Methanol and aluminum blocks

[zire61]

hi,

has long term use of 50/50 water/methanol been shown to be safe in aluminum engines?

thanks

[JohnA]

How long do the atomised substances spend inside the engine? Not long, if you think about it. The pump only operates for a tiny percentage of total time.
Water is a natural byproduct of the combustion process anyway.

Methanol and aluminum do react during prolonged exposure, that's why it's best to have plastic tanks and fittings holding it. But we're talking days and weeks here, rather than seconds. :wink:

[zire61]

so i suppose there's no evidence pointing either way then?

i'm particularly interested in this as i have an alu block and the primary purpose of W/I for me is charge air cooling for my non-intercooled supercharger kit. i live in the tropics where humidity hovers around 90% so i don't suppose pure water injection would offer much cooling without the use of methanol.

[keithmac]

The cylinders will be steel lined or Nikasil coated which is a very hard coating, the only aluminium bits will be the inlet manifold and cylinder head intake ports that will come into contact with the liquid methanol. Most if not all modern engines have aluminium intakes and heads so you`ll be in the same boat as everyone else on this board.