|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 38
New CEG\'er
|
New CEG\'er
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 38 |
The Porsche 911 (and VW Beetle) used to have a magnesium engine block. The Honda Insight, and may other cars, use a magnesium oil pan.
While pure magnesium does burn quite quickly and at a very high temp, magnesium alloys can be made to have a very high resistance to burning. Some types of magnesium compounds are actually being used as liners in furnaces for the steel industry, withstanding temps upwards of 3000C.
I'd like to think that safety was an issue Ford considered when they picked the material. If Honda feels magnesium soaked with oil is not a fire hazard, then why should a magnesium transmission case be a fire hazard?
Bob
Last edited by Cougar Bob; 05/06/03 12:31 PM.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,506
Hard-core CEG'er
|
|
Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,506 |
Originally posted by Cougar Bob:
The Porsche 911 (and VW Beetle) used to have a magnesium engine block. The Honda Insight, and may other cars, use a magnesium oil pan.
While pure magnesium does burn quite quickly and at a very high temp, magnesium alloys can be made to have a very high resistance to burning. Some types of magnesium compounds are actually being used as liners in furnaces for the steel industry, withstanding temps upwards of 3000C.
I'd like to think that safety was an issue Ford considered when they picked the material. If Honda feels magnesium soaked with oil is not a fire hazard, then why should a magnesium transmission case be a fire hazard?
Bob
Ahhh i see what your saying....honestly i am not sure if our Trans are made of an MAG alloy. I thought this was an aftermarket trans case that someone built with MAG.
A Magnesium Blend or Alloy I can see being used...and yes Porsche uesed a magnesium alloy in there engines(Im a porsche parts buyer, by the way  ) But in the Ebay (i didn;t see it stated in the ad atleast)ad it does not say weather its an Alloy or Pure (and I was refering to Pure) magnesium.
So...give that....buying this off of ebay i see as a high risk in my opinion. Im not a chemist in any way, but considering my background and job, i need to know about the diffent metals that are used in parts...and if i don;t know, i find out.
Though it would save some weight, buying this off ebay is a big rish IMHO....find out what your getting first (pure or alloy) If its pure i would stay away.
Roz
3.0 SVT hybrid...all the fixens...Track/Race ready very soon!!!!!! 20,000 + miles
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 30
New CEG\'er
|
|
New CEG\'er
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 30 |
1998 Contour SE
MTX v6 loaded
1996 Mystique GS
ATX 4 cyl
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 4,970
Hard-core CEG'er
|
|
Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 4,970 |
I've e-mailed the guy about it. The case was made from a cast they made of the aluminium cased MTX75. Then they gutted the aluminum one and transfered all the internals over to the magnesium case (after a bit of finsih work was done on the new casting of course.). It's never been tested and is recommended as a "showroom piece" if that says anything. 
2005 Ford F150 SuperCab FX4
1964 Chevrolet Impala SS
1998 CSVT: 354HP/328TQ @ 10 psi, now gone 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,506
Hard-core CEG'er
|
|
Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,506 |
Originally posted by Swazo:
I've e-mailed the guy about it. The case was made from a cast they made of the aluminium cased MTX75. Then they gutted the aluminum one and transfered all the internals over to the magnesium case (after a bit of finsih work was done on the new casting of course.). It's never been tested and is recommended as a "showroom piece" if that says anything.
Ahhh....so it might be more MAG than alloy....thats says a lot....Oh well it would have been nice if it was an Alloy.
Roz
3.0 SVT hybrid...all the fixens...Track/Race ready very soon!!!!!! 20,000 + miles
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 5,810
Hard-core CEG'er
|
|
Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 5,810 |
I really doubt its pure magnesium! Way too costly to cast that not to mention the difficulties involved. Also, the temperature needed to ignite pure magnesium metal is very high. You might be able to acheive it with electrical arcing, but nothing else in the car would be able to do it. Plus you have to consider the heat capacity of the metals in the transmission and the gear oil. You would have to raise the local temperature of the area you are trying to heat up to the ignition temperature of magnesium so fast that it had no time for the heat to flow to other parts of the trans and cool down (whew!), OR you would have to raise the temp of the whole trans close to the ignition temp of magnesium in order to ignite the metal since the heat wouldn't flow anywhere if the metal was all the same temperature.
Anyone who studied heat transfer even a little bit will understand what I'm referring too.
As far as the alloy bit, I'd bet my car on the fact that its an alloy and not pure magnesium. (remember that an alloy is any mixture in any significant percentage of two or more metals)
This all brings up another question...why bother? I have my transmission apart right now and the case only weighs a few pounds! The gears weigh quite a lot but the case is nothing in comparison!!!
warmonger
Former owner of '99 CSVT - Silver #222/2760
356/334 wHP/TQ at 10psi on pump gas!
See My Mods
'05 Volvo S40 Turbo 5 AWD with 6spd, Passion Red
'06 Mazda5 Touring, 5spd,MTX, Black
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
