Cooling System Swirl Pot

[BlackSupra]

I have searched and found little about these devices apart from they are commonly found on race cars. I am therfore going to assume they serve their purpose and work otherwise the teams wouldn't use them.

Also noted that WRX's have them from factory.

Now that im intending to prolong the life of my 7M head, which clearly suffers from air cavitation, i was thinking of installing one on the firewall or strut tower to get a bit of height above the engine.

What are other's experiences with these in their systems or thoughts on the theory?

[oldcorollas]

one part is to de-aerate the coolant to make the radiators more efficient..
another part is to de-aerate coolant before it goes into the block, to make coolant more efficient in block.. probably can't do that one due to pump location...

i guess it depends if the coolant is getting bubbles from the pump, or from hotspots in the engine, or both?

would a header tank suffice, with lines bored into high spots in the head where air can't escape?

[BlackSupra]

Air bubbles forming in the head would be my guess.

What about this setup from the 'GReddy Breather Tank' ?



The last blue line is routed back to the overflow bottle. Is this what you mean by header tank?

[TheStitt]

watching with interest

[oldcorollas]

Air bubbles forming in the head would be my guess.

What about this setup from the 'GReddy Breather Tank' ?
Is this what you mean by header tank?

yup. basically a place higher than the rest to collect the bubbles
although there are lots of variations of which pipes go into it of course...

just need to make sure it will actually get flow into and out of it.

[thechuckster]

two things to note about the greedy diagram:
1 - it doesn't address issues of evacuating bubbles from cavities in the head
2 - if following its piping diagram, you may have to install (or shift?) a thermostat where the header tank drain meets the cold return line from the radiator

[MWP]

Don't race cars run them so they can have more flexible radiator mounting options, ie well below the level of the engine?
It allows the filler and pressure release to still be above the level of the engine.

[mr1jz]

These are basically an expansion tank. Most Toyota setups just run an overflow setup. These setups allow air to be removed more efficiently from the system and where little room permits. Have a look at an EL falcon or VX LS1 commo. They runs these setups from factory.

[BlackSupra]

two things to note about the greedy diagram:
1 - it doesn't address issues of evacuating bubbles from cavities in the head
2 - if following its piping diagram, you may have to install (or shift?) a thermostat where the header tank drain meets the cold return line from the radiator

Chuck,

How does one address point #1?

What would be your suggestion to improve the 7m cooling situation?

[beerhead]

Chuck, I wonder if the water pressure compresses the air above the swirl pot enough to hit the pressure rating of the radiator cap on the pot?

[oldcorollas]

don't nascar run an expansion tank with air above it deliberately?

or maybe the internet is full of shit

[cri_ag]

nascar run an air "spring" to save coolant being pushed out, instead the air pressure increases in the spring chamber.


i run the greddy style breather tank in my race car, i was getting wildly fluctuating temp readings on the track which i assumed was air pockets, so i put one in. i tapped the back of the head water outlet in the highest place for a bleed. it seemed to work, im now seeing much more stable temp readings but every now and then i get the variation again.

i now plan to build a swirl pot and run that in conjunction with my bleeder tank. kinda like so

[boxh34d]

Any real specific reason for this path? Known problems with trapping air in the cooling system, or just extra insurance?

[beerhead]

Air in the coolant passages will lead to hot spots in the head, which can cause detonation or warpage which could lead to engine failure in many various expensive ways.

[BlackSupra]

Any real specific reason for this path? Known problems with trapping air in the cooling system, or just extra insurance?

Lots of boost = lots of heat transfered into the cooling system and increased chances of hot spots and air pockets leading to the dreaded warped head.

This is is trying to fix an issue which exponentially increases in risk as more boost is shoved in.