On Tue, 29 Jan 2013 01:06:12 -0600, wrote:

On Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:52:01 -0500, wrote:

On Mon, 28 Jan 2013 02:13:45 -0600, wrote:

On Sun, 27 Jan 2013 20:59:17 -0500, wrote:

I remember Cadillac advertizing from some time back that their engine
control system would allow the vehicle to run in limp home mode without
coolant in the engine's cooling system. Of course I recall top fuel
dragsters run without a cooling system at all but they rebuild the
engine after every run or two. ^_^

TDD
And they fill the coolant passages with solid heat absorbing material.

What the heck would a "solid heat absorbing material" be?

Hard Blok engine filler from Summit Racing is one.

Moroso makes one as well - and then there is GE Blockguard.

Hard Blok appears to be an iron filled epoxy (at least it is a 2
component product)


Thats weird how something like that would help cool.

It does not help cool. It just makes it take longer to heat up.
Thermal mass is king. With, let's say 5 times as much thermal mass, it
takes 5 times as long to reach a given temperature (and to cool off
afterwards)

Cadillac has a special V8 engine that shuts off 4 cylinders for the limp
home mode. I just read about that recently. I forget what they call
the engine, but it seems they are very costly and hard to repair.

Like I said before, it is called a Northstar -and it's a lot more
complex than just shutting off 4 cyls for limp home.

What I wish is that all the fuel injected vehicles would have a second
fuel pump to get people home. So many of those in-tank pumps fail
leaving the driver stranded. That happened to me about 7 years ago, it
was a bitter cold night, around 20 below zero. I was out in the country
about 6 miles from home and nearly froze to death. That was before I
owned a cellphone. I probably would have frozen but halfway home I
found a barn filled with cattle, and it was fairly warm in there. I
stayed in the barn till I was warm, then walked the rest of the way
home, barely making it. After that was when I got a pre-paid cellphone
just for emergencies.

A second fuel pump is just twice as much to go wrong.

True, but at least there is a backup.

Which is useless if it has also failed.

The older cars were more likely to limp a person home than these new
ones. Those fuel pumps seem to be a major flaw on the newer cars too.
When they die, it's all over. Start walking! The old mechanical fuel
pumps usually gave a warning and would still limp a person home most of
the time, not to mention they could be changed on the shoulder of a road
in a half hour or less. What they call "progress" these days is not
always true.

They could also leak gasoline all over the engine and start a fire,
pump all of the oil out of the crankcase, blowing the engine, or pump
half a tank of gasoline into the crankcase - also blowing the engine.

I never seen that happen, but I suppose it could. I did have one
dripping gas once. However I heard from a mechanic that he actually
witnesses a car explode from a shorted in tank fuel pump. He said this
dont happen often, but has happened quite a few times. I personally
dont like the idea of having an electric wire inside a tank of explosive
gas. One spark is all it takes.

Actually it is EXTREMELY rare - I have NEVER heard of it (and I AM a
mechanic - although not currently earning my living in the trade). In
order for the tank to explode from a spark - or even a BLOW TORCH
inside the tank, the tank would need to be vented to the atmosphere -
and the mixture would need to be EXTREMELY diluted by air. With fuel
vapour density at least 3 or 4 times that of air, the vapour naturally
displaces the air in the tank -The flamability range of gasoline is
from 1.2 to 7.1:1 by weight

They could vapour lock (and often did) and the valves could stick,
causing the pump to stop pumping and the engine to stop. They failed a
LOT more often than today's electrics. The average car in the sixties
and seventies went through 2 or 3 pumps, minimum, in their lifespan,
and only a SMALL fraction exceeded 100,000 miles before ending up in
the scrapyard. Go back to the forties, and pump rebuilds were required
every 2 years or so.

I have had vapor lock on older cars nore than once. I still have a car
with a mechanical fuel pump and carb. Well over 200,000 miles. I have
never changed the FP. So those forties cars needed their FP changed
about as often as these new in tank ones. Seems everyone I know is
always changing them. Ive done my share too.

Well, both of my old fuel injected Chryslers went over 240,000km on
the original pump. My 1995 TransSport went over 300,000. My friend's
Honda went over 700,000, and so did my neighbour's GMC pickup.
Personally - and in my immediate family, I have NEVER had an electric
fuel pump fail. The Pontiac used to draw air and stup if I hit
washboard road below 1/4 tank - but that's all.

By the way, I dont know much about dragsters, but I've been to many
demolition derbys and am amazed how long most of those engines run with
no coolant after a radiator is blown. Of course they are all headed to
the scrap yard anyhow once the show is over.

Even more imprssive is how long an engine will often run with NO OIL
and NO COOLANT in some of the "engine blow competitions" held at car
shows etc. A few years ago one went over 27 minutes, at full throttle,
before it stopped. Half an hour later, one crank and away it went
again.

Thats amazing!

My old Pontiac TranSport 3.8 dumped all of it's antifreeze on the road
before I bought it. It ran untill it seized (about 20 miles). I bought
it - knowing it needed an engine - and it started and ran quietly but
with high emissions that would never pass - No blown head gasket, or
damaged bearings. Either rings or valve seals had definitely failed.

I put in a rebuilt that only lasted about 60,000 miles (just under
100,000km)

I once got a laen mower where the piston was welded to the cylinder. I
took a block of wood an hammer and pounded down the piston. Cyl was all
grooved up, but it started and ran, just kind of smoky, but I used it
for several years after that.