engine caught fire!!!!

[stuart wizy]

last couple of times i have taken rex out Ive been smelling a tiny bit of fuel,
just put it down to running rich
came back of a run the other week, turned engine of and saw tiny trail of smoke coming up through the vent
flipped bonnet up and their were flames coming of the top of the bellhousing!!
I put it out rapid so done no damage at all, very very lucky i clocked it early though!
the main fuel line coming of the 3 pipe steel conector goes under the plenum but I cant see were it goes from there
any ideas were the leak could be, may be on fuel pressure reg
the leak has to be somewhere under the plenum to get fuel onto the bellhousing doesnt it?
and why did it ignite when I shut engine of (what would spark)?

[BlitzBoy]

yes the metal pipe under the plenum then connects into a bit of flexiable rubber hose that feeds the fuel rail , the fuel reg connects to the end of the rail then fuel return into another rubber hose then into the metal hose back to the fuel return pipe. My guess under the plenum one of the rubber hoses has perished springing a leak. It gets quite hot there so it could of ignited any time you are quite lucky. Take the UIM plenum off and replace both rubber petrol hoses and put new clips on.

[gsb876]

Lucky escape chap  :yes

[Jono FD3]

Holy crap....... Bet the but cheeks were in hyper drive at that point!!!

One lucky puppy there mate.
Hope it\'s an easy one to fix.....

Jono

[vz-r_dave]

good luck and make sure you get those hoses crimped or youl get petrol everywhere lol, mistake me and some friends made a little while back.

[Nath]

engine fires are common on the earlly FD\'s theres loads of threads about them on here have a seach through.

[stuart wizy]

Ive finally got round to having a look!
the jap designer who decided to run all fuel lines under the plenum directly over the back iron plate needs hanging by his bollox!!
how dangerous is that?
both my rubber fuel lines under my plenum had come loose on the hard pipes and started to leak fuel. thats what caused my fire.
ive read on a american site about a lot of us fds being recalled cause of engine fires and this was why.
I am so lucky I clocked the smoke before it went up, anyway ive replaced the pipes and all is fine again.
If you smell fuel in your fd, for fek sake take your plenum of and check rubber hoses out

[BLITZRX7FD3S]

This is fu**ing worrying!   Just wondering what could be done to avoid this, apart from the obvious! But can the fuel lines be rerouted? Does this problem seem to be common on early FD\'s and FD\'s that run lean?

[dre]

That is so strange, i had the same problem on Monday night. Started the car up and could smell petrol. Reversed it off the drive to see a big pool under the car, got out and smelt it, found out it was petrol!!

After further investigation found out it was the rubber fuel line like yours!!

[RobbieRX-7]

i hope you used proper mazda fuel lines and brand new spring clips?? Dont use jubilee clips..they tend to cut into the hose. Also i think the proper mazda fuel hoses can withstand higher heat temps and also bent for the right fitment..better to be safe than sorry lad.  Best thing would be braided hoses

[Bobfish]

the reason the early cars have engine fires is because they didnt have the FPD recall, causing the fuel lines to rupture.  The later cars had this done from the showroom.

If your worried, call Mazda and ask them if your chassis number has had the fuel pulsation damper recall done, they should be able to tell you.