TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sat May 03, 2008 10:03 pm

VEEDubs wrote: FLAMES SHOOTING FROM MY BAJA!!! I just brought home my baja last night, took it out today and had a friend video tape a run by the house...after looking at the vid I noticed FLAMES coming out the rear...I am honestly scared to turn it on...when I parked it everything was fine, but could the filter have caused this? Or is unburned gas escaping the pipe somehwere? I uploaded the video below, check it out.

HOLY CRAP!
Yeah there's some gas there somewhere? I couldn't believe the flame
could be seen, but watching the video i was like WHOA.

Figure that out and keep a extinguisher handy.

Sat May 17, 2008 11:38 am

Well i lost cartman this morning!

god damned pidgeon smashed into the underside, pulled over to have a look and got a face full of hot air!

just got out of the way before the flames!

complete write off after fire brigade dumped a thousand gallons into him!

Sun May 25, 2008 10:14 am

I got my FI SB Vert' back in January and lately I have noticed that when I make a turn (fast or slow going) I can smell fuel...
I have no idea from where it is coming, however, while checking things out I noticed that the line from the canister to the tank is missing... everything else checks out ok.

Can it be the missing canister line?
Were it goes in the tank and how do I route it? (which I need to do anyway) otherwise, I have no idea from where it is comming.

Sun May 25, 2008 10:22 am

jwcurry wrote: I've been thinking about making something like this:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/pl/946,1010_Sprint-Car-Fire-Bottle-Fire-System-25-lbs.html

Admittedly, 300.00 to 400.00 (depending on which size you choose) would be a small price to pay to save your car, but I'm wondering it a store bought extinguisher could be converted to such use. Mount the extinguisher on the tunnel, aluminum tubing to the engine compartment and set it off from inside the car.

Anyone already done this?

(I haven't read this whole thread in a while, so excuse me if it has been done and described the procedure).

Check this 'Buck' out, IAW the owner, it as a fire suppression system in it:
http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/car/685795069.html

Sun May 25, 2008 12:16 pm

Gipsyroad wrote: I got my FI SB Vert' back in January and lately I have noticed that when I make a turn (fast or slow going) I can smell fuel...
I have no idea from where it is coming, however, while checking things out I noticed that the line from the canister to the tank is missing... everything else checks out ok.

Can it be the missing canister line?
Were it goes in the tank and how do I route it? (which I need to do anyway) otherwise, I have no idea from where it is comming.

Check the fuel fill rubber. Sounds like it's sloshing into that from hard turns and more likely for the smell. There is a couple of posts on that topic on the Samba.

Thu May 29, 2008 7:51 pm

Almost caught fire. I usually put a rubber floor mat over the battery but seem to forgot when I hooked up the battery the other week. We drove to the bottom of the hill we live on, the battery slide foward and shorted on the seat support. It melted the post clamp! Smoke everywhere, I unhooked the battery before a fire started; lesson here, CLAMP YOUR BATTERY DOWN!!! Now it's damage control. :oops:

Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:14 am

Took my 73 Super out for the first time in a few days. I had just completed valves and a tune up a little while ago and it was running great. In fact I had it out to the Kitchener BugOut just last weekend.

Drove it a few blocks this AM to the drivethru coffee ( Tim Hortons ) and while idling in line I noticed the car sputter and the gen light flicker. I looked up and the chap behind me was motioning to my back lid and I could see a little bit of smoke. Immediately I thought "FIRE" and turned of the car, grabbed my new fire extinguisher from the back seat, pulled the pin, popped the lid and was met by what looked like a ball of fire! Doused it very quickly with the extinguisher ( those little things are great ). This all took place within seconds, and I stood there in shock looking at a relatively newly rebuilt engine coated with white powder. I called the fire dept ( just in case, as there was gas beneath the engine ) and for a tow. Nothing else happened, the fire was out, and the firemen and police were great. Tow arrived promptly and got me to my mechanic ( who also did the rebuild and is only 10 minutes away ). Through all this, people were driving around the bug trying to get their coffee.

Get this: We hosed down the engine and spayed it with air, and aside from a torn preheat hose there was NO DAMAGE. Really... i mean all I had to do was let the car idle for quite a while to get rid of the moisture and it runs fine now. Seeing the videos of other car fires, I feel quite blessed that all this one did was to scare me and dirty up the engine.

Thought I'd share this with you. I'm off now to get a new fire extinguisher!

Shawn

Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:56 am

And what was the cause of the fire?

Max

Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:12 pm

Max Welton wrote: And what was the cause of the fire?

Max

Something that had happened once before, but I caught it previously. After letting the bug sit few a few days, and after a heavy rain, the valve in the carb stuck and gas was coming out of the fuel line on top where it connects to the carb. This time I neglected to check when I first started the car and gas was coming out of the connection. Obviously this isn't normal - what should I do to have this properly fixed? It's a new 34 pic 3, less than a year old. The mechanic did thoroughly check the line and it was fine.
Thanks,
Shawn

Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:08 pm

needle/seat valve may need to be replaced

Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:43 pm

Yep. Check fuel pressure too,

Max

Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:02 pm

RattieFattie wrote: needle/seat valve may need to be replaced

Max Welton wrote: Yep. Check fuel pressure too,

Max

Thanks. I'll mention these to my mechanic tomorrow.
Shawn

Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:58 pm

Another possibility is a holed float. The float would then ride low and not close the inlet valve properly. Easy stuff to check.

Max

Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:37 am

shawns73 wrote: Max Welton wrote: And what was the cause of the fire?

Max

gas was coming out of the fuel line on top where it connects to the carb. This time I neglected to check when I first started the car and gas was coming out of the connection.

Don't think a overflowing float bowl would have anything to do with the inlet fitting and the hose connected to it. Sounds more like the notorious loose inlet fitting in the bowl cover.

I'd think that with a float valve stuck open the overflow would go down the barrel and flood out the engine. And it wouldn't continue to sit there and idle.

Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:59 pm

Well, Leo ( the mechanic ) took the carb apart and could not find any issues with it at all. He also replaced the fuel line coming out from the copper front lead and also put in a new metal filter. While the bug was in, I had a new distributor and coil put on ( unrelated issues ). The file also fried the oil sensor, which was also replaced.
It runs great again, but I'm going to get into the habit of checking the fuel line / carb if it's been sitting without been driven for awhile.

Thanks for your input :)
Shawn

Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:33 am

Did Leo check the fuel pressure?

Max

Fri Jul 25, 2008 11:03 am

Max Welton wrote: Did Leo check the fuel pressure?

Max

I called and they said that they checked the fuel pump and it was fine: this wasn't the issue. Essentially, they took everything apart, cleaned, but couldn't find a mechanical reason.

Shawn

Fri Jul 25, 2008 11:50 am

geologeek wrote: Well i lost cartman this morning!

god damned pidgeon smashed into the underside, pulled over to have a look and got a face full of hot air!

just got out of the way before the flames!

complete write off after fire brigade dumped a thousand gallons into him!

Guess you can't tell now but do you think hitting the pigeon somehow ruptured the fuel line?

Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:54 pm

shawns73 wrote: I called and they said that they checked the fuel pump and it was fine: this wasn't the issue. Essentially, they took everything apart, cleaned, but couldn't find a mechanical reason.

Shawn
Well ... that's obviously not good. :?

Fuel on the outside of the engine doesn't just happen. And you said it happened once before too?

It's possible that the cause of the first even was not the same as this latest one. It's also possible that the cause of the latest spill was inadvertently corrected by replacement of one of the various parts you mentioned.

It's also possible a bit of crud in the fuel temporarily caused the inlet valve to stick open. Leo would really have to be looking for that to have a chance of finding it before it fell out.

At this point the evidence is probably gone. Or Leo missed something.

Max

Tue Jul 29, 2008 4:41 am

Max Welton wrote: shawns73 wrote: I called and they said that they checked the fuel pump and it was fine: this wasn't the issue. Essentially, they took everything apart, cleaned, but couldn't find a mechanical reason.

Shawn
Well ... that's obviously not good. :?

Fuel on the outside of the engine doesn't just happen. And you said it happened once before too?

It's possible that the cause of the first even was not the same as this latest one. It's also possible that the cause of the latest spill was inadvertently corrected by replacement of one of the various parts you mentioned.

It's also possible a bit of crud in the fuel temporarily caused the inlet valve to stick open. Leo would really have to be looking for that to have a chance of finding it before it fell out.

At this point the evidence is probably gone. Or Leo missed something.

Max

I'm hoping that cleaning out the carb helped. Also, the metal fuel filter was replaced with one that can catch smaller elements. Perhaps this will help with crud trying to get through.