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Coming home Wednesday evening I smelled something odd and just thought it was something to look into tomorrow. I hit the highway checking my mirrors for traffic as I merged and thought "what is all this smoke"? "It can't be from me"? I got off at the next exit to make a planned stop at a store and there was more smoke and my steering was getting stiff. I got out of the truck to pop the hood expecting to find maybe a seized pulley that was smoking the serpentine belt but I didn't get past the wheel well and the flicker of flames coming from it!
I looked over the tire and the side of the engine was engulfed!
I grabbed half a cup of unfinished tea and tossed that on but the fire didn't go out. Luckily I had a water bottle that was also half full so I threw that on extinguishing the flames.
CRAZY.
When things cooled down I had a look and found that my power steering reservoir was near empty. What had happened was a line blew which pumped power steering fluid onto the exhaust manifold igniting it.
This morning the truck was brought to a garage and the rusted fitting was repaired.
What a close call the truck could have easily burnt and my truck that is still perfect for me since the day I ordered it back in 02 is really irreplaceable to me since a new one with the same options is $60,000.
I made another stop today on the ride home from the garage and picked up a fire extinguisher just in case.
I was driving back from Alaska just before Christmas in 1970 and laid the truck (1968 Chevy 1/2-ton with camper) into a ditch. It didn't hurt it much, but after we got it pulled out and parked in front of my motel room, I had to remove the right-side spark plugs and turn the engine over to pump the gas out of those cylinders. It pumped out the gas, but a spark from the plug wire ignited a pretty big fire! (Motel owner wasn't real happy with me!)
I dumped a gallon jug of lemonade on the fire while my wife brought me a couple glasses of water from the room. She then brought the big jug back full of water, and that put it out. Luckily, there was no damage.
That motel owner didn't need to tell me that I could have burned down his motel. It's what I envisioned the second I saw flame!
Stupid, stupid, stupid, but we live and learn. That's why I'm so damned schmart now!
i had a 79 oldsmobile that needed a carb rebuild. it backfired a couple of times and set the air cleaner on fire a couple of times. replaced the carb and air cleaner and never had another issue with it.
The dealership I worked at had a couple cars catch, but was extinguished before it got out of hand. I came up on a car that was starting to ignite when the owner spilled oil on the manifold in front of a 7-11.....we were able to blow it out, but it kept relighting and got bigger......clerk wouldn't give us an extinguisher....finally I took one big breath and was able to get it out.....damn near passed out on the last blow
I came up on a car that was starting to ignite when the owner spilled oil on the manifold in front of a 7-11.....we were able to blow it out, but it kept relighting and got bigger......clerk wouldn't give us an extinguisher....finally I took one big breath and was able to get it out.....damn near passed out on the last blow
The clerk refused to give you an extinguisher? yeah that makes sense like a burned out car in front of the store and the resulting mess on the pavement that is left would be better.
If the water didn't put out my truck fire I was going to run into the store and grab an extinguisher. They probably would have called the cops on me.
Since it was getting late at that point to fix it or call a tow truck I went to the service desk to let them know what happened and that I would be leaving my broken down truck at the far reaches of their parking lot overnight. The woman at the desk seemed annoyed and said "is it on fire now?" I felt like saying yes it is and that is why I'm buying this gatorade to throw on the flames...
She called her manager and he didn't seem happy about it either but guess what they didn't have much choice. The truck was picked up the next day.
Had one start on the freeway. A oil puddle started on fire melted a bunch of wiring and hoses. Pulled over and let it burn. Firefighters killed the fire. Insurance co actually fixed the truck. It never ran right afterwards. Countless trips into the dealer who did the repairs. I ended up selling it. The dealer called the truck the white albatross
Had one start on the freeway. A oil puddle started on fire melted a bunch of wiring and hoses. Pulled over and let it burn. Firefighters killed the fire. Insurance co actually fixed the truck. It never ran right afterwards. Countless trips into the dealer who did the repairs. I ended up selling it. The dealer called the truck the white albatross
That would be the worse situation, to have it burn then be salvaged.
To bad yours was more of an albatross and not a phoenix.
That would be the worse situation, to have it burn then be salvaged.
To bad yours was more of an albatross and not a phoenix.
Well they resurrected it, but it turned out to be a rolling turd. I sold the truck a year later. I told the guy all that it went through. Showed all repair receipts. Guy still bought it. I couldn't believe it. That truck was a land version of a boat
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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as a 14 yo, I had transplanted a small block into a 1946 Ford Pickup and decided to 'fire!-it-up' in our 'downstairs garage' (walk-out-basement). It backfired and went into serious flames. I shoved it out of the garage and out from under the wooden deck where my mom was hosting a dinner party... (with lots of screaming and gasps...oops).
Mom and I's relationship was pretty rough, and went downhill from there, I was gone (banned from her property) by age 16...
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She then brought the big jug back full of water, and that put it out. Luckily, there was no damage.
