This is more or less the same reason the bodies of Porsche are galvanized. The coating is actually magnesium or zinc which will oxidize before the steal underneath does (in theory anyway). I agree with 2Tight, having it stick in the water is not going to do much in the way of protecting the aluminum engine components. But as 2tight suggested it could actually accelerate the corrosion in the magnessium is the wrong potential type. I think I will play it safe and leave it all alone.

 

Tony, how much?
Ahmet

 

I guess you're not gonna bite, I'll upload the picture tomorrow.
Ahmet

 

Rennlist and its members are so informative I would just like to thank everyone for loving their Porsche soooo much.

Justin

 

2tight,
My company specializes in the reduction of oxidized Ferrous components and stopping oxidation of structural members. I work in the Aluminum division. I think these engines are well designed as they are. When in doubt, remember K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple stupid.) We have products that will strip Fe and Al components of there respective corrosion. Unfortunately, they are not ORM-D approved and not for sale to the general public. Additionally, they are not designed for use in cooling systems. They are for 1 time use.

One of my coworkers came out with an immersion cleaner that will remove 95% of all contaminants of cast Aluminum. We haven't finished the development for production. It will be interesting....

 

Is that clear enough, I can take another picture...
Ahmet

 

I bought one of these, but then realized that it's only rated at 14 or 16 pounds of pressure (i forget), versus the ~21#'s that the factory cap is, I thought the I would rather have the greater boilover protection, so I nixed it. Still got it, too, if someone wants it.

Jason

 

James86,
You work sounds interesting. My corrosion background definitely isn't automotive. I work almost exclusively with cathodic protection of buried/submerged structures(pipelines, radial gates), metalurgy, as well as cooling systems on huge power generation turbines. Corrosion basics are pretty simple and I always hate to see the basics ignored when common sense should prevail. I am interested in the all-metal head gaskets and their interface with the cooling jackets on the Porsche water coolers. My concern would be the reduction of aluminum near this interface. If the proper water/coolant ratio is maintained this should never be a problem; unfortunately I think many folks let their coolants degrade from extended use. The corrosion inhibitor ratios in the coolant is so critical to getting maximum life out of our aluminum engines. I am curious if anyone has seen any pitting in the aluminum closest to the metal head gaskets on our cars. I have a spare motor sitting in my shed and might take a look today and see how all of this fits together. From what I heard though it sounds like most HG failures are on the combustion side of the gasket where corrosion isn't an issue. It's a "mo power" thing!

My earlier post was meant as a "buyer beware" warning on the radiator cap anode idea. In a closed loop automotive cooling system corrosion inhibitors and alloy selection are about the only line of defense we have at the time.

Ahmet-Can you post any photos of the block or head where the gasket failed?

Steve

 

2Tight, unfortunately I cannot. I had pictures of the head, block, etc. before after the rebuild/pressure test, etc. but they were on my "p-car online" profile. The same week I reformatted my hard drives, the site went down and I lost the pictures! I'll know better next time, but I've only got the "after" the cleaning/rebuilding of the head now. BTW, the block was not damaged, but the head was just beginning to lift from the corrosion (similar to what happens under the sliders in the 4piston brake calipers, if you live in a suitable climate).
Ahmet