<VV> Running an engine without shrouds
RoboMan91324 at aol.com
RoboMan91324 at aol.com
Wed Sep 23 13:10:46 EDT 2015
Bob,
Yes you can. .... on the following assumptions.
You said "before I install it." I assume you are running it on a pallet
or other test bed. If this is the case, I don't see how having the shrouds
on or off will make any difference. Installed shrouding inside an engine
compartment is designed to pull air from a particular direction and seal off
from other directions. The engine being free of the engine compartment
will allow the fan to suck from anywhere with or without shrouds. With the
motor "hanging out there" the cooling may be better.
On that note, I assume you are talking about motor to body sheet metal,
right? That assumes that the other sheet metal between the heads, turkey
roaster, etc. is where it should be.
I assume you are not going to run it under heavy load. If this is the
case, cooling needs will be minimal anyway. The thermostat controlled
shrouding under the motor will probably not be necessary for test purposes.
Keep in mind that the shrouds are there to duct fresh air in from the top
of the car or sides of the FC so you aren't sucking up as much road debris.
In the summer, the air from above is usually cooler than the air that
might be pulled up from just above a hot roadway. Also, the factory system is
designed to minimize sucking in exhaust fumes. While the exhaust fumes
issue would cause minimal problems for cooling, you don't want that stuff
circulating through your passenger compartment heating system which comes off
the motor. Exhaust from running the motor for test purposes shouldn't be a
cooling issue but make sure you don't run the motor in an enclosed garage.
People die that way ... and quickly depending on the garage volume.
Not to be morbid but running a motor in an attached garage can be deadly
to everyone in the house and not just the garage. This is especially the
case with people (and pets) already suffering from lung ailments.
Lastly, I don't know what your test setup looks like. If you try to run
your motor on an engine stand and give it a hardy goose of the gas, the rig
might want to flip over with resulting disaster to the motor, your knees, a
fender, etc. When the rotating mass (flywheel, crankshaft, etc.) wants to
accelerate in one direction, the "stationary" mass (block, heads,
cylinders, etc.) wants to turn in the other direction. You have probably seen a
motor in an engine compartment tilt over when you give it a good shot of gas.
The only thing keeping the engine from spinning wildly in the engine
compartment are the motor mounts attached to the significant mass of the car.
A motor on the floor strapped on a pallet is much more stable than one
sitting up in the air on a stand that may be a bit wobbly to begin with.
Be careful,
Doc
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a message dated 9/23/2015 9:02:10 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
virtualvairs-request at corvair.org writes:
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2015 08:33:06 -0700
From: "Bob" <bgilbert at gilberts-bc.ca>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Subject: <VV> Running an engine without shrouds
Message-ID: <002201d0f615$25ee3a60$71caaf20$@gilberts-bc.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
HI,
I've just started the rebuild of my 3.1 engine for my UltraVan and this
time I want to test run it before I install it.
Can I safely run the engine without shrouds?
Thanks,
Bob
66 Corsa 180 convertible
68 UltraVan
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