Revelation: There's no such thing as a liquid-cooled engine

"JCAlan" (jcalan) 05/01/2018 at 16:17 • Filed to: None

0

30

I was explaining to my son how the cooling system works on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and the possible causes for its overheating problem. Since it only overheats when really beating on it at low speeds, I’ve narrowed it down to:

a) The hillbilly skid plate that I installed to protect the radiator is preventing air from getting to it

b) The radiator is plugged with dirt

c) The cooling fans are not kicking on.

And that’s when it dawned on me- all of these have to do with airflow. The engine is still ultimately cooled only by air. Without the flow of air across the engine itself, as well as the radiator, the liquid does absolutely nothing. The fans simply induce this airflow when the car is sitting still. I guess you could say the engine block is cooled by the liquid, but since that liquid is cooled by air, I maintain that the engine is air-cooled.

There is no such thing as a liquid-cooled engine.

MonkeePuzzle > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:19

5

I use only liquid air to cool my car

wafflesnfalafel > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:21

0

agree - moving my license plate up a couple inches out of the way of the lower bumper area dropped my oil temps 2-3 degrees at freeway speed.

WilliamsSW > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:21

3

brb draining my radiator

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:23

3

Tell me, then, what is special about the fitment of this engine:

EngineerWithTools > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:24

0

I suppose that, if we’re going to be technical (and pedantic) about it, there is some cooling due to radiation off the hot bits, with more off the dark colored ones compared to the light colored ones.

vicali > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:25

0

And an aircooled engine gets colder while sitting in traffic.. (if you’ve got your tins and seals in good shape)

Cé hé sin > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:25

1

In fact, there is. Marine engines are liquid cooled.

Large supplies of liquid are usually available outside.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:25

1

Also, this was a solid/liquid cooled engine (ice+water, reserve). Just as many dragsters are liquid-cooled.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:27

0

Related. Is it Naturally Aspirated or Normally Aspirated?

lone_liberal > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:29

2

The engine is liquid cooled. The liquid is air cooled.

cbell04 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/01/2018 at 16:31

3

Chariotoflove > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:32

2

Challenge accepted!

tromoly > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:35

0

Nope, the engine is still liquid cooled via conduction. This same fluid is cooled by outside air through convection, often a fan is used to force convection and achieve higher heat rejection. The engine itself does not rely on free convection like an air cooled engine does, ergo it’s liquid cooled not air cooled.

JCAlan > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/01/2018 at 16:37

3

Mmmmm. You know, I was thinking that the only way an engine could be truly liquid cooled is if it was supplied by a constant flow of cool water from a natural source like a lake, but I could only picture an engine that was fixed. Never thought about boats, duh! I modify my statement to only land automobiles.

JCAlan > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 05/01/2018 at 16:39

1

Neither. It’s just an engine UNLESS it’s turbo or supercharged. lol

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:39

1

Revelation!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:42

0

Even then, a land-based vehicle can be water-cooled as long as it’s operating from a replenish-able reserve... as in my other post.

Urambo Tauro > lone_liberal 05/01/2018 at 16:45

0

Well put.

JCAlan > WilliamsSW 05/01/2018 at 16:47

1

It’s the only logical next step.

Future next gen S2000 owner > JCAlan 05/01/2018 at 16:50

0

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

It’s not really being cooled if it is overheating......

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/01/2018 at 17:16

0

So you need a tank of water to be towed behind your Galaxie in order to cool it.

Are you sure you are really succeeding at being the inconspicuous detective?

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/01/2018 at 17:16

0

So, only an open water cooled system, like you might find on ancient automobiles?

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > lone_liberal 05/01/2018 at 17:18

0

Therefore it is only used to transfer heat.

I wonder why they don’t use heat pipes for this. Maybe it’s cost, but it seems like avoiding a liquid that can boil off would be a good plan.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 05/01/2018 at 17:20

0

Irony of ironies, I actually do need to replace the water pump, as my lingering suspicion (that Former Idiot Owner did not replace it on rebuild) appears borne out by the palpable motion in the bearing and sudden appearance of coolant on the timing cover.

Yeah, the slight coolant losses that kept showing up were a hint that it was likely bad, but I hadn’t caught it in the act yet. Naturally someone who didn’t replace THE FRONT MAIN SEAL let alone the harmonic balancer on a rebuild might have neglected getting a new pump.

Meh. Oughtta be good for another 57 years or hundred thousand miles, whichever comes first.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/01/2018 at 17:23

0

Yep. Or a limited tank system as on drag racers until present day, and land speed record cars of the piston driven kind up until the ‘40s at least.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/01/2018 at 17:23

0

Sounds about right, like me getting another 340K miles out of a power steering pump on the truck. Or me getting bothered enough to replace the fuel sender on the bike.

lone_liberal > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/01/2018 at 17:29

0

There have been nuclear power plants that used liquid sodium as a coolant but of course if any water ever contaminated it bad, bad things would happen.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > lone_liberal 05/01/2018 at 17:36

1

Some early French reactors cooled with CO2. Some of the failure possibilities were also... suboptimal.

Nauraushaun > JCAlan 05/02/2018 at 07:45

0

LIKE HOW A TURBOCHARGED CAR IS ATMOSPHERICALLY ASPIRATED SINCE ALL THE TURBO DOES IS SHOVE IN AIR FROM THE ATMOSPHERE

JCAlan > Nauraushaun 05/02/2018 at 09:42

0

GREAT POINT