Fire

1

All,

 

on the News last night, have you seen the beautiful blue T2  burning to the ground in Sydney’s West ?  Witnessing this event is truly heartbreaking. And yet again , it for sure has been a fault in the fuel transfer system. Our machines are aging and we repair on breakdown, whatever comes. We have to start asking questions. Is it enough to fix what is broken or do we have to do more to prevent such terrible mishaps as seen last night ? What can we do ?  Would it help if we could write up a service schedule for our 20 + year old vehicles ? Especially fuel hoses come to mind, having had a look into the engine bay of our Tristar  today,  I saw the return fuel hose , going back into the tank, almost completely perished. I had replaced this hose about 12 years ago after it had ruptured in town , splurging fuel all over the hot engine.....

Maybe it would be worth a discussion , if we could take a leaf out of the aircraft industry and replace certain elements of our  vehicles ON TIME and not on distance driven. The tank comes to mind here,

and seeing that my gearbox is out I might just take the tank out and check for condition, it could be rubbing against somewhere.

Last night brought it home for me... a  Kombi, a Syncro burning to the ground those are images I can do without

Any thoughts on this topic ?

Hartmut

 

2
Hartmate and others,
Yes fuel lines is the obvious,but since we drive vehicles that drive off-road,also something that needs mentioning is dead grass and other vegetation that can be picked up and built up in all sorts of places.
This is how my friends 2wd T3 burnt to a crisp earlier this year just after he had done some driving over some long grassy tracks.
BenC

--- In Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com, "Hartmut Kiehn" <hartis@...> wrote:
>
> All,
>
>
>
> on the News last night, have you seen the beautiful blue T2 burning to the
> ground in Sydney's West ? Witnessing this event is truly heartbreaking. And
> yet again , it for sure has been a fault in the fuel transfer system. Our
> machines are aging and we repair on breakdown, whatever comes. We have to
> start asking questions. Is it enough to fix what is broken or do we have to
> do more to prevent such terrible mishaps as seen last night ? What can we do
> ? Would it help if we could write up a service schedule for our 20 + year
> old vehicles ? Especially fuel hoses come to mind, having had a look into
> the engine bay of our Tristar today, I saw the return fuel hose , going
> back into the tank, almost completely perished. I had replaced this hose
> about 12 years ago after it had ruptured in town , splurging fuel all over
> the hot engine.....
>
> Maybe it would be worth a discussion , if we could take a leaf out of the
> aircraft industry and replace certain elements of our vehicles ON TIME and
> not on distance driven. The tank comes to mind here,
>
> and seeing that my gearbox is out I might just take the tank out and check
> for condition, it could be rubbing against somewhere.
>
> Last night brought it home for me... a Kombi, a Syncro burning to the
> ground those are images I can do without
>
> Any thoughts on this topic ?
>
> Hartmut
>
3
Hart,

I heard about this but engine fires in old kombis are common and a mechanic told me that a common reason is that some mechanic put a fuel filter between the fuel pump and the carby (directly over the distributor) using cheap leaky clamps. This is a very common cause for bay window kombi fires.

As Ben says in his post, long grass is a definite fire hazard. Hopefully Graham keeps away from the long grass areas on his adventure. With all the rain we have had the grass will be long everywhere except WA (which it really only started raining at recently).

Skot


On 15/06/2012 7:42 PM, Hartmut Kiehn wrote:
 

All,

 

on the News last night, have you seen the beautiful blue T2  burning to the ground in Sydney’s West ?  Witnessing this event is truly heartbreaking. And yet again , it for sure has been a fault in the fuel transfer system. Our machines are aging and we repair on breakdown, whatever comes. We have to start asking questions. Is it enough to fix what is broken or do we have to do more to prevent such terrible mishaps as seen last night ? What can we do ?  Would it help if we could write up a service schedule for our 20 + year old vehicles ? Especially fuel hoses come to mind, having had a look into the engine bay of our Tristar  today,  I saw the return fuel hose , going back into the tank, almost completely perished. I had replaced this hose about 12 years ago after it had ruptured in town , splurging fuel all over the hot engine.....

Maybe it would be worth a discussion , if we could take a leaf out of the aircraft industry and replace certain elements of our  vehicles ON TIME and not on distance driven. The tank comes to mind here,

and seeing that my gearbox is out I might just take the tank out and check for condition, it could be rubbing against somewhere.

Last night brought it home for me... a  Kombi, a Syncro burning to the ground those are images I can do without

Any thoughts on this topic ?

Hartmut

 


4
One of the causes is incorrect fuel lines and clamps.

You cannot buy VW fuel hose from Repco, Supercheap, Bursons etc.



> Hartmut Kiehn <hartis@live.com.au> wrote:
>
> All,
>
>
>
> on the News last night, have you seen the beautiful blue T2 burning to
> the
> ground in Sydney's West ? Witnessing this event is truly heartbreaking.
> And
> yet again , it for sure has been a fault in the fuel transfer system.
> Our
> machines are aging and we repair on breakdown, whatever comes. We have
> to
> start asking questions. Is it enough to fix what is broken or do we have
> to
> do more to prevent such terrible mishaps as seen last night ? What can
> we do
> ? Would it help if we could write up a service schedule for our 20 +
> year
> old vehicles ? Especially fuel hoses come to mind, having had a look
> into
> the engine bay of our Tristar today, I saw the return fuel hose ,
> going
> back into the tank, almost completely perished. I had replaced this hose
> about 12 years ago after it had ruptured in town , splurging fuel all
> over
> the hot engine.....
>
> Maybe it would be worth a discussion , if we could take a leaf out of
> the
> aircraft industry and replace certain elements of our vehicles ON TIME
> and
> not on distance driven. The tank comes to mind here,
>
> and seeing that my gearbox is out I might just take the tank out and
> check
> for condition, it could be rubbing against somewhere.
>
> Last night brought it home for me... a Kombi, a Syncro burning to the
> ground those are images I can do without
>
> Any thoughts on this topic ?
>
> Hartmut
>
>
5

Skot,  especially out West where Graham moves around the grass is Spinifex, which contains resin, the stuff is highly inflammable especially when it comes into contact with the catalytic converter

plus the rest of the exhaust system. It’s not only snakes and dingos out there.....

Hart

 

From: Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Mr Scott Pitcher
Sent: Friday, 15 June 2012 10:07 PM
To: Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Syncro_T3_Australia] Fire

 

 

Hart,

I heard about this but engine fires in old kombis are common and a mechanic told me that a common reason is that some mechanic put a fuel filter between the fuel pump and the carby (directly over the distributor) using cheap leaky clamps. This is a very common cause for bay window kombi fires.

As Ben says in his post, long grass is a definite fire hazard. Hopefully Graham keeps away from the long grass areas on his adventure. With all the rain we have had the grass will be long everywhere except WA (which it really only started raining at recently).

Skot


On 15/06/2012 7:42 PM, Hartmut Kiehn wrote:

 

All,

 

on the News last night, have you seen the beautiful blue T2  burning to the ground in Sydney’s West ?  Witnessing this event is truly heartbreaking. And yet again , it for sure has been a fault in the fuel transfer system. Our machines are aging and we repair on breakdown, whatever comes. We have to start asking questions. Is it enough to fix what is broken or do we have to do more to prevent such terrible mishaps as seen last night ? What can we do ?  Would it help if we could write up a service schedule for our 20 + year old vehicles ? Especially fuel hoses come to mind, having had a look into the engine bay of our Tristar  today,  I saw the return fuel hose , going back into the tank, almost completely perished. I had replaced this hose about 12 years ago after it had ruptured in town , splurging fuel all over the hot engine.....

Maybe it would be worth a discussion , if we could take a leaf out of the aircraft industry and replace certain elements of our  vehicles ON TIME and not on distance driven. The tank comes to mind here,

and seeing that my gearbox is out I might just take the tank out and check for condition, it could be rubbing against somewhere.

Last night brought it home for me... a  Kombi, a Syncro burning to the ground those are images I can do without

Any thoughts on this topic ?

Hartmut

 

 

6

Adreed Harmut,

I will never forget how close I came to that horrible reality
that on a trip to Byron about 10 years ago in my old Bay Campmobile petrol spewing into Ballina.  Lucky I noticed in time I guess ! It was an old braided line and loose clamp..
; )  As enthusiasts we must go through out cars, make improvements and ensure we have confidence in our Syncros. ALWAYS CARRY FIRE EXTINGUISHER..










