Magnesium in our engines?
 

Is there magnesium in our engines? I ask this because I might be taking my engine parts to a parts shop and my uncle (very knowledgable) told me that it would disolve magnesium. Not wanting part of my engine to disolve, I would like to know what I couldn't throw in.

No magnesium in our engines

what would dissolve magnesium?

maybe the cleaning solution if hes having it cleaned? thats my guess anyway.

Magnesium in pure form is extremely flammable.

Not really..... you can't take a chunk of magnesium and hold a lighter to it and start a fire. Magnesium does burn, and burns hot, but when there is an incredible amount of surface area, just like everything else that burns like TNT. Boy Scouts carry and use magnesium blocks ;)

There actually should be one thing magnesium in your motor.......a sacraficial anode. Electrolysis in your motor attacks aluminum, but magnesium is more likely to undergo electrolysis. With a radiator cap with a sacrificial magnesium anode, your alumium motor parts wont get chewed up. Cheap and effective, i have one on my car.

Graham

Maybe he's thinking of VW aircooled engines, which have magnesium cases?

My uncle told me that a lot of the parts cleaners that shops use disolve magnesium. He doesn't know rotaries, so he wasn't sure if there was magnesium or not. I didn't know for sure either, so I thought I'd ask here first, instead of dropping my parts in their cleaner and coming up with some parts short. Like lost socks in the dryer, but socks don't cost hundreds of dollars... Most don't at least.

It's more of a 'better be safe than sorry' kind of thing.

I know a lot of caustic tanks will dissolve ALUMINUM... so you'd better be sure that the cleaners are aluminum-friendly if you're having anything with aluminum in/on it cleaned.

So you think that aluminum is all I have to worry about?

Yes, no magnesium in your motor. Definatly not. Use neutral solvents, 7 on the ph. Don't use acids or bases as you will be several hundred grams short of Aluminum when you pull it out of the cleaner.

IIRC the 'aluminum' looking parts of the alternator are actually magnesium, other than that I don't think there's any magnesium in the engine. BTW, you can light magnesium with a lighter, it just needs to be a thin strip. It wont work with a chunk.

Henrik
87TII

magnesium burns w/ intense bright pure white light. Its beautiful :)

I am a Firefighter and can tell you first hand that Magnesium will burn, but it has to be a very hot fire in order for it to light..Volkswagon engines, some lawnmower engines, I even went to a car fire where a new model Corvette was a blaze and the rims were magnesium..DO NOT PUT WATER ON MAGNESIUM!! IT GIVES OFF HYDROGEN GAS THAT IS VERY EXPLOSIVE..If you have ever seen the Real Tv episode of the magnesium plant fire you will understand what I am talking about...It does burn very hot and water creates Hydrogen gas that explodes..It is kinda cool to play with in small quantities such as a little piece, but a whole VW engine on fire...No No...It sucks and it is hard to put out..

Magnesium, in its pure form, will explode if put in water. not just catch on fire, it will EXPLODE.