It cost about $800 to $1000 to do this; including parts and labor. Click on a Picture to enlarge.
| Installation Description |
Tiger N505
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Tiger N9242Z
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Cheetah N6299U
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| I had to make all new cylinder baffles. The original ones were bent and cracked beyond repair. All baffle parts were powder coated prior to assembly. Notice the misfit between the baffles |  |
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| It's gone in this photo. I trim the baffles to be perfectly in line. As odd as it seems, the factory drawings show the same misfit. Not only that, but the rear of the baffle is abouot 1/2 inch too short. The baffle the oil cooler attaches to is the correct height. |  |
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| Here is the right side; finished and ready to fit the baffle seals. On 9242Z, I trimmed the right baffles down some also. Over the years, I've noticed that the baffles on the right side chafe against the upper cowling. They are about 3/8 inches too tall toward the front. . . . . . Look at just about any Tiger (and possibly the Cheetah too) and youwill see the right baffle seal has been crushed between the upper cowling and #1 metal cylinder baffle. . . . . . Whoever was responsible for approving the baffle installation, during the original design process, either didn't know what he was doing or he was just plain lazy. |
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| Notice the pop-rivet. This keeps the baffles aligned. |  |
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| N505: Then I spread the baffles (notice the spacing between them) and put a piece of masking tape approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch down front to rear. N9242Z: Here are a couple of shots of preparation and installation of the cylinder baffle seals. The trick is to spread the baffles (there is a trick to that too) so the top of the metal baffles are aligned. I use a straight edge. The baffle seal is pre-punched for 5 evenly spade rivets per metal baffle. The center two (one on each metal baffle) are about 1 1/4 inches apart. |
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| N505: Then I cement the baffle seal down with RTV 732 and let it set 24 hours. The baffle seal and the mating surface on the baffle must be thoroughly cleaned with DX330 wax and grease remover or the seal won't stick. N9242Z: Another shot of the baffles with respect to the straight edge. |
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| Trial fit. I notch the seal where the baffles bend. Notice how the baffle seal has a natural bend to it. This relieves a great deal of the chaffing against the upper cowling and yet provides an excellet seal to the upper cowling. On 42Zulu, the steel oil cooler brace was so badly corroded, I couldn't just leave it. Here are before and after bead blasting the corrosion off. The brace was then powder coated. |
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| Another view of the seal on the left side. The right side of the engine looks the same. The seal has a natural bend to it using this approach. When you close the cowling, you know it'll be in place. The seal was riveted on with broad head pop-rivets during final assembly. I captured a shot of the right side on 42Zulu |
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| N505; Then I start on the front baffle. Lotsa work getting to this point. What you don't see, and which I didn't take pictures of, are the many hours spent using a chemical stripper to get all of the old paint off and then bead blasting them and then having all of these parts powder coated. N9242Z: I removed about 9/16 of an inch from this corner. It still chafed a little after it was done. |
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| N505: I replaced the seal around the cabin heat inlet because it was very dry and brittle. This is the back side. The baffle seal on either side of the muffler opening protects the baffle from chafing on the muffler. N9242Z: Repaired right forward baffle. |
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| Another shot of the front. I had to replace the entire right (as you're looking at it) side of the front baffle. It had been worn through a number of times and patched. It was way beyond repair. |  |
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| With the baffle seal installed, prior to to cutting the slits in it for fitting against the nose bowl. Use broad head pop-rivets. Rivet from the seal side and you won't have to f*ck with little washers to hold the seal in place. |  |
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| N505: The center section. I overlap a good 2 inches in the corners. N9242Z: One common location for cracking is where the baffle stand-off ataches. This one got a reinforcement. |
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| N505: Right side showing the initial installation N9242Z: Another common are for cracks, but only on pre-'77 AA5B's, is the forward attach on the right baffle. I believe this is due, in large part, to the lower cowling being formed wrong on these planes. See next picture . . . |
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| N505: Here is the nose bowl. I set the front baffle in it, completely assembled (including the baffle seal), to see how it'll all fit together. N9242Z: The lower right baffle hits the lower right side of the nose bowl. I've seen several of these chafed on pre-'77 AA5Bs. |
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| N505: If you look closely, you can see the seal as it goes behind the landing light. The seal must be shortened in this area or it'll bunch up when installed. N9242Z: Kind of out-of-place, but, this is the right side. |
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| N505: Another shot of this area N9242Z: This is how I find the center of the baffles across the back. The string stretches from the firewall mount to the center of the forward cowling attachment. I then cut a slot for the upper cowl hinge. |
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| N505: This is the toughest part to get a good seal. The original designers of the baffle system should have spent more time laying out the shape here to simplify the sealing. A lot of leaks can occur here. Lots of corners to seal. N9242Z: Sealing against the center hinge. |
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| N505: Another closeup of the other side. N9242Z: Sealing against the center hinge. |
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| N505: Here is the baffle that goes around the bottom of the cylinders. I put a pop-rivet where the safety wire will go and drive out the pop-rivet mandrel. This leaves a very strong hole which will not tear through like the original hole and fine wire sping did. N9242Z: Sealing against the center hinge. |
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| N505: Another shot of the reinforced holes. N9242Z: There is a trick to getting the (stupid) corner to seal. Fold over the seal and rivet it to the baffle. This also works on the corner where the oil cooler is. |
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| N505: This center baffle is on both sides. Notice where it has worn through. I use RTV 732 wherever I've noticed any wear. let it set for 24 hrs before handing the part. I also reinforce these holes. N9242Z: This is what all the seals looked like when I started. Left Front. |
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| N505: Here the baffles on #2 are tied together with 0.032 safety wire. This is the #4 cylinder. This is how the factory set it up. It's smaller around the cylinder barrel than the others. It's possible the opening is too small. This is definitely are area for research. The SCAT tubing from the front baffle partially blocked the outlet for #4 cylinder head so I relocated the tubing. N9242Z: Can you believe it? Some dumb ass made baffles out of 20 gauge galvanized steel. Not only that, there was a 1/8 to 1/4 inch gap between the cylinder baffles. I was able to reduce CHTs by 70 degrees! |
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| This is the # 3 cylinder. The safety wire is kinked to tighten it and to provide some spring constant where practical.. N9242Z: Here is a shot of #3 cylinder baffle showing how it's safety wired together.. |
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| Another shot of #4 where the air exits from the cylinder head. N9242Z: Here is a shot of #4 cylinder baffle showing how it's safety wired together.. |
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| N505; Here is #2 cylinder looking up. N9242Z: On this one, you can see what the original baffle seal looked like. You can also see the corrosion left by the steel oil cooler brace. This plane had been through a lot of annuals by mechanics that have no idea what they are doing. I see more crap like this than you can imagine. |
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| N505: Here is the seal on the left rear baffle to the engine. The area behind the case bolt is usually open. There is a lot of custom fitting here since the factory never sealed this very well. N9242Z: An extra picture of the seal behind the oil pressure relief valve. |
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| Here is the right side. Again, the factory never paid any attention to the big gaping hole in this corner. Two different seals were used to fill this area. it's difficult to see in this picture. |
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| Another view of the left rear seal. This was prior to notching for the cowling. that part was left until everything was assembled so that the notch would be in the right spot. 6299U: A view through the left inlet |
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| N505: Left side. Finished. N9242Z: Here are a couple of shots of the left hand baffles. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, "THERE IS NO REASON TO BEND THE HELL OUT OF THE METAL BAFFLES IN ORDER TO MAKE THE SEAL FIT AGAINST THE UPPER COWLING." Every time I read about someone with a "FIX" for getting the baffles to lay down so the cowling can be closed in the first place . . . all I can think of is, "If they only knew what they were doing to begin with." |
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| Another shot of the seal at the rear of the engine. |  |
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| N505 & N9242Z: Right side sealing. The corner (in the under the cowling hinge) is difficult to get right. I overlap from both directions. If you look closely, you'll see where the seal from the left side of the engine tucks under the seal from the right side. They both fit snugly toger with the cowling closed. N6299U: A view through the inlet |
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| Right side cylinder baffle seal. The baffling is finished. I tried taking some pics into the air inlet with the cowling closed but I couldn't get enough light in there to make the pictures come out right. You'll notice the baffle seal appears contoured to the curvature of the cowling. It is not necessary to bend the hell out of the metal baffles in order to get the seals to fit snug against the upper cowling. |
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| N8571V: Here is the splitter I made for my Citabria between the #4 cylinder and the oil cooler. The combination of this and a Stewart-Warner 8406R oil cooler dropped the oil temp by 15 degrees F. Most planes I see: The bolts are installed backward. The nust are supposed to be tightened. Installed this way, the nuts would be a pain in the ass to tighten. |
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| Here are a couple of pics (first pic on this row and the first one on the next row.) that I requested from a Tiger owner. He complained of high CHTs. Gee. I wonder why. 6299U: This is what I had to start with. |
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| (first pic): see above. 6299U: Some more of the stuff I started with on this plane. |
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