Sent from Samsung Mobile

Hartmut Kiehn <hartis@live.com.au> wrote:
 

All,

 

on the News last night, have you seen the beautiful blue T2  burning to the ground in Sydney’s West ?  Witnessing this event is truly heartbreaking. And yet again , it for sure has been a fault in the fuel transfer system. Our machines are aging and we repair on breakdown, whatever comes. We have to start asking questions. Is it enough to fix what is broken or do we have to do more to prevent such terrible mishaps as seen last night ? What can we do ?  Would it help if we could write up a service schedule for our 20 + year old vehicles ? Especially fuel hoses come to mind, having had a look into the engine bay of our Tristar  today,  I saw the return fuel hose , going back into the tank, almost completely perished. I had replaced this hose about 12 years ago after it had ruptured in town , splurging fuel all over the hot engine.....

Maybe it would be worth a discussion , if we could take a leaf out of the aircraft industry and replace certain elements of our  vehicles ON TIME and not on distance driven. The tank comes to mind here,

and seeing that my gearbox is out I might just take the tank out and check for condition, it could be rubbing against somewhere.

Last night brought it home for me... a  Kombi, a Syncro burning to the ground those are images I can do without

Any thoughts on this topic ?

Hartmut

 

7
Hi everyone.
Eye cataract fixed beautifully -its like I suddenly found the demister switch on the dashboard. Think I'll get the other one done soon.
I can very much relate to Hart's timely fire alert.(sorry Hart should have said Tristar in my previous posting) Was on a remote part of Kangaroo Island with my bay window some years back and had jambed tight a bit of cloth round the oil filler pipe to try to seal the engine compartment against dust. Oil had dribbled down onto the cloth which had heated up from the muffler below. A fire extinguisher saved me that time and I think they are even cheaper insurance now..
 In an earlier experience with a 404 Peugeot wagon I had tucked a cloth next to the battery carrier  to wipe the dip stick(no not me) and when my wife was out in it the cloth came adrift, landed on the exhaust manifold  causing copious smoke to come out from the bonnet. She drove into a petrol station for help and got instant service from the proprietor who filled the engine compartment with foam.Neither car seem to suffer and went on to very high mileages but I do try to live and learn.
The pictures above are of my syncro frolicking in the grass on my brother-in-law's Gippsland property.This grass was pretty green but I was careful afterwards to make sure there were no stray packed seeds or grasses cooking under hot engine parts.I'd had the experience some years earlier of being on this property with a fire hose connected up to the swimming pool ready to defend the house against fires sweeping across those hills. Fortunately they were stopped by a fire bombing helicopter but after the subsequent Black saturday fires I'd think again about what is actually defendable.
Enjoy yourselves Graham and Rosemary but take care you are a long way from home.
Now back to Tassie planning punctuated by grandchildren.
Cheers
Roger
Melbourne
R

--- On Sat, 16/6/12, rowan.hardinge <rowan.hardinge@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: rowan.hardinge <rowan.hardinge@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Syncro_T3_Australia] Fire
To: Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com
Received: Saturday, 16 June, 2012, 7:41 AM

 

Adreed Harmut,

I will never forget how close I came to that horrible reality
that on a trip to Byron about 10 years ago in my old Bay Campmobile petrol spewing into Ballina.  Lucky I noticed in time I guess ! It was an old braided line and loose clamp..
; )  As enthusiasts we must go through out cars, make improvements and ensure we have confidence in our Syncros. ALWAYS CARRY FIRE EXTINGUISHER..










Sent from Samsung Mobile

Hartmut Kiehn <hartis@live.com.au> wrote:
 

All,

 

on the News last night, have you seen the beautiful blue T2  burning to the ground in Sydney’s West ?  Witnessing this event is truly heartbreaking. And yet again , it for sure has been a fault in the fuel transfer system. Our machines are aging and we repair on breakdown, whatever comes. We have to start asking questions. Is it enough to fix what is broken or do we have to do more to prevent such terrible mishaps as seen last night ? What can we do ?  Would it help if we could write up a service schedule for our 20 + year old vehicles ? Especially fuel hoses come to mind, having had a look into the engine bay of our Tristar  today,  I saw the return fuel hose , going back into the tank, almost completely perished. I had replaced this hose about 12 years ago after it had ruptured in town , splurging fuel all over the hot engine.....

Maybe it would be worth a discussion , if we could take a leaf out of the aircraft industry and replace certain elements of our  vehicles ON TIME and not on distance driven. The tank comes to mind here,

and seeing that my gearbox is out I might just take the tank out and check for condition, it could be rubbing against somewhere.

Last night brought it home for me... a  Kombi, a Syncro burning to the ground those are images I can do without

Any thoughts on this topic ?

Hartmut