smoke in engine bay?? HELP

[FastWoman]

Well, if it smells like burning rubber or plastic, you've got a problem somewhere and should stop the engine.

If it smells like burning oil, then it should look remarkably better after a few minutes and then burn off completely after a while (an hour?). If it doesn't burn off, then you might have a leak.

Obviously while you've got a smoking engine, run it outside, not in the garage. There is nothing so horrible as seeing your engine catch on fire and realizing your home is over it. (That happened to me once when a fuel filter split open on my Mustang.)

Keep a fire extinguisher close at hand, just in case!

Edited February 7, 2011 by FastWoman

[ajmcforester]

Add a firesafe blanket to your safety equipment also. If a fire starts, and catches the electrical on fire the battery may explode. This way you can cover the battery area.

Sorry if I'm scaring you but it just a little advice it isn't that common that you need to fear it, but common enough you want to have things ready just in case. When you get a fire extinguisher make sure it's good for electrical, oil, and gas fires.

If you got oil on the exhaust manifold it is almost imposable to clean off so you might as well burn it off. Besides I can now tell you never owned a British car, or an old American car otherwise this would have never bothered you, Damn oil leaking junk

[yoshi_w]

scaring me a little bit, but I'll be sure to get a fire extinguisher, hope they aren't too pricey. thank you for all the help and I'll let you know what happens!

[ajmcforester]

People on this site tend to error on the side of caution compared to other sites. I have 3 extinguishers in my garage a lone, mainly because a neighbor of mine works for a fire extinguisher and fire control system company. They get fire extinguishers all the time from client companies that require new fire extinguishers every several years. Well they are a full service company so they end up with a lot of extinguishers that are good, they let employees recharge and condition them for free or at little cost. So I had one made just for electrical fires, one general use and one for metal fires (that is an expensive one normally).

[FastWoman]

Yoshi, fire extinguishers just shoot sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3 or baking soda) at the fire. When exposed to heat, CO2 comes off of the baking soda and chokes out the fire. So if cost is an object, you could probably just have a jumbo sized box of baking soda close at hand. Of course a fire extinguisher would be better for getting the baking soda where you need it, but just a suggestion...

And yes, we're erring on the side of caution. On my own car, I think I would just sniff, satisfy myself it's smoking oil, and watch cautiously as the oil burns off. Well, in fact that's EXACTLY what I did. However, we want you to use safer practices than that.

[yoshi_w]

Thanks for the info! I just ordered afire extinguisher so i'll soon do the test to see where the smoke comes from, I really am hoping it is just a little oil, let you all know!

[Jennys280Z]

Yoshi, fire extinguishers just shoot sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3 or baking soda) at the fire. When exposed to heat, CO2 comes off of the baking soda and chokes out the fire. So if cost is an object, you could probably just have a jumbo sized box of baking soda close at hand. Of course a fire extinguisher would be better for getting the baking soda where you need it, but just a suggestion...

And yes, we're erring on the side of caution. On my own car, I think I would just sniff, satisfy myself it's smoking oil, and watch cautiously as the oil burns off. Well, in fact that's EXACTLY what I did. However, we want you to use safer practices than that.

Wow you're like an electrical engineer AND a chemist!

[ajmcforester]

Backing Soda is what is in basic extinguishers there are several different types, that is why I have three. I probably will never need the one for metal fires, but for $5 I thought what the hell. Beside I got 3 new potential project cars lined up and one is a prewar hot-rod with a lot of magnesium parts that need a lot of work, just about everyone has ignited magnesium, and has some idea how hot that gets.

[FastWoman]

No Jenny, I'm just a pathological geek!

Wow, AJM! I can't imagine having engine parts catching fire! That's pretty scary stuff.

[ajmcforester]

No Jenny, I'm just a pathological geek!

Wow, AJM! I can't imagine having engine parts catching fire! That's pretty scary stuff.

It happened to my grandfather when machining some magnesium and ran out of oil back in the fifties

[FastWoman]

... adds new meaning to, "My engine caught fire!"

[ajmcforester]

... adds new meaning to, "My engine caught fire!"

You ain't kidding:stupid: