Mazda Rotary Club

General => General Technical => Topic started by: Nath on April 13, 2004, 01:48:05 PM

Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Nath on April 13, 2004, 01:48:05 PM
Very pissed off, Was coming along a local bypass last night at about 60 - 70mph and started to notice smoke out the back,

I pulled over and then i could smell collant so i though ah shit colint leak , then the smoke came shooting out the bonnet so quickly poped the hood to be confronted with Flames coming from down by Turbos and main boost pipes.

quickly put the flames out and collant was everywhere and boost pipe had come straight off from jubilee clip???

after dousing the engine in water from nearby water tank (luckily house where i stopped had one in the garden)

took RAC 4 hours with a low loader to come and take me home , any coolant that goes in comes straight out the bottom and can see split pipes.

Car was down with Ross @ Dragon 5 weeks ago and he replaced these pipes and how come they came off?

what could have started the fire on it any ideas any one:(

(http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/1800/dead7a.jpg)
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Shaq on April 13, 2004, 03:45:28 PM
OMG !:eek: :eek: :eek:

that s serious sh*t  !

can you see if these pipes are rubing against something causing them to split ?


shaQ
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: davefrith on April 13, 2004, 04:15:39 PM
Flames ? thats obviously not fun

Smoke yes but flames are a car destroyer ! can you see where the fire started ?
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Nath on April 13, 2004, 04:56:01 PM
well i hope that no pipes were rubbing cus Ross reoplced pipes so i dont know , flames were coming from nere the turbos , down under standard boost valves. :(
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: g11ary on April 13, 2004, 05:28:14 PM
sounds very much like to me a oil leak at the turbos, Ive had it, most embarrassing, just showed a m3 my boost, then had to pull over and put the car out. He must have been laughing all the way home. Coolant would not cause a fire, has to be an oil line to the turbos.
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: gsb876 on April 13, 2004, 05:32:08 PM
Bad news mate, best thing to do is load her up and get her back to a rx7 specialist and find out what the prob was, if the fire was near the turbos then dont drive it till you know whats up??

Do you have a fc commander as that should have shown you if there was a overheating problem, the normal gauge for temp is not very reliable as it only moves when the cars already overheated!!

Please let us all know what the prob was when you find out just incase anyone else gets the same....:(
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Nath on April 13, 2004, 09:25:53 PM
Sounds Bad ,

I cant drive it as as soon as i poor water in it comes straight out the bottom so its not holding any coolant at all.

I dont have the FC commander but i had only been in the car about 30mins MAX?? so couldnt have really been hot.
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: antnicuk on April 13, 2004, 09:29:57 PM
Garys right, coolant pipes new or old would not cause a fire.  Hot oil on the manifold could, also a fuel leak at the injectors rails would spray fuel onto the turbos.  If coolant leaks after the fire it maybe that the pipes have been damaged by the fire and thats why you now have a leak. The turbo coolant lines are there and also the matrix pipe runs next to the turbos, although most of this metal around the turbos there is a rubber bit that attaches to the engine.

You were very lucky to find water, i would advise anyone with a modded car to carry a small fire extinguisher, i have one behind each seat and one in the boot, you can buy them for about a tenner and they dont look too bad. There would be nothing worse than standing back and watching your baby burn with nothing more than your bladder to put it out with.

I hope you get it sorted and there isnt too much damage.
regards
tony
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Nath on April 13, 2004, 09:39:22 PM
Yes i consider my self lucky that there was a water suply , i was actually running to a near by river when i spotted the water tank , im currenly arranging for a low loader to take it to a specialist.
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: g11ary on April 13, 2004, 10:37:56 PM
Also check brake fluid, the res is very close and again I once had a cap split on me at a track day and fluid dripped onto the turbo.
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: clive on April 14, 2004, 07:59:09 AM
Real sorry to hear this, main thing is your OK though.

As people have said the vacuum pipes would not have caused this, but oil pipes would, you have feed pipes to the Turbos plus drains and also small clear plastic oil injector feeds on the top drivers side of the rotor housings.

