Engine erupts in smoke and fire…..but its ok, really!
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 453
Likes: 0
From: Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Engine erupts in smoke and fire…..but its ok, really!
I was backing my car out of the garage up onto some blocks to do some work. I had my foot on the gas just about to get up the blocks when, POOOOF! Smoke everywhere, shooting violently out of every vent in my hood!! I shut the car off, grabbed the fire extinguisher and opened the hood. There was so much smoke I couldn’t even see the engine. However, I could see a small fire coming from the behind the turbos.
I put the fire out and let the smoke clear and prepared myself for the worst. As it turns out the worst was not so bad at all. The Throttle Body coolant line blew off, taking some plastic and electrical tape with it (I don’t know where it came from), which got knocked onto the downpipe and caught fire.
It turns out the bottom clamp attaching the coolant line behind the intake manifold was never really clamped on. The indentation where the clamp held the hose was above the where the “male end” sat inside the hose…...meaning the clamp was clamping nothing. How the hose hasn’t blown off years ago is beyond me.
I just wanted to give you guys a heads up on this one, if it had happened to me anywhere else than my driveway, it would have ment complete engine failure. But since I was able to shut the car off within a second or two, my engine is fine. To make sure your clamp is clamping, you will need a mirror, a flashlight to see it and a small pair of hands to fell it. Below is a picture of the line.
I put the fire out and let the smoke clear and prepared myself for the worst. As it turns out the worst was not so bad at all. The Throttle Body coolant line blew off, taking some plastic and electrical tape with it (I don’t know where it came from), which got knocked onto the downpipe and caught fire.
It turns out the bottom clamp attaching the coolant line behind the intake manifold was never really clamped on. The indentation where the clamp held the hose was above the where the “male end” sat inside the hose…...meaning the clamp was clamping nothing. How the hose hasn’t blown off years ago is beyond me.
I just wanted to give you guys a heads up on this one, if it had happened to me anywhere else than my driveway, it would have ment complete engine failure. But since I was able to shut the car off within a second or two, my engine is fine. To make sure your clamp is clamping, you will need a mirror, a flashlight to see it and a small pair of hands to fell it. Below is a picture of the line.
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,720
Likes: 1
From: Greenwood/Hartsville, SC.
Whew! Close call there! I've been reading so much about FDs and fires, I think I might go get a small portable fire extinguisher (read: no chrome). Glad everything came out alright.
Except mine was the stereo head unit that caught fire. 
So I just replaced the stereo with a stocker and all is well. 
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post