For the valve cover. I just had my first(three consecutive) engine fires on my way home tonight and without any visual warning I realized this was going to be the problem when my Eagle started dragging at 70MPH. I pulled over, opened the hood and sure enough there was a nice little fire in the middle of the exhaust manifold. Typical AMC outlier. Nothing ever goes cherry on these engines, of course they just burst into flames! O_o
Four things:
There was oil blasted all over my engine compartment and this was the primary cause of the first fire.
The followup fire was caused by the rubber line from my dist vac to the carb.
The consistent oil spread is caused by an aftermarket breather cap that just does not hold up very well.
Insufficient power.
My main concerns:
I need to direct my attention to those middle two. I need to prevent oil from blasting all over the engine compartment and ultimately causing fires and other performance problems. The original issue was the main air cleaner assembly blasting oil down the throat of the carb instead of the check port. I'm no longer using the original assembly(donut). How do I properly seal off the front vacuum now that it has no definitive purpose? The breather cap plan isn't working out so great and I'm considering just teeing off both ports straight into the carb. What part should I be looking for?
Failing that, I need to direct my attention to the next possible engine fire outcome. What safety prevents an engine fire from igniting the fuel line and tracking back to the fuel tank? I believe I may need a flashback arrestor. What kind should I be looking for?
A lack of oxygen prevents you from backtracking to your tank.
I used a heater hose Tee for mine.
Quote from: carnuck on August 31, 2012, 04:33:53 PM
I used a heater hose Tee for mine.
Done.
Oil still blasts all over my engine and even worse but no fire this time. It must be coming up through the dipstick tube but I have no idea why that would happen. Also, this engine is starting to act tired. 176K on it and it starts dragging at 65MPH, then 55MPH, then it starts shaking the whole car at 35MPH and there is a really nasty knock. I had to drive like that for 80 miles today just to get it home and figure out what's wrong. I REALLY don't need this right before I'm supposed to be starting a new job that's 100 miles away and I need a quick fix for this while I'm rebuilding my spare engine with each paycheck.
Edit: Crisis over.
Run the hose into a 2 liter pop bottle and put another hose coming out through the side. Bungee the dipstick down (make sure it isn't a crack oil pressure sender! Mine did that and I nearly scrapped the motor, thinking it was the rear main seal)
1. I'm not doing the bottle thing ever again.
2. I'm starting to believe my grandfather must have checked the oil one morning and didn't put the dipstick back in all the way. Oil blows all over the engine when it's at high RPM and the stick isn't all the way in place.
3. My oil pressure sender is broken. I have no idea how to replace it and I know it needs to be done. The needle is always on 0.
4. I have a stray yellow electrical wire that just hangs near the oil sending unit. Does anyone know where this belongs?
The sender may be puking the oil (unscrew it and get a pipe plug for the hole temporarily). Yellow wire MAY be for the gauge. Lock down the dipstick somehow. Later 4.2 and 4.0 have a longer stick and tube than early ones.