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?