Redline Water Wetter

[David Head]

One other point about WW - with certain types of antifreeze it will interact and
form oily clumps. Guaranteed to scare the hell out of you and convince you a head
gasket is gone. BTDT...

DeWitt Harrison wrote:

> On Fri, 8 Jun 2001 09:41:20 -0700, ScottFisher wrote:
>  > [ ... ]
>
> Interesting fact #1:
>
>  > Here's the thing: RLWW doesn't fix problems in your cooling system -- it
>  > does reduce your car's operating temperature if everything else is working
>  > correctly.  The theory behind its operation is that it's a simple surfactant
>  > or detergent, which reduces the sizes of bubbles that form from localized
>  > boiling on the walls of your coolant passages.  This means more liquid (and
>  > less vapor) is in contact with the cooling passage walls, which means more
>  > heat can be transferred away from the metal.
>
> Interesting fact #2:
>
>  > When I used it in my '83 CGT, I had just acquired the CGT and it tended to
>  > run a little warmer than I thought it should.  So I flushed out the coolant
>  > and ran the Special Blue Stuff required by Audi for my car's engine
>  > (phosphate-free antifreeze, Autobahn brand, purchased from the recently
>  > retired Linda @ Carlsen).  It ran hotter after the RLWW, a LOT hotter, and
>  > it ran hotter the more cold air went over the radiator.  Weird.  At this
>  > point I looked at exactly how the CGT's cooling system worked, and started
>  > scratching my head.
>
> Interesting fact #3:
>
>  > The Audi cooling system (at least on my I5 -- haven't traced down the V6 in
>  > my wife's car) is backwards from all the other cars I've ever fiddled with
>  > to any extent.  That is, on the Audi, hot water flows unimpeded from the
>  > head into the top of the radiator at all times; the water is cooled, sinks
>  > to the bottom of the radiator, and then gets drawn back in THROUGH THE
>  > THERMOSTAT by the water pump.  (Other cars, if you haven't looked, have the
>  > thermostat on the head, where it controls the flow of hot water out of the
>  > engine.)  [ ... ]
>
> I think these observations can be explained thusly (Mr. Myers, don't be shy
> about jumping in with the correct anaylisis. :)    )
> a. Thermostat on coolant inlet establishes constant _initial_ temperature for
> engine coolant even though other conditions may vary.
> b. More efficient transfer of heat from engine to coolant due to action of RLWW
> implies greater temperature rise of coolant at outlet under high load
> conditions
> (water vapor nucleation occurring).
> c. The temperature gauge sensor is located at the _outlet_ so this temperature
> rise is noted by the driver.
>
> The question is, "Is this bad?"
>
> Maybe not. Higher water temperatures in the radiator will promote greater heat
> rejection to the atmosphere by virtue of a larger temperature differential
> between
> the hot water and cooling air. Provided the water does not become so hot that
> the vapor pressure exceeds the pressure cap's rating, and provided the system
> is in perfect operating condition per Scott's caveats, a high gauge indication
> could mean life is good in terms of reduced cylinder head temperature.
>
> DeWitt Harrison
> 88 5kcstq