My engine is eating AL!

mcbroom · Dec 1, 2003

Does this sound like a proplem that anyone has seen before? I have a 350 SB with TPI. The last part to be eaten up was my al water pump. The part before that was the Al fitting on the throttle body for the heater hose. And the part before that was the Al thermostat housing. The engine is sitting on solid motor mounts. The battery is mounted in the trunk and is grounded to the frame at the rear and is also grounded through a cable to the engine. It does not have an Al radiator (thank God, cause it would be eaten up by now). It has a 1 wire alternator on it. Everything has a good ground and has been rechecked. I run distilled water with about 40% anitfreeze. It has two electric fans on the radiator, one pulls (at the top) and one pushes (at the bottom). This electrolissis not only eats all the Al on the engine it is also eating up my wallet! Any help or ideas is appreciated.
Thanks,
-mike
ps the body is fibergalss, if that matters

astroracer · Dec 1, 2003

There is a specific additive that needs to be used with aluminum components.
Common engine coolant additives include: nitrates (corrosion inhibitors, buffers), silicates (corrosion inhibitors, especially for aluminum radiators), carboxylates (buffers, corrosion inhibitors), and borates (buffers).

6567GTO · Dec 1, 2003

mcbroom - you got me curious so I did a little search on the net and came up with this webpage...

http://members.shaw.ca/autocheck/electrolosis.htm

Here's a quote from it...

Electrolysis occurs when electrical current routes itself through the engine's coolant in search of electrical ground. Current can be introduced into the cooling system in many ways, but the two most common causes are a poor ground to the radiator's electric cooling fan, or a poor ground from the starter motor and engine block to the battery. Any vehicle with accessories bolted to the radiator support or to a nearby component is also a good candidate for electrolysis.

Hope this helps.:thumbup:

ps - go to the "simple shop test" section for helpful tests you can perform.

4 Jaw Chuck · Dec 1, 2003

Sounds like you need a sacrificial anode like a piece of magnesium or zinc.

lluciano77 · Dec 1, 2003

Drive a ground rod through the block!:thumbup:

RANGER_MIK · Dec 1, 2003

lmao lluciano that was good

lol

M&M CUSTOM · Dec 1, 2003

Drive a ground rod through the block!:thumbup:

But what about the radiator, drive a rod through it and one through the body and connect them all to another one in the dirt next to the driveway. :nono:

But seriously, the sacrificial anode under the radiator cap and properly mixed fluids should follow a good system flush.

Gay-Shark · Dec 1, 2003

I will bet you some crazy fool was adding additives to your cooling system. Here is what you do

1) drain and fill with distilled water, run engine to normal temp, drain
2) Fill with 50/50 with a name brand anti-freeze and distilled water and you are done. NEVER NEVER use additives

badknuckles · Dec 2, 2003

im not sure about that i like the rod in the block:drool:

Shortstep · Dec 2, 2003

What kind of anti-freeze you using? Green or Red DexCool aka Deathcool?

badknuckles · Dec 2, 2003

i havent seen dexcool rot aluminum it mainly clumps up when hitting oxygen and clogs up heater cores

My engine is eating AL!

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