As Gary said though things aren\'t always what they seem as a little bit of fluid on hot Turbos makes a hell of a lot of smoke.
(fingers crossed it\'s something minor)    :(
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Carl on April 14, 2004, 09:08:05 AM
Bear in mind though that if a pipe in itself had melted on the exhaust manifold or turbo pack it could have made the fire.
With sufficient heat these pipes are made of materials(Oil based products) though could ignite.
Kind regards
Carl
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Shaq on April 14, 2004, 09:16:45 AM
I am getting paranoid about my car catching fire now what kind of fire extinguisher would I need just incase the worst happens?



thanks

shaQ
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Donato on April 14, 2004, 09:43:03 AM
Shaq,

Its always best to have a fire extinguisher in the car just in case....you can get nice shiny polished one\'s from DP Motorsport at around £70.I believe Halon extinguishers are best for cars but speak to the experts before you buy to ensure you get the right one.

Cheers

Donato
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Nath on April 14, 2004, 10:03:08 AM
Yeah i can only hope it was something not to major , but in my eyes flames seem to be bad ,

im just paranoid as when i poor coolant in , it comes straignt out the bottom , this can only be pipes gone right.
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: clive on April 14, 2004, 10:19:02 AM
I have carried fire extinguishers in all my quick road cars for years and years, just as l had to when l was racing.

The one l have in the FD is a nice chrome one from Halfords that l think was around £30, a small price to pay when you see people on the side of the road as l have on a few occasions with their cars burning and they are standing there totally helpless.

All for the sake of a little squirt from an extinguisher when the fire first started !
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Shaq on April 14, 2004, 10:32:23 AM
Donato
 
 thanks


clive

would you know what type of extinguisher it is, powder based........?


thanks

shaQ
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Donato on April 14, 2004, 10:39:05 AM
Checked it out and its AFFF Foam. it can be used on fuel fires and low voltage electrical fires.

Powder extuighishers can be used to but make one hell of a mess as i found out at work one day!!

Im going to order one today as clive says for the sake of a few pounds it sensible to have one.

Cheers

Donato
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Shaq on April 14, 2004, 10:50:22 AM
cool where you ordering it from.


ShaQ
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Donato on April 14, 2004, 10:59:42 AM
Will check out the one\'s at halfords but i really like the polished one at DP motorsport so will probably buy that one as it looks good and i want to do up all of my interior very soon.

http://www.dpmotorsport.com/home/home.htm

Cheers

Donato
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: scooby_si on April 14, 2004, 12:37:50 PM
stupid question mode (my speciality) how do you do it where people have the fextinguisher mounted in the fiitwell is it just a case of screwing mount thru carpet or sumin?
Si (not allowed anywhere near screwdriver for safety reasons :eek: )
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Donato on April 14, 2004, 12:50:27 PM
basically, although bolts are better as they don\'t loosen off with vibrations.

Wherever you decide to mount it check where the bracket will be then check the other side of where you intend to drill as you don\'t want any nasty surprises!:eek: fuel and brake lines work ten times better if you dont put a 7mm drill through the middle of them!!  and the gearbox wouldnt appreciate a hole in the side of it either!!!!;)
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Carl on April 14, 2004, 01:08:11 PM
Yes there most probably is a pipe or two that are leaking coolant,it obviously needs a good sort out.
I would say that the engine should still be intact but,and it is a big BUT,there will probably be alot of damage to electrics and vacuum pipes and the like.
Kind regards
Carl
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Andyp on April 14, 2004, 01:38:46 PM
Halfords do them from £14.99-£25 ish

Very cheap (http://www.halfords.com/opd_product_details.asp?id=16572&type=0&cat=121)

pseudo cheap (http://www.halfords.com/opd_product_details.asp?id=16573&type=0&cat=121)

25 quidder (http://www.halfords.com/opd_product_details.asp?id=16574&type=0&cat=121)
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Rotorboy65 on April 14, 2004, 05:58:45 PM
Hi Nath, sorry too hear about the fire. I know you have been working hard on your Rex over the last few months, let\'s hope it can be fixed without too much cost to your wallet. Let us know how you get on with the repairs. Best wishes mate Leigh.
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: DRAGON on April 14, 2004, 07:32:56 PM
Hi Nath, your car came to me for Boost issues, as I remember we changed the hose off the Y Pipe and also 2 solenoids. We sorted out your boost issued as requested.
Boost hoses cannot of started the fire.
At the time I distinctly remeber pointing out to you the fuel smell and sugested investigating further, have you forgotten this?
Title: Engine Fire
Post by: Nath on April 14, 2004, 07:46:52 PM
noyeah and you did a good job , just wasnt expeting for the pipe to come off :(

i know you said about the fuel but didnt think it was that bad
Title: Nuts
Post by: lee1boy on April 16, 2004, 07:52:36 PM
Ross is my kit in the post.
Cheers Lee