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Engine Fire :-(

I never thought it would happen to me (famous last words). I've always been careful about checking hose clamps and fuel lines to make sure that everything was secure. But I guess you can't check everything. Yesterday, the inlet nozzle to the carbeurator broke and started spewing gas inside the engine bay while I was driving home. Fortunately, I was able to use the extinguisher and get the fire out pretty quickly. The important thing is that nobody was hurt but I am pretty bummed about the whole situation. I will be spending the weekend cleaning things up, replacing melted wiring and assessing what really got damaged. As far as I know the damage was limited to hoses, wiring and some discolored paint but I will also be checking the carb, alternator, and all things electrical. What else should I be checking? If you've gone through this type of experience then do you have any words of advice?

?and Phred shall rise like a phoenix from the ashes?

Phred

1971 Type II 1600 dp 34-pict-3 carb 009 dizzy

Thanks Jeffrey

Reply to
J Blair
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Did the inlet tube break, or just fall out? In any event, it would be a good idea to pin the brass tube into the carb body.

Reply to
jjs

Had that happen to me on my first beetle. Gods musta been smiling on me that day, because there was no fire. Remedied the situation by reinserting the brass piece, and dimpling the carb with a hammer and a volunteer screwdriver. Not the most graceful fix but I was in the middle of nowhere and it got that tube stuck in there nice and tight.

Ever since then that little brass tube has been on my checklist at any tuneup.

Reply to
Seth Graham

If the tube merely vibrated/rattled out, you can try rolling the tube on a flat surface, using a flat file on the top to roll it with, thereby sorta "knurling" the outer diameter, and then tapping it back in, and giving it a few good tugs, to make sure it's in "gootentight" If it's dual-port, check the boots that attach the manifold center section to the end castings, and even the coil could have suffered some damage, depending on how hot it got...

Reply to
Kaferdave

do you have the filter between the pump and carb? This is the #1 cause of engine fires next to old fuel hose

John Aircooled.Net Inc.

Reply to
John Connolly

Read about "Moonbeam":

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Speedy Jim

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Reply to
Speedy Jim

Thanks for all of the support. I had never thought about that carb inlet being a problem area so after I fix it, I will be tying it down. I've been working on VWs for quite awhile now and it still amazes me as to what I don't know.

If you know what you don't know then you can look it up but its what you don't know that you don't know that will get you down. And if you understood that then you are a better philosopher than I.

Jeffrey

**SNIP**

Reply to
J Blair

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