95 850 turbo Up in flames with pics

[jpr0204]

Very sorry to hear about such a thing. On the other hand, very glad that the kids made out okay. Cars can be replaced, lifes can not.

[osman]

Thank you for all the concern and answers, I have many Volvos, but I have only one son. I think I paid $1200 for that one. My son had more money in his new Mac Laptop and textbooks than I paid for the car. I will say this however for what its worth, I bought the car from a tech who used to work at Roger Beasely Volvo in Austin, and who now works at a Toyota dealership in San Marcos.. Interesting the only car I have ever had that spontaneously combusted was owned previously, and worked on exclusively, by a Volvo dealership tech. Just saying.

[KllewT5]

Zip tie the four lines and never look back.

[instarx]

Don't worry about it. It can happen to any car. But of all the millions of miles driven every month, only an infinitesimal number have a vehicle fire. If we start worrying about stuff like that we'll never leave the house. Think of it this way... what are the odds of you having TWO vehicle fires? lol

[osman]

Yes of course, I live my life the same way, without fear of "what possibly could happen". That being said after reading the links sent by a previous poster of his r wagon burning, I watched many cars including other volvos, on fire on Youtube. It is definitely the amount of cars and hours driven that result in these fires, Im sure. I know a few years ago certain Fords and Lincolns had problems with CC systems catching on fire, but there are very few documented, actual recalls concerning cars catching fire. Aside from Edward Nortons character in Fight Club and his soliloquy about car manufacturers, recalls and lawsuits, and the ratio that car manufacturers use of dividing customer deaths by dollars of lawsuit awards, to insure a recall is financially beneficial before issuing one. I dont think any one model of car is more prone to catching on fire than another (Ford Pintos excluded), so the only relevant question to my compadres and brethren is, what can cause OUR CARS to catch on fire and what can we do to prevent life of limb and loss to person and property. Sorry for shouting, sometimes I get carried away by my opinion and topic.

[wjhandy850]

Somebody needs to come up with a fire extinguisher that mounts under the hood and in the presence of extreme heat it would automatically go off.

[cn90]

Yes, the only part of the fuel line that is rubber is the return line from the Fuel Pressure regulator, and is about 3" long.

Actually, both lines are rubber.
1. Feed Hose: from Fuel Filter ---> Rubber Hose ---> to back side of engine metal pipe ---> Engine.
2. Return Hose: similar setup from Engine ---> under chassis ---> fuel tank.

May not be a bad idea to replace both hoses after 160K...The problem is: each hose is $85-$90.
I wonder if one can be creative and use generic fuel hose, clamps to save cost.
BTW, my 1998 BMW uses generic fuel hoses, clamps.

I posted info on Post #2:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=57676


Photo:

[rspi]

Grrrr, man, there are cars that are 40 years old running the same fuel hoses. I'd hate to have to start tearing those out. I never replaced any in my 740 which had more than 400,000 miles on it.

The hose at the rail gets replaced ever 10 to 20 years with the PCV. I guess a hose near the tank gets replaced when they leak. So, I guess they will be replaced sooner or later.

The thing with using OEM lines is that they are usually formed to bend where needed. Should last longer.

[jimmy57]

Trans cooler lines and oil cooler lines are low risk on an 850. For motor oil or transmission oil to be a likely source of fire they have to leak where the oil gets onto the exhaust manifold or turbo. Oils have a higher flash point and don't ignite against the block even in the presence of electrical sparking.
The oil filler cap being left off or a grossly leaking filler cap seal can and has been the source of fires on transverse engines with rear exhaust.

[osman]

Yes, the only part of the fuel line that is rubber is the return line from the Fuel Pressure regulator, and is about 3" long.

Actually, both lines are rubber.
1. Feed Hose: from Fuel Filter ---> Rubber Hose ---> to back side of engine metal pipe ---> Engine.
2. Return Hose: similar setup from Engine ---> under chassis ---> fuel tank
I posted info on Post #2:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=57676

Yes you are correct, the fuel line and return line both switch to rubber in the three-way valve that incorporates the fuel pressure regulator (as in diagram). This is way to close to the exhaust and catalytic converter for safety, IMO. A small leak could be catastrophic as gasoline needs to be aerosolized to be flammable, thus the purpose of fuel injectors, if any of those rubber fuel lines developed a pinhole leak and started spewing a fine, steady mist of gas on any of the exhaust components, instant conflagration would ensue. While I dont believe in the flammable nature of oil (it smokes, doesnt actually burn) or transmission fluid, the zip ties are a very good idea because those circlips are very sketchy. Considering the possibility of losing all your transmission fluid or oil while driving down the road should be enough to invest in the zip-tie safety feature.