>#5) The aluminum sealing washer was melted from under the oil drain plug.

550 C at this point then!

Clive
'88 Syncro Transporter

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stan Wilder" <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, August 04, 2002 3:45 AM
Subject: Fire Investigation Type IV engine

> I submit this information so folks with the 74-83 Air Cooled FI engines
> might add the air distribution box to their checklist if you're smelling
> fuel but not finding your fuel leaks at the injectors, lines or other
> common locations.
> I highly suspect that the combination of the tiny leak in the air
> distribution box and the absence of the cold start fuel spray
> distribution tree was the cause of this engine fire.
> If you have a leak in the box it can be soldered by yourself or a
> radiator shop.
> *I recently had an opportunity to investigate an engine fire in a 1980
> Vanagon Air Cooled.
> It is hard to detect exactly where the engine fire started but here is
> what I found.
> #1) The cold start spray tree was missing from the air distribution
> manifold and after the fire it appears to have a leak on the bottom of
> the distribution manifold. Hard to tell if this leaking condition existed
> before the fire. I've never seen an 80-83 Air Cooled distribution
> manifold without this tree mounted under the cold start valve.
> #2) The Magnesium fan shroud caught fire (tells me there was a lot of
> heat) and once the magnesium ignited the fire department just backed off
> the engine fire and tried to keep the fire inside the vehicle suppressed.
> It is evident that the owner used at least one fire extinguisher on the
> fire and that the fire department hit the burning magnesium shroud at
> least once with water, blowing portions of it back up on top of the
> engine and back into the engine tin both above and below the cylinders.
> #3) The fire reached high enough temperatures to melt the engine fan, the
> aluminum engine yoke, the oil cooler and when I removed the 17mm head
> yoke mounting bolts the threads came with them. (everything rubber,
> plastic or insulated with plastic just virtually evaporated leaving
> clumps of ???, but nasty). The engine tin reached high enough
> temperatures that it has sags in some locations.
> #4) The valve cover gaskets were burned completely out of the covers.
> #5) The aluminum sealing washer was melted from under the oil drain plug.
> #6) Just generally speaking all of the steel fasteners had reached high
> enough temperatures that they expanded substantially and enlarged the
> threads where ever they were located on the engine, top, bottom etc. They
> readily screw into the threads with just light touch of the fingers.
> (tells me they'll never again stay tight)
> #7) Surprisingly the exhaust studs also reached high enough temperatures
> that they came out rather than the nuts coming off the studs. I thought
> that these studs possibly reached red hot in normal use, I see now I was
> wrong on that assumption.)
> I'm not completely finished with the investigation, I have a few more
> things to look at.
> The engine is locked, It will not budge in either direction with a 24"
> breaker bar.
> I'm speculating the only salvage from this engine may be the crank and
> rods. I have some question about the crank since the fan end got hot
> enough to reduce the seal to a tin shell and a tiny spring.
> Nasty work but very interesting to me because I've got a momentary fuel
> smell everytime I start my Air Cooled Westy, think I'll check out my
> Westy a little better tomorrow AM.
>
> Stan Wilder
> 83 Air Cooled Westfalia
>
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