And just before time to go to Vegas too! What a bummer... Haven't gotten the car home to figure out the damage yet but I know there is no cosmetic damage. And the car still runs. Hopefully I caught it in time...
Just tooling along down the interstate about 80mph last night and noticed my car seemed to be steaming from the back. I jumped off an exit and popped the decklid to see two fist size fireballs... One close to the distributor/TB.. the other on the front of the engine by the firewall. Luckily, I got the put out fast enough with my handy dandy fire extinguisher - a brand new bottle of Aquafina!
The only thing I could see in the dark was that the top radiator hose had busted. But anti-freeze shouldn't burn, should it? I'm off to pick up the car in a few to see if it can still make the trip to Vegas.
------------------
IP: Logged
11:41 AM
PFF
System Bot
GT-X Member
Posts: 1506 From: Crestwood, KY Registered: Feb 2003
Anti Freeze will burn if it is in a spray. If it is just a stream or a puddle it wont, but once it is basicly aomised by being sprayed it will burn. thats probably what hapened.
IP: Logged
11:57 AM
Oreif Member
Posts: 16460 From: Schaumburg, IL Registered: Jan 2000
If it gets hot enough, anti-freeze will burn. The hot fumes produced when anti-freeze is boiled quickly like on a very hot exhaust manifold are what catch fire.
Sorry to hear about your car Songman, I how the damage is minimal.
------------------ Happiness isn't around the corner... Happiness IS the corner.
IP: Logged
11:59 AM
Songman Member
Posts: 12496 From: Nashville, TN Registered: Aug 2000
Thanks guys... I think the damage is minimial since half an hour after I stopped, I wanted to move the car further up the exit to get it out of the road completely. It started right up and I drove it about 50 yards.. But even if I think I have it fixed in time to go to Vegas, I know I'll still be paranoid.
IP: Logged
12:07 PM
jelly2m8 Member
Posts: 6235 From: Nova Scotia, Canada Registered: Jul 2001
If you find that the busted hose was the culprit, you may want to check and replace the rest of the cooling hoses, if that one was deteroriated enough to blow, the rest may not be far behind.
IP: Logged
12:10 PM
Arizona85GT Member
Posts: 1667 From: Glendale, AZ Registered: Jan 2003
Yeah... the bad new is that this is the only one with working a/c!! haha
Here's the strangest part... I was down at WCF yesterday asking some advice because my car was running a little hotter than normal. Not hot by any means, but hotter than normal for my car. It was getting up to about 235 at high speeds. In normal traffic the temp stayed low. Chris told me to take the thermostat out and if it stayed cool it was most likely the water pump impellers. I did and it did exactly as he said it would. I bought a water pump that I planned to install today...
On the drive home, the car never heated up or anything... The question in my mind is that it would seem like there is less pressure on the hose without the thermostat in there. Could this just be coincidence that the hose busted last night?
IP: Logged
12:24 PM
Smoooooth GT Member
Posts: 8823 From: Lake Palestine, Texas Registered: Jun 2001
Dale... Was this the Black GT..?? Sound's like the damage isn't that bad.. Any electrical(wires) damaged?? Good Luck and hope that you get it done before the VegasFest...
------------------ Said Hulki, "You had to look at the Fiero not as a car, but as a process." SmoothFieroGT@Yahoo.com
IP: Logged
01:20 PM
Steve Normington Member
Posts: 7663 From: Mesa, AZ, USA Registered: Apr 2001
1) (I've said this before) Be VERY careful opening up the hood/deck on a car that could be on fire. The sudden inrush of fresh oxygenated air could turn a smoulder into a big fire.
2) With the thermostat out, you'd have more pressure on the hoses, not less. The thermostat puts a restriction in the flow between the pump and the hoses. With the thermostat out, the restriction will be the radiator and other componants, putting more pressure on the hoses.
IP: Logged
01:59 PM
PFF
System Bot
Whuffo Member
Posts: 3000 From: San Jose, CA Registered: Jul 2003
It's easy for us to forget that our cars are 15 to 20 years old. I'm not sure what's more amazing - that the hoses last this long, or that we're surprised when one fails.
If you're going to go long distances in a Fiero - especially on a hot day - consider the radiator hoses, heater hoses, fan belts, etc. They weren't designed to last this long; what kind of condition are YOURS in?
Glad to hear that the damage was minimal!
IP: Logged
02:32 PM
Smoooooth GT Member
Posts: 8823 From: Lake Palestine, Texas Registered: Jun 2001
It's easy for us to forget that our cars are 15 to 20 years old. I'm not sure what's more amazing - that the hoses last this long, or that we're surprised when one fails.
Okay.. Got the car home and there doesn't appear to be any damage other than the busted coolant hose by ther thermostat opening. The car starts and runs well with no apparent defects (other than coolant shooting out of the hose since I haven't replaced it yet!).
Chris Pond came up and met me where the car was sitting off the freeway and had some thoughts about the cause of the fire. He was thinking that there may be a leaky EGR somewhere that caused the manifolds to get red hot and start the blaze.
I've had a crappy day and haven't had a chance to work on it so I'll start replacing stuff tomorrow. Unfortunately, this and the rest of my crappy day stuff which I will tell about in another thread, is going to keep us from going to Vegas...
IP: Logged
10:25 PM
AusFiero Member
Posts: 11513 From: Dapto NSW Australia Registered: Feb 2001
Dale, Sorry to here about the fire, but it good to know that the damage was less then what was first thought to be. At least it is running. Hope you get if fixed soon. It's a bummer not being able to go to Vegas, maybe something will come up that will let you go. I knew that you really want to make it there. Let me know if you need anything. Bob
IP: Logged
12:37 AM
Jul 30th, 2003
FieroMonkey Member
Posts: 3294 From: poway,CA,USA Registered: Nov 2002
Good save Dale! Glad you saved that little Gem, could have been worse. Check your cold start injector and the tube that connects it to the fuel rail. those are notorious for fires in the area you described.
Give me a call man. i want to come up and visit you this week. Pbody is wussing out on Vegas, now that you aint going, i am gonna pass as well.
------------------ -Monkey
IP: Logged
12:57 AM
Songman Member
Posts: 12496 From: Nashville, TN Registered: Aug 2000
Originally posted by FieroMonkey: Give me a call man. i want to come up and visit you this week. Pbody is wussing out on Vegas, now that you aint going, i am gonna pass as well.
Hey, you guys get your butts out here! How can you bail on us now???
Good Luck trouble shooting
