ITB woes... stupid question inside as well

[newaccorddriver]

well, my ITB project has finally given me the first problem. i bought a set of R1 throttle bodies for use when i finish my rebuild and get my car on the road. i took out the stock injectors and thought to myself, those are some pretty big holes to fill up. i ran to the local hardware store and picked up some plumbing fittings. my original idea was to use those fittings to get a somewhat more individual vacuum signal over to megasquirt. i looked at the fitting and i bought a cheap tap and die set that i found in a liquidation center. when i got home, i drilled out the injector holes a bit more and started to tap the hole. regardless of what i tried, the plumbing fitting i had just didnt seem to want to go in, so in a fit of rage, i decided to drill out those threads in all 4 holes i tapped.

this project isnt going anywhere nice, so i guess im kinda stuck with a lump of garbage now, but as a last ditch effort, would i be able to braze the 2 metals together? or better yet, how strong is the solder that we use on our pipes in our homes? as stupid as it sounds, if the latter of the 2 would be able to withstand temperatures of an engine bay(which i believe it should), and be able to seal up the connection(which i believe it should), then it should work right? i called up a friend who just happens to be a welder, since he is out of town, i left him a message. im not sure when hes coming back into town, but id like to know if i have a big piece of paperweight in my room ASAP so i can go on ebay again

[jigga89SEi]

is it aluminum? if so no braze it'll need an aluminum weld. so both metals have to be aluminum... are the fittings you got pipefittings? if so the have a tapered thread, that might be why your having so much trouble... if you had pics it't be much easier to come up with a POA...

[shepherd79]

you may be able to get away with alumaloy. I bought some for a project and i have no use for it anymore. If you want it is yours. asking $25 shipped.

[Vanilla Sky]

you can't solder aluminum. it has a different expansion rate, and the solder just doesn't stick all that well. you'll get a nice set of cracks if you do manage to get it soldered.

make sure you have the correct tap for the pipe fitting. i don't think that they are standard pitch, so you may need a new set of taps for pipe fittings.

[cygnus x-1]

Yeah, pics would help.

As with most taps you have to use the right size. And since pipe taps are tapered you have to turn the tap in to the right depth or you end up with a hole that's too large or too small.

What I would do is to get some aluminum brazing rod and try to braze a plug into the holes. Then you can drill and tap again.

C|

[newaccorddriver]

Yeah, pics would help.

As with most taps you have to use the right size. And since pipe taps are tapered you have to turn the tap in to the right depth or you end up with a hole that's too large or too small.

What I would do is to get some aluminum brazing rod and try to braze a plug into the holes. Then you can drill and tap again.

C|

i just figured out how the taps work, kinda a bad time to figure it out though

i was thinking of getting aluminum brazing rods and stick that fitting in there while i braze around it. hopefully the aluminum would fall in place, and hole the fitting in there.

[Ichiban]

Why not simply buy some bolts of a known thread pitch and size, and then the tap? ie M12x1.25. NTP threads are tapered, and they are also sized way differently than any bolt. A 1/2" UNC 13 bolt is 1/2" at the major diameter of the thread. A 1/2 " NPT street fitting (don't ask why they are called that) is designed to accomodate pipe with a 1/2" laminar flow path. Anyways, I'm betting you still have enough room to drill, tap and install bolts. If you need help with tap drill sizes or anything else, let me know. Remember to turn the tap in about 1/2-3/4 turns, then back out 1/2 turn to break the chips, or else the threads will peel out of the bore.

[newaccorddriver]

ive used taps before, and i know how to use them properly

the main problem is that ive went so far out on the tapping portion, that simply drilling and retapping it wont make much of a difference as the fittings would just slide in and out without turning. the main reason why i dont want to use a bolt to cover it up is cause i need a good source for vacuum for megasquirt. they already have ports for vacuum, but i plan to use those for other purposes, so i need to open up 4 more from the injector bungs. i COULD tee off those lines, but the actual diameter of the hose is too small...

[theDougler]

you can braze 2 different metals together using a special filler metal depending on what the part is made of. If it is aluminum best would be to mig or tig it on. You also need to take into account temp and how much force or fatigue is applied to the part. If there is minimal forces you may get away using alumaloy

[newaccorddriver]

it will be seeing upwards of 15PSI and engine bay temperatures, so i dont think alumaloy would work so well under these conditions

[theDougler]

its probably best to weld or braze a sleeve in the holes that you drilled out

[cygnus x-1]

it will be seeing upwards of 15PSI and engine bay temperatures, so i dont think alumaloy would work so well under these conditions

I've never used Alumalloy but I can't imagine that it wouldn't hold up to 15 PSI and engine temperatures (250 degrees at the most for an intake). 15PSI is nothing and 250 degrees is not much above the boiling point of water.

Anyway you have basically two options, drill and tap for a larger fitting or plug the holes and drill out the plug for a smaller size fitting.

C|

[newaccorddriver]

i accidentally drilled a hole through the bung itself... i put up a bid for another set of ITBs. but in the mean time, ill try and fix this set cause i would still like to try and use them at least.

so i was thinking of sticking a big enough screw in there and melt brazing aluminum rods in the hole until it fills up and hardens to seal up the hole i left in there. then, i would put the brass fitting in and fill up the ole once again to seal up the space between them instead of drilling/tapping again. does that sound sane to anybody?

[Ichiban]

I'd go the bolt way. Drill it out and tap it, install the bolts, and remember, you can always drill and tap the bolt itself. If you're gonna be installing and removing stuff, a steel bolt that is drilled and tapped will hold up much better than going into aluminum over and over again.

Another option that I didn't think of is Heli-coils. I'm sure you've heard of these

Hell, I could spin up some adapters for you on the lathe. All I need is the ID/OD, length, and threads you wanna run with.

[newaccorddriver]

Another option that I didn't think of is Heli-coils. I'm sure you've heard of these

Hell, I could spin up some adapters for you on the lathe. All I need is the ID/OD, length, and threads you wanna run with.

i think heli-coils are out of the question as 2 of them have holes, and i somehow wouldnt get the other 2 to work properly. and where were you on the sleeves part when i needed you? haha, i bought some misc pipe fittings from princess auto, they were 1/4" ID and something like 1/2" OD. not sure on that though as they were actually air line fittings. i think i might try and stuff a bolt in there and drill it out though. seems easy enough to do, or so it seems

[Vanilla Sky]

i wish i were local to you. problems like this are the problems i enjoy fixing.

boy do i need a welder...

[newaccorddriver]

i wish i were local to you. problems like this are the problems i enjoy fixing.
boy do i need a welder...

grayhound it to here, we got the biggest mall in the world, so i could take you shopping afterwards

[Vanilla Sky]

man, it would take me a week to get there. i'd do better hitch hiking.

[gp02a0083]

if your thinking of using solder then just go get some JBweld

[Ichiban]

...I suppose you could simply fill the holes with some sort of tin or babbit...