As you all know the East coast is in the terrible grips of a deep freeze, Florida included, and the cold affects rubber parts making your hoses shrink, I was getting ready to leave for work this morning and it was 36 degrees out.....brrrr! The '60 Chevy started right up and I let her get warm. After about 5 minutes I put her gear and there wasn't much motion, forward or back. I blamed it on the cold and got her out on the street in front of my house when I realized that things were going wrong, and the streak of red fluid along my driveway confirmed the fact. One of the rubber lines going to the ****** cooler/radiator had blown off. The wife drove me to the parts store and I got some good clamps and fixed the car on the street....a cobbled brick street during rush hour traffic. I managed to get to work with no problems and did my day's duties. The rearmost carb's been acting up so I decided to take the lid off and see if the float's been sticking. After I (think) I fixed it, I decided to start the engine and that's when things went really wrong, all of a sudden there were flames everywhere. I had forgotten to put the gas line back on and raw fuel was spewing over the exhaust manifolds of the running engine. Thank God I had a fire extinguisher in the car, I did manage to put the fire out. Amazingly enough, despite the singed wires, the car started right up again, just think what a mishap like this would've done to a Mitsubishi. As soon as it gets above 50 degrees I'll fix the burned wires, until then I'm driving the Capri to work. Please keep a fire extinguisher handy and never forget that gasoline burns real easy, the combo of gasoline and ****** fluid burns even easier. Don't be a dumb*** like yours truly.
Leaky trans lines are just your car's way of telling you to degrease the engine compartment! I was driving my old Cougar one day when a rubber ****** line at the radiator went and sprayed the hot, running engine and surrounding area with preasurized ****** fluid, helped even more so by the fan! I drove it about a mile or two home like that and just decided I'd deal with the mess in the morning! Came out the next day, popped the hood and found a really clean engine compartment! Reapired the hose, filled the trans back up and thought the whole thing was kinda neat! No more greasy 302!!
****, that blows, but if it makes you feel better my boss threatened to "terminate" me today...great way to start your monday @ 0700
What the hell part of a trans line is made of rubber???? The only thing worse than seeing gas & trans fluid on fire is seeing it from under the car with your long hair all rolled up in your creeper wheel! LoL.......
yeah it was realy cold today here too if was about 82 or so i was freezing!!! sorry just messin' with you nads.
Just glad you're okay. Fire is a scary beast. Find another way to stay warm besides setting your vehicles alight.
Get rid of the rubber trans lines. Not that hard to do to plumb in some steel ones w/fittings. Rubber lines under that much pressure is asking for trouble. As for leaving off the fuel line... I can't help your dumb *** there.... :-D At least you're smart enough to keep an extinquisher in the car. Not many folks are. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver" Since I gave up hope I feel much better.
Shrinking hoses are never a good thing...and, always carry an extinguisher! I