Alfa caught on fire today...

[colo164]

Well this morning I made it less than 100 feet from my house before my S caught on fire. When I opened the hood the fire was down by the injectors, where the intake runners go into the engine. Luckily the fire was small, and a quick sprint to inside my garage to get the extinguisher had it put out.

I have to go into work, but tonight ill start investigating what caused the fire and what was damaged.

[Alfissimo Int.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by colo164 Well this morning I made it less than 100 feet from my house before my S caught on fire. When I opened the hood the fire was down by the injectors, where the intake runners go into the engine. Luckily the fire was small, and a quick sprint to inside my garage to get the extinguisher had it put out. I have to go into work, but tonight ill start investigating what caused the fire and what was damaged.

[Michael Smith]

VERY common for the hose clamps to allow seepage. Symptom is faint smell of raw gas when the engine is running and for a few minutes after shut down until the fuel pressure drops. I have double clamps on all my hose ends and even these require periodic tightening to avoid seepage. Routine underhood checking is advisable. Pretty much every time I check the oil I check for signs of fuel seepage and give the hose clamps a bit of a turn with the screw driver just to be sure they are still tight. I have the original factory hoses (1991!!) so I know it isn't the hoses that fail.


The best way to check for this problem is in very cold weather immediately after start up which allows the fuel to seep but not evaporate right away and you can see the dampness on the ends of the hoses and the steel piping. Check ALL the clamps but the ones that seem to cause problems are the fuel rail clamps in the V.

[Del]

While it is common for fuel to leak at the clamped ends of the fuel hoses at the engine, upon close examination of the pieces of hose removed when renewing all of it, I found that indeed the OEM hoses were disintegrating and allowing leaking even if the hose clamps were tightened. All of the hose segments of my 91S were hard, cracked, and crumbling at the ends beneath the clamps, even with multiple clamps.

I have replaced all the original hose segments in the 91S and the 89 Milano with modern FI hose, using the appropriate FI clamps. The 94LS is next. More than one Alfa has burned to the ground because of lousy fuel line material.

[Alfissimo Int.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Del While it is common for fuel to leak at the clamped ends of the fuel hoses at the engine, upon close examination of the pieces of hose removed when renewing all of it, I found that indeed the OEM hoses were disintegrating and allowing leaking even if the hose clamps were tightened. All of the hose segments of my 91S were hard, cracked, and crumbling at the ends beneath the clamps, even with multiple clamps. I have replaced all the original hose segments in the 91S and the 89 Milano with modern FI hose, using the appropriate FI clamps. The 94LS is next. More than one Alfa has burned to the ground because of lousy fuel line material.

[jontg428]

Just last week I smelled gas in the cabin of my 164, was affraid it was coming from the tank again, but, just like 6 months ago, it was leaking between the fuel line and the injector rail, barely noticeable but it does not take much gas to make a big stink. On average, I have to tighten my clamps every 6 months, though I should really be using the proper FI clamps and correct sized hose.

[colo164]

Well every fuel hose on my car has around 1000 miles on it, and all the ends are double clamped, but I will still look for leaks. What if the fuel rails that hold the injectors down came loose? Would that be something that could cause a fire.

Also Jason, is it possible to buy a set of the electrical wires that run to the injectors? Mine are a bit melted....

[Alfissimo Int.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by colo164 Well every fuel hose on my car has around 1000 miles on it, and all the ends are double clamped, but I will still look for leaks. What if the fuel rails that hold the injectors down came loose? Would that be something that could cause a fire. Also Jason, is it possible to buy a set of the electrical wires that run to the injectors? Mine are a bit melted....

[Ted 168]

I too check the fuel hoses for leakage on a regular basis. I have found that when the temperature changes rapidly (parking overnight in winter), the different expansion rates of the clamp and the hoses will cuase them to come loose slightly and I do smell gas in the morning.
I also learned to replace all the 3 fuel hoses every 60K miles or so. I now use the correct hose with 7.5mm ID. For the longest time I used the commonly available 7.9mm ID hoses which will NOT provide a tight seal with the fuel piping. The correct hoses with ABA stainless FI clamps seem to have solved the problem... for the time being.

[Alfisto Steve]

I would pressurize fuel system to see where leak is/was located by removing fuel pump relay near coil. It is not the one with red stripe it is the other one.

Install a jumper between socket 30 and 87 in relay holder and JUST turn key to on position to get pump to run with engine NOT STARTED.

Doing this test will only run pump and not energize injectors so don't turn key to start position just to on/run position.