closed cooling

[harbormaster]

We have addressed this before but it's nice talk about these again incase anything new has surfaced.

I was looking at closed cooling for the 502s in order minimize salt water corrosion so I could run aluminum heads or intakes.

Anyone seen any nice reasonably priced setups?

[Jamesbon]

Sendure is a popular manufacturer.

While we're on the subject, who knows what manufacturer Innovation uses for their heat exchangers? They're the best looking units I've seen...

[Cuda]

Scott, have the blocks been in salt at all previously?

[harbormaster]

The blocks have been in seawater previously but They are being sent out to the machine shop to be cleaned and rebuild.

[Cuda]

The blocks will be permeated with salt already. Closed cooling will leach the salt out of the block making a brine from the coolant. If I were you, I'd stay with cast iron and raw water cooling. That's the reason I'm not going with CC on the 350 for the Minx, the block has already been in salt. When I put the engine in my 20 Formula a couple years ago, I put CC on it because the block had never been used in salt. I removed the heads from a salt engine and just the moisture in the air leached out enough salt over the couple months they were exposed to build three quarter inch high pyramids of salt on the water passages. It was unbelivable, I SO wish I hadn't deleted the picture of it that I had.

[Cuda]

Another thing is the price of aluminum heads is exorbitant! Merlin makes a great aluminum intake with bronze water passages.

[MOP]

Cuda is right unless you have gobs of time to unsalt them, I have a freind that the raised the cannons off the war ship Culloden off Montauk. The cannons had to be immersed in fresh water which was changed weekly for months to keep them from litterally exploding, they are now on open display and look damn good.

[harbormaster]

OK now that we have that out of the way, lets talk about closed cooling

[Cuda]

Harbormaster:
OK now that we have that out of the way, lets talk about closed cooling So you're going with closed cooling anyway?

What do you want to know about CC?

[Cuda]

Here's where I bought mine, the best price I could find.

http://www.oceaneastmarine.com/freshwater2.html

[MOP]

Raw or CC cooled a nice addition before you put your engines in is to setup a raw water pump cross over, I have done this on quite a few boats in the past, mostly commercial offshore fishing boats. If one pump goes down you can get home running both engines at moderate planning speeds with a little extra tab. You can't run hard about 24-2600 after that there is not enough water flow to cool the exhaust hoses, even though the engine temp holds Ok at higher RPM.

[BigGrizzly]

I think I have the most real experience on this matter. I do have aluminum heads and my 502 has a suiperchager. I have had units built by sen-dur and designed by performance Product technolagy. My unit on the Criterion is is a full flow system designed by the guys who did the merc ones untill they went out on their own, but still contract to Merc. My system sits below on th3 sringers so I don't have any clutter on the engine. As for the salt thing If the blocks are hot dipped at the machine shot it is no longer an issue. Scott if you can temember back to Lastyears Home toun Ralley I showed it to you because it was nearly unseen. The whole unit including the extra water pump (I origionally had a cross over system) and added water was 52 pounds. I have a Half system and the exhaust is not cooled by the heat exchanger. All my boats from the 1966 16 to todays boats have been closed cooling engines.

[harbormaster]

Randy,
So you feel that the previously run in salt is a Non-issue if I have the blocks hot dipped at the machine shop?

Its amazing what folks spend at their local performance boat center.

It seems that all they are doing is paying someone ALOT of money to pull the engine and take it to the machine shop. Its the machine shop that does the real work!

I always cut out the middle man and save big bucks.

[Cuda]

I'm going to cut even more out of the middleman. I took my engine apart and took the parts to the machine shop. I'm only having them do the machine work and hot tank the parts. The only assembly they will do is to install the cam bearings since I don't have a tool for doing it.

Hope to pick up the block and crank today.

[BigGrizzly]

Scott, just dip and go use a good coolant antifreze or use the Amsoil stuff or Evans coolant They all have corosion and rust inhibitoes in them. Besides as long as there is no oxigen ie. empty block corosion will be kept to a mimumum. Just a note as long as the blocks arn't trash to begin with=heavy scale in the block would be an isue.

[Cuda]

The problem with the aluminum/iron/salt combination is not so much corrosion from rust, but from galvanic issues. The aluminum will give way long before a cast iron block will rust out. I'm pretty sure that even with antifreeze, the coolant will make a pretty good electrolyte. As whether the hot tank will remove the salt or not, I'm still researching, but I have my doubts.

[harbormaster]

Well I have my answer. I brought home my 502's last night and it appears that they had a closed cooling setup on them.

[harbormaster]

Cuda they make an additive that changes the PH of your coolant and prevents the coolant from becoming an electrolyte. This happened in a Chevy Baretta My wife owned.

[Cuda]

Harbormaster:
Well I have my answer. I brought home my 502's last night and it appears that they had a closed cooling setup on them. Great! Then no doubt go with the CC and use aluminum! I wish I could on the Minx, I saw a good deal on some aluminum heads. Just the reduction in weight would be worth it.

[MOP]

Scot it sounds like you are Home Free with the cooling issue, I had a 36 Ford 4 door tub with a worked flat head with Offenhauser aluminum heads. They were well used when I bought them and I ran them another 6 years with 1950's type anti freeze, when the engine finally blew up and the heads were pulled they still looked like the day I bought them. I do not believe electrolysis has much if anything to do with parts that are cooled with today products. "OPINION"