Holy friggin crap, what happened?!

Sorry about your luck

Fire?
Happened to me too man...

Yeah, burst into flames while I was driving....thankfully the whole car didn't burn so I will be able to part it out and make some money back.

but why part out?? its not that bad I dont think. New Motor and some paint and your back in the game.

How did that fire start?

Sorry to hear about the car. Hope everyone one board was okay.

New motor...and every piece of plastic/rubber/wire in the engine bay would need to be replaced.

There are plenty of partouts going on at the moment, shouldn't be too hard to get the stuff you need? (Trying to be optimistic about it).

Judging from the photos and the comment of “burst into flames” I would think the fire started in the driver’s corner probably by a fuel leak? In that area there is no signs of really anything left – no FPR, brake / clutch master cylinders, lines, etc … Did your fuel feed line leak / burst causing fuel to spill out on to something hot? How was the drive right up until the fire started? If your line blew the motor would probably shut down (lack of fuel), but if it leaked the car would have ran fine and it might have leaked for many KMs before the fire?

On a side note – to everyone– check your fuel lines regularly. When I brought my car home from storage (before the AWD swap), it went right into my garage. It sat there for a few weeks before the swap began. When I took it out to prep the garage for the swap (putting down a tarp, sweeping the floor, etc …) I noticed a fuel leak coming from AFPR line into the fuel rail (I run a braided line from the AFPR to the rail). I thought it was the connection at the AN fitting to the fuel rail (leaky O-ring). While I was doing the swap, I did a lot of other things under the hood (EVOIII intake mani, new rad, hoses, etc …) and I was planning on installing new 750cc injectors. I figured I’d address the leak at that time (since the car wasn’t moving for a couple of months). Well, everything was buttoned up, swap complete and when I went to check for fuel leaks (new AWD tank, new injectors, etc …) – fuel pump on via DSMLink - fuel shot right out of my braided line. My braided line developed a crack over the 4+ years of being installed (maybe 20K on it). I thought it might be due to the motor flexing but I did have a decent amount of slack in the line. Not sure why it cracked? None the less, I changed the line and I have no more leaks. But if the line cracked while I was driving, I’d be in the same boat as Matt.

Matt, what air filer were you running? Not much room with all that IC piping in the air filter location?

Wow that sucks

When I was doing my dual rail setup and 8 injectors, I ran the car for a week before I noticed a leak on the bottom rail (more of a spray.)
I pulled the feed line off, and a part of the NEW o-ring had dissappeared and only 3/4 of it was left.
Probally an installiation error, but it was fine for a week after the install....

+1 on checking fuel lines regularly.

Ouch

Another thing to note is: Never use a fuel pressure gauge under the hood unless it is liquid filled.
The cheap gauges can not handle the vibrations and will start pissing fuel in no time.
Mine was located directly above the coil pack. I do carry a horseshoe with me.

Yikes! Sorry to see hear / see that Matt.

My guess is the dip stick popped out, and sprayed oil was ignited by the exhaust manifold. When my car did the same, the majority of the damage was in the coil pack / fuel rail area, which is consistent with what Matt's photos show. Plus his photos show the dip stick missing.

Here was mine:



Luckily, I had a fire extinguisher in the car, so damage was minimal.

After that incident, I added a spring to my dip stick to prevent it from ever happening again:

Good idea with the spring... I had the exact same thing happen. Smoke started pouring out... I lept out of the car with my extinguisher, but didn't actually have to use it, as it never actually ignited.

Feel sorry for you man. I'll learn from you and others and install fire extinguisher asap.

What causes our dipsticks to pop out so easily. I had the same thing happen once and nearly had a fire as well. I thought i had too much blow-by on the rings or something but i stuck it back in and it never happened again. Is something causing a surge of crankcase pressure?

^^^
Very long pulls (such as on a long straight or on a dyno) can cause the pressure to build up enough to pop the stick.
It will depend on the condition of the motor. A faulty PCV valve or insufficient crancase breather line will also contribute. An old dipstick does not seal very well either.

I too am familiar with popping dipsticks and curbside fires emanating from oil on the exhaust manifold. Here's the solution
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/variant.asp?catalog%5Fname=usplastic&category%5Fname=45&product%5Fid=15641&variant%5Fid=64175

I have this valve in both by DSM's and have had zero issues since. For $1.50 can you go wrong?

I've been running that same check valve in line with a pcv since you sent it to me last year Paul
Works well, actually works better than the pcv!

No blowby, leaks, sweats or blown out dipsticks here, though my motor has been rebuilt
At the same time I don't run any valve cover vents. Stock pcv and valve cover breather line, and haven't run into any issues yet at high boost. Might just be that valve

Hey Reza, it doesn't count when the line isn't attached to the intake manifold

To give you an idea how well this little valve works... Both of my dipsticks have rubber missing at the top near the handle ( yes I know I should replace the sticks soon) so their loose up top and yet they've never popped with this inline valve even at over 20 psi!!

Glad to hear it's worked for you Reza!

I run one of those check valves as well.

Oh yea right that line blew right off at the track, but it was after the check valve, lol.

The cheap rubber tubing I used when I assembled it last winter ballooned over the months and popped off. Lesson: don't use the coolant overflow line as vacuum line when running over 30 psi

Yes, I first tried using the original vacuum line with the check valve, but the vacuum line split over time. Then I replaced it with sturdier fuel line (as shown above).

So even a brand new OEM PCV valve is no good?
Good to know!
Maybe all DSMs aren't the blow-by machines we take them for...

Very interesting, is it possible to find that valve locally?

same here. I'm using a braided fuel line now, however not as long as yours though, so it took me a while to wrestle it in.

It's a tight fit for sure. My line is longer because I have a sealed catch can on it.

Large ups, Home Depot Racing!!!

Octavio,

I ordered the valves directly thru the manufacturer US plastic. I didn't bother trying to find it locally.

I've got lots of HDR products on the car.

I too ordered the valve direct from US Plastic. Note that the shipping is much more than the product itself, so buy a bunch and split shipping with your buddies.

Ouch man that sucks.

Well, after some failed sale attempts and some debate I have decided I can not part this out.

I am now going to piece it back together over the winter.

The engine bay will be completely stripped this weekend and a part list will be started.

Glad to hear your keeping it good luck on the fix !