matt4674

1987 turbo 84k with stainless steel headers and ss catback exhaust no other mods
I had an engine fire and need help finding out what caused it and what it will need to be running again,here is the story.

i was AutoXing this last weekend, myself and another driver. we were both running back to back the in the morning. then i had a 1.5 hour break before I ran again. i went for my last set of runs as right as i take off from the start i got an engine fire. it was put out in whats seemed to be forever but was most likely no more then 2 min.

Looking at the car afterwords i noticed that the rubber on the oil filter gave out and sprayed oil on the headers causing the fire. the filter was still on tight. As far as the pressure goes it was running at 5 and in the pits somewhere between 2-3(oil pressure sensor new). the break in the oil filter seal happened either when the car was shut off from its previous runs or when i started it up for my last runs because there was an oil leak starting from where i was parked

Attached are pictures of the oil filter and the worst burnt areas

so what caused the seal to give out and should be need to get her going strong again

Sorry for the long post and thank you for any insight

matt4674

royal purple 5-30 with about a quart of Lucas additive was the oil used

Olli Snellman

+1
Luckily just minor damage.

matt4674

yea i used a bosch first but my connector pipe did not seal so i had to get ride off my milkshaky oil and bosch oil filter and the local autozone only had stp in stock and i didnt want to wait.

matt4674

hopefully, a lot of wires did get scorched pretty good and i am not sure if they need to be replaces or not. I know i def need injector wires but not sure on the rest.

its a good the the least expensive red silicone hoses all held up great

kev951

use mahle please- oc142 or oc75 .. hopefully you will never experience that again!! no comment on oil used.

JohnKoaWood

Sorry to see this...

You COULD start by tracing each wire, and checking it with a multimeter, or just dive in and change out the entire harness.

I would go the extra step and replace eveything rubber or plastic on that side of the motor (PS lines included, as the reservoir is pretty crispy!).

Have the injectors checked out by Witchhunter... as they apear to have been exposed to some heat (connecting wires being melted..).

You took the time saving route of a cheap filter... I wouldn't apply the same logic to the rebuild!

Good luck!

pettybird

you may have over tightened the filter, tightened it down dry (causing the seal to pull) or the seal was faulty to begin with. I spent the summer after high school graduation working at a 10 minute oil change place and I saw lots of weird issues.

regardless of manufacturer you really need to inspect the filter, gasket and sealing area before you install one.

I also understand impatience, but I also don't trust the STP filter drain back valves to hold oil when they're upright like they are in a 944. Good luck patching the car back together--that looks like it's going to be irritating!

sydneyman

+1 on the filter advice.

use Mahle, lubricate the seal with new oil on both sides. (which means you have to pull it out and inspect it...) good luck!

reno808

why would you use STP???????

i would use MANN or MAHLE

matt4674

it was tightened by hand and removed by hand. so could my brute strength still have over tightened the filter? i did lub the outside edge of the oil filter gasket are you saying to also take the gasket out of the filter and lubing the other side aswell?

plumbum

The seal may not have been fully seated? I would also check the store you purchased the filter from and see if there is a bad batch of filters.

PEvans

I can't tell much from the pictures. I believe fires can start in that area due to a leaking fuel rail dripping on the exhaust. I think that is what did in my '86.

Ok, I see you are pretty sure it is from oil spraying on the header.

zerMATT951

The oil filter failure may or may not have had anything to do with oiling the gasket or over/under tightening, the key is to steer clear of anything from the auto parts store that says STP with the exception of fuel system cleaner, and even then you're better off with Techron.

Cheap filters will find a way to fail. Be glad that you caught it before it burned through a pressurized fuel line and caused a lot more damage, and in the future, only use Mahle or Mann oil filters.

matt4674

ok yes i bought a ****ty oil filter, but it is still hard for my to wrap my head around that being what caused the catastrophic failure. what about the oil system being over pressured as maybe the oil pressure regulator faulted and caused a pressure spike or something.