flex or wiggle room.......I would do 1 hole then snug it and the use the bolt tube as a pilot to do the second so you know they are inline. I drilled both of mine at once after just marking and had to reem the tube hole as I was off a twiddle
Even at zero pressure, I think they'll still experience vibratory loads. Like 1969RIVI said, threadlocker should probably be used to mitigate the risk of the bolts shaking loose. According to TA's catalog, they're only 1/4" UNC bolts so if there's not enough material for at least 0.25" (ideally 0.375") of thread engagement, I'd probably switch out the bolts that come in the kit with UNF bolts just to get that little bit of extra.
I have the same T/A baffle on my 350. It’s a good piece, but really it should be installed on a bare block first, also did not like the idea of the nuts hanging over the camshaft. I really don’t see how it can be installed on an assembled engine, I’d be leery of dropping lock washers and nuts onto the moving assembly’s
Hey Mark the bolts just thread into the block when you drill and tap it. They're not long enough to use the nuts. I think TA puts them on just to hold all the parts together for packaging and shipping purposes only.
The nuts are only attached to hold all the hardware in place during shipping. The washer and lockwasher are all that is needed, along with loctite..........
Way back (few years ago) when I was speaking with Mike about Buick stuff, he said “I’m gonna send yah one of our baffles for the 350” I had asked how do you attach it, he replied “ I think you should be able to weasel a nut onto the screw” I said “ you mean I have to drill thru the block?” He said “yes catch as much of the iron as you can” I didn’t like that idea, so I tried epoxying a couple threaded inserts, well that didn’t work, when I pulled the engine a month or so ago the front insert had lifted from the valley, always wondered what this rattling was at the front and under my intake Guess I gotta find another way. Is there enough meat to drill and tap threads in the valley to secure just a bolt??
I haven't ever installed the TA baffle, but that doesn't stop me from thinking about a fix. Is Rivnut an option? Requires a bigger hole, but may be a more permanent solution if thread locker doesn't do the job. In general, the stretch on a fastener is the clamping force needed to stay, but in this case the danger is pulling the threads out of the block before proper stretch. Lock washers & Loctite are all good, but thinking about other possibilities. Thought about some of the epoxy stuff too. https://www.rivetnutusa.com/rivnut-rivet-nut/ Devon
A concern I'd have about epoxies is how well they'd hold up to 220ish° F engine oil, especially if the oil being used has a bunch of additives or detergents in it. On the other hand, plenty of people have used epoxy to make lifter bore girdles so there must be a viable product available. I'm probably biased because I'm crazy for my '72 Riviera, but it seems like rivnuts could be effective but with a couple of caveats: 1) The OD of the head of the rivnut would have to be at least as big as the OD of the spacer. 2) If the rivnut extends outside the bottom of the hole, I wonder if the unsupported area would induce a loss of clamp load.
Unless the 350 design is much different, there was enough meat on the bbb, just drill, tap, and then once final wash is done put loctite on an snug it up ...nothing hard about this. I dobt think u would want to drill and tap a together motor........butni guess a shop vac but the bit, lots of grease changed often on the tap and you would catch most of it
I have attached a thread I started back in 2016, .... hope it's informative. https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?t...lley-baffle-tray-from-t-a-performance.315153/ Larry
