any magnesium on our engines?

[patracy]

I've got a can of 20 below I want to use in my samurai (vw 1.6 diesel).  But it states not to use it on vehicles  with magnesium  parts in the cooling system.  Does anyone know if there are any magnesium  parts in the cooling system?


PS, I'd like  to meet the designer at bosch that decided the two spring throttle return was a good idea.  I'd like  to give him a swift kick  in the twig and giggleberries.

[Rabbit on Roids]

PS, I'd like  to meet the designer at bosch that decided the two spring throttle return was a good idea.  I'd like  to give him a swift kick  in the twig and giggleberries.

X2... i never have understood 2 different throttle return springs where one would suffice.

[saurkraut]

It seems to be some force balancing monkey business.  Perhaps to reduce the load on the bronze bushing for the throttle shaft in the pump cover.  Just a guess on my part.  It only takes three hands to put it back together. :wink:

Fatmobile had a method of using a couple wires to help hold stuff in place:

http://www.vwdieselparts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=52081#52081

[patracy]

Good link, wouldn't have worked on my TD pump though.  

And back to the original question, anyone know about the cooling system?  I guess the only part I had in question was the housing that bolts to the side of the block or the neck at the head.

[Rabbit on Roids]

water pump and water necks are both aluminum. least thats what my dad came up with. and he fabs stuff out of aluminum all day, every day.

[patracy]

water pump and water necks are both aluminum. least thats what my dad came up with. and he fabs stuff out of aluminum all day, every day.

Thanks!  I guess I'll give it a shot and keep an eye on it.  It'll only be during the summer anyhow.

[Rabbit on Roids]

if ever in doubt, take the part, file a little pile of material off, then try and light it in fire. since magnesium burns brilliant white, it will be pretty obvious if its magnesium or not.

[AndyL]

Magnesium needs to hit ~600 Celcius to ignite - you'd be needing oxy/acy to get it started Most magnesium used would likely be an alloy - thus ymmv

[Vincent Waldon]

I believe the OEM metal t-stat housing and coolant flanges on the head have magnesium in the alloy, but can't find a link to back that up at the moment.

Having said that, if you're talking about the product I think you are it's a Subaru part specifically designed to address a known problem with a particular version of their headgaskets... perhaps not really needed on a VW engine running the recommended G11/G12/G12+/G12++ coolant ?  Or perhaps I'm thinking of a different product?

Oh, and since we're also talking about the %$#%#$ throttle springs, here's the best picture I've ever found on how the NA version goes back together:

[Vincent Waldon]

Magnesium needs to hit ~600 Celcius to ignite - you'd be needing oxy/acy to get it started Most magnesium used would likely be an alloy - thus ymmv

Anyone here old enough to remember bush parties where someone would  bring pieces of an old VW beetle tranny case ? Break it up with a hammer, toss it in the fire... watch that magnesium go !!

'Course this is something I've only *heard* about... I was always too busy with my school work to attend. ;-)

[Rabbit on Roids]

i was never too busy with school.. i remember one party we had at the beach. there was at least a hundred rigs. and 50 of those rigs had loads of pallettes. and one of my buddies brought a blown up vw pancake engine. we threw the block in the middle of the fire, and when that thing went off, everyone scattered. it bubbled the paint on a few rigs. i was one of the smart ones that jumped in my rig and backed away when it lit up. it was by far the brightest fire ive ever seen. im sure you could see that fire up in space. we had 100 foot flames coming off that fire.

and i just test the metal filings with a propane torch. its worked just fine for me. ive never had anything catch on fire while i was welding on it yet..

[patracy]

I believe the OEM metal t-stat housing and coolant flanges on the head have magnesium in the alloy, but can't find a link to back that up at the moment.

Having said that, if you're talking about the product I think you are it's a Subaru part specifically designed to address a known problem with a particular version of their headgaskets... perhaps not really needed on a VW engine running the recommended G11/G12/G12+/G12++ coolant ?  Or perhaps I'm thinking of a different product?

The stuff I'm planning on using is this:
http://www.pro-blend.com/coolsys.htm (had the name wrong sorry)

Actually I just got off the phone with them, the caution about Mag parts is for aesthetic reasons.  It will cause any polished magnesium parts to tarnish.  So it looks like I'm good to go!

[fdnyguy]

i was never too busy with school.. i remember one party we had at the beach. there was at least a hundred rigs. and 50 of those rigs had loads of pallettes. and one of my buddies brought a blown up vw pancake engine. we threw the block in the middle of the fire, and when that thing went off, everyone scattered. it bubbled the paint on a few rigs. i was one of the smart ones that jumped in my rig and backed away when it lit up. it was by far the brightest fire ive ever seen. im sure you could see that fire up in space. we had 100 foot flames coming off that fire.

and i just test the metal filings with a propane torch. its worked just fine for me. ive never had anything catch on fire while i was welding on it yet..

Try hitting magnesium with water.. Helluva wake up at 02:30

[Rabbit on Roids]

i was never too busy with school.. i remember one party we had at the beach. there was at least a hundred rigs. and 50 of those rigs had loads of pallettes. and one of my buddies brought a blown up vw pancake engine. we threw the block in the middle of the fire, and when that thing went off, everyone scattered. it bubbled the paint on a few rigs. i was one of the smart ones that jumped in my rig and backed away when it lit up. it was by far the brightest fire ive ever seen. im sure you could see that fire up in space. we had 100 foot flames coming off that fire.

and i just test the metal filings with a propane torch. its worked just fine for me. ive never had anything catch on fire while i was welding on it yet..

Try hitting magnesium with water.. Helluva wake up at 02:30

it explodes doesnt it? never personally tried it, but i know mag fires dont go out very easily at all.

and i forgot to mention something.. where we burnt the vw block.. the sand under it was turned into a sort of crude glass. it was crazy. melted the sand..

[fdnyguy]

i was never too busy with school.. i remember one party we had at the beach. there was at least a hundred rigs. and 50 of those rigs had loads of pallettes. and one of my buddies brought a blown up vw pancake engine. we threw the block in the middle of the fire, and when that thing went off, everyone scattered. it bubbled the paint on a few rigs. i was one of the smart ones that jumped in my rig and backed away when it lit up. it was by far the brightest fire ive ever seen. im sure you could see that fire up in space. we had 100 foot flames coming off that fire.

and i just test the metal filings with a propane torch. its worked just fine for me. ive never had anything catch on fire while i was welding on it yet..

Try hitting magnesium with water.. Helluva wake up at 02:30

it explodes doesnt it? never personally tried it, but i know mag fires dont go out very easily at all.

and i forgot to mention something.. where we burnt the vw block.. the sand under it was turned into a sort of crude glass. it was crazy. melted the sand..

Doesn't always explode. What you usually get is a shower of sparks with a few decent sized chunks (sometimes) of dislodged magnesium thrown about.  To extinguish a magnesium block, lots of water is needed. With the magnesium burning so hot, small amounts of water will turn to steam before it gets to the source. And along with magesium (and most metals ending in 'ium'), they also generate their own oxygen as they burn.


And since it burns at a high temperature, as you saw it can turn sand into glass.

Copious amounts of water (for example, a 1 3/4" handline can discharge 125-180 gallons per minute) can usually knock down this type of fire.

A graphite based extinguishing agent also works. But they aren't too cheap to refill. Sometimes tons of sand does it as well.

Besides magnesium blocks in VW's, it is most commonly used in tilt steering wheels.

But obviously, there is no guessing wrong as to which one is burning at 0230.....


Stay safe, stay well. Jimmy.