Oil Baffles?

[kifried]

Hi, I'm sort of unclear what the purpose of oil baffles for valve covers are. My intuitive guess would be that the moving rocker arms cause the oil to volumetrically expand due to heat generated by friction. I'm thinking the oil baffles provide the extra volumetric area for the heated (expanded) oil to flow into, also providing a means to cool the oil at ambient (engine compartment) temperature? Otherwise there might be significant hydrostatic pressure inside the valve covers...?

Is this correct?

How would one determine which valve covers are correct? With baffles or no baffles?
I have an olds 350 in my 86 regal limited.


Thanks, Ken

 

[bluettype]

my take on valve cover baffles, is that they are there to keep the oil from blowing out of the breather holes.

 

[CTX-SLPR]

Stock stamped rocker arms form a semi-cup on the back and some valve covers have the breather hole over the back of the rocker and it catepults the oil out of the breather. Generally this is the worst under boost when there is crank case pressure and the air it soing out the breather and it carries the oil with it. They are really there to block the direct path of air and oil out the breather by forcing the oil to make turns which it doesn't like and shielding them from direct splashes.