I hope someone can help me with this, i just swaped my stock heads with trickflow alu heads and i'm almost finished building it back up.

But the orginal bolt wich mounted the topside of the alternator doesnt fit in the head, the mounting hole is slightly larger in diameter than the original bolt.

Does anybody wich bolt i have to use for that ? The size not the length. Problem is over here it isnt easy to get the bolts for us cars (we use another thread on them over here).

 

this probably is not any help but they use a reducer thing. you screw it into the big hole and then the small bolt screws into it.

 

are you talking about a helicoil? Ive never purchased brand new aluminum heads but my guess would be that if it was meant to have a helicoil in it it would be in it when it was purchased...

 

"Meant"? The head is being used in a different application than it was manufactured for. Put a $2 helicoil in there and it'll match the car.

For the Netherlander, I would recommend Glazier Nolan. They enjoy sending parts to Europe, and the bolts you need could be sent inexpensively. Must be a real pain using SAE bolts in a metric country. Both are common here, so no big deal either way. What's weird is the '97 vehicle I drive every day was built with both. Now that's a pain.

 

Contact the manufacturer of the heads, they should be able to tell you the size and thread count of the hole. Or you could use a drill and micrometer to measure it to at least get the diameter. Once you have the size locating a bolt should be easy enough, I'll mail you one if you can't find it.

I would think about putting in a helicoil if for no other reason that the alternator bolt is subject to vibration and requires a pretty fair amount of torquing to lock it down. A steel helicoil would prevent the stripping of the aluminum threads. Either way the size has to be determined.

 

i was not referring to a helicoil. there is an actual fitting that reduces the size of the hole. kinda like shimming it up!! i will look and see if i have one. if i do, you are welcome to it.

 

You are quite right, it is a screw-in solid item.

 

The Trick Flow heads should have come with two of them. Why only two, I'm not exactly sure, but you generally need four. They're Thermactor air injection blockoff fittings and should be available from most common (american) parts stores, as well as a Ford dealership. Glazier's may be an easier route if you live in europe.

 

Can't speak of this issue specifically, but I have had a little experience with this working on stock heads for big block Chevy's.

BBC heads are totally interchangeable from one side to the other, (as are SBF heads), but depending on which head is used where, the majority of the mounting holes in the FRONT of the passenger side head can be either 7/16" OR 3/8".

I built my first BBC and "discovered" this issue when I was trying to mount the alternator with the stock 3/8" bolt. Since switching the heads was not going to happen, I just drilled out the bracket, and used a 7/16" bolt... ta-da...

Might be a similar issue with the t/w heads? Maybe a similar solution?

 

I supposed you could do that, but I opted for the Thermactor plugs. I don't trust a bolt to seal those holes up adequately.