Why did Golf go up in flames ?
Discussion
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Strange!, I once fitted a rocker cover gasket, which as it turned out was not the correct one- thanks euros! this allowed oil on to the engine and exhaust and the symptoms I described were exactly what happened to me. Bonnet must be a really tight fit on a golf for it not to be spraying it all over the engine bay.....
hman said:
My money is on electrical, possibly cooling fan failure making the loom burn out (hence lots of acrid smoke?) then the plastic components of the engine bay becoming involved then sufficient heat to burn through fuel lines, brake resevoir etc.
If the cap was off then he would have had oil all over the windscreen and A LOT of smoke from about 15 minutes in.
I'm inclined to agree with the cooling fans fault.If the cap was off then he would have had oil all over the windscreen and A LOT of smoke from about 15 minutes in.
My MIL had the same car from 6 months old which required 2 new cooling fans & associated bits within the first 6 months she had it.
GarryA said:
Vidal Baboon said:
GarryA said:
Service light came on for a different reason? Like highlighting s
tty oil which then led to the fire?
tty oil which then led to the fire?
GarryA said:
Vidal Baboon said:
GarryA said:
Service light came on for a different reason? Like highlighting stty oil which then led to the fire?
tty oil which then led to the fire?If this were even vaguely possible then the roads of the UK would be littered with burnt out wreckage.
Anyway, I thought oil got thicker and more gunked up as it wears, not thinner? Either way, it ain't going to cause a fire, just a seized engine if left long enough.
-Z- said:
GarryA said:
-Z- said:
I'll go for:
a) Oil cap not being replaced properly/at all
b) If the car doesn't get driven much and was still covered in snow, then the melting snow got somewhere interesting and caused an electrical fire.
Go on then, please explain the process by which that would happen.a) Oil cap not being replaced properly/at all
b) If the car doesn't get driven much and was still covered in snow, then the melting snow got somewhere interesting and caused an electrical fire.
And tonker, this is the kind of crap you're going to get.
Better than blaming tonker for causing oil to spontaneously catch fire while still in the engine as a result of the car being due a service. Jesus, if that were a possibility then:
a) you'd hear about it all the time with the amount of unserviced beaters on Britains roads
and
b) the service light wouldn't be just a light, it would immobilise the car saving you and your family from fiery death!
LaFleur said:
I would question how a car can drive so far with an oil cap unscrewed/not fitted. Try running you car without the oil cap to see how long until it just stops turning over.
I think the Golf has a baffle plate inside the rocker cover so there won't be a huge amount of oil coming out if the cap is off. Not sure of the Golf set up but top end of the engine won't be high oil pressure like the bottom end. Camshafts could be splash lubricated or maybe a spray bar, but the baffle plate will keep most of that in even with the cap off.MSN Cars (if I'm allowed to mention it here?) has a Golf Bluemotion on long term test.
It developed a fuel leak recently!
http://cars.uk.msn.com/reviews/articles.aspx?cp-do...
I guess the OP's car is a MK5 though?
(glad everyone was okay)
It developed a fuel leak recently!
http://cars.uk.msn.com/reviews/articles.aspx?cp-do...
I guess the OP's car is a MK5 though?
(glad everyone was okay)
In my experience engine oil doesn't start to burn on a typical hot exhaust manifold - it will make a lot of smoke and smell but there will be no flames. Brake fluid will flame up, not sure about petrol - don't think it does but wouldn't wanna check!
Eta,
I was quite interested to find the answer about petrol, and dug up this article about it -
http://garrett-engineers.com/items-of-general-inte...
They spray loads of different car fluids onto a metal surface at 1000F. It seems even a 50/50 mix of coolant and water will burn!!
Bear in mind though that a petrol engine held steady at max power will have EGT's of up to 1500F ish, but if we're just talking about normal driving round and the temp on the outside of a manifold, I can't see it being anywhere near that which is probably why most people's experience of getting oil on a manifold is that that nothing happens except for some smoke.
Eta,
I was quite interested to find the answer about petrol, and dug up this article about it -
http://garrett-engineers.com/items-of-general-inte...
They spray loads of different car fluids onto a metal surface at 1000F. It seems even a 50/50 mix of coolant and water will burn!!
Bear in mind though that a petrol engine held steady at max power will have EGT's of up to 1500F ish, but if we're just talking about normal driving round and the temp on the outside of a manifold, I can't see it being anywhere near that which is probably why most people's experience of getting oil on a manifold is that that nothing happens except for some smoke.
Edited by buggalugs on Friday 24th December 13:31
paddyhasneeds said:
It's a 2006 Golf.
I'd have thought you'd have to be pretty fking negligent as an owner to be driving it in a state where it can catch fire and a year without a service sounds like nothing tbh.
Not helpful I know, but it just sounds very odd.
I was thinking this!I'd have thought you'd have to be pretty f
king negligent as an owner to be driving it in a state where it can catch fire and a year without a service sounds like nothing tbh.Not helpful I know, but it just sounds very odd.
I had a 1999 ford ka that had a very very minor electrical fire when it was 7 years old, but a 4 year old, 25k golf being completely destroyed? something fishy....
LaFleur said:
I would question how a car can drive so far with an oil cap unscrewed/not fitted. Try running you car without the oil cap to see how long until it just stops turning over.
It'd take a good while to spit all the oil out of the filler cap to then sieze the engine. My sister collected her Fiesta from a garage after a service and immediately drove it 140 miles across country. On arriving at destination noticed smoke coming out the engine bay, on inspection the garage hadn't replaced the filler cap, engine bay covered in oil and some had found its way on to the manifold. Its about a year later now and no apparent ill effects to the car.buggalugs said:
In my experience engine oil doesn't start to burn on a typical hot exhaust manifold - it will make a lot of smoke and smell but there will be no flames. Brake fluid will flame up, not sure about petrol - don't think it does but wouldn't wanna check!
Yes I've never found oil on a manifold to be a problem. The slightest spillage on my car gets drips on the tubular manifold, which gets frighteningly hot. But it never ignites.You mean none of you have seen an exhaust manifold glowing cherry red? The oil would ignite when he slowed from motorway speeds, where the 70 mph wind would keep the manifold a tad cooler.
And in a modern car, there would be no smell as the engine compartment is pretty well sealed from the cabin.
And in a modern car, there would be no smell as the engine compartment is pretty well sealed from the cabin.
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