Nearly lost the car tonight.

J

John

Active Member
I am unhappy with my throttle response, so I decided to reset it this evening. After the first test run, more tweaking was needed but the engine was too hot to rest my hand on to support myself, so I put an old rag on the rocker cover and set it some more. Then I did another road test. I smelt something hot and pulled onto the drive, opened the bonnet and suddenly with the influx of air, whoosh up she went. The rag was on the N/S exhaust manifold, well it isn't now but my lawns knackered! The rear plug lead was burning so I whipped it off, I now have a 9mm plug lead burn across my fingers, then I emptied a watering can into the engine bay. Fortunately the only damage is a cremated lead. Very, very lucky. I'll pay more attention in future.

John.
 
:shock: Very lucky John. Just glad the story had a happy ending (apart from fingers and lawn). Lesson to us all to be careful in terms of leaving things in the engine bay!

Maybe some anaesthetic will be in order for burnt fingers? :wink:
 
Wow John , steady on , more haste , less speed etc ! Glad everything o.k and your not having to report a total disaster :shock:
 
Things like his are so easy to happen, I was forever leaving spanners etc on the inner wing then closing the bonnet, ouch.
Now before closing the bonnet I have a thorough check all around.
Glad you were able to keep the damage down and a lesson to everyone.
 
I very nearly went up to a friends house to give him some technical books, but decided against it. I think it was the folly of trying to set up an engine whilst taking 3 different prescription painkillers. I just have to find an opportune moment to apologise to my neighbour who was entertaining his in laws in his back garden, whilst I was running about my garden wielding a burning old polo shirt like Homer Simpson, and swearing like Gordon Ramsey! :oops:

Lesson learnt.
 
It is one of the most heart stopping moments when you realise your pride and joy is alight.

A mate of mine with a Jensen CV8 very nearly lost his car and his TR6 that was parked in front of it in his garage. Whilst he was fiddling with some wiring under the dash which required the ignition to be fully on, his electric fuel pump was doing what it normally does, pumping fuel continuously. The problem was that unknown to him was the fact that one of the floats in his brand new four barrel carb. was faulty and filling with fuel and hence flooding the carb. and then causing it to overflow externally.
The result was petrol all over the engine and floor. As he switched the ignition off, there must have been a spark in the engine bay, and up it went. Luckily a split second decision to grab an industrial sized powder filled fire extinguisher a few feet away prevented a potential disaster. The only damage was a slightly singed bonnet and some melted pipes and wires. The powder makes a terrible mess, but a small price to pay considering what might have been.

So the moral of the story is, always try to have a large, good quality powder fire extinguisher within reach (either in your garage or when out driving) you never know when you might need it!

Glad your quick thinking saved your Rover.
 
I have a large dry powder in the boot and an even larger CO2 in the garage, which if my initial fire fighting skills had failed would have been deployed. Swmbo wasn't amused this morning when she saw the scorched lawn where I threw the burning shirt. It'll grow back, and less to mow.
 
A horrible feeling when that sort of thing starts! I had a bit of a close shave with the 3500, when the clamp fell off the fuel return pipe, but thankfully I noticed it very early on. Had I not, it'd have been the end of it, and a very unpleasant experience for anyone nearby!
Glad you're okay John, and that the car lives to fight another day!
 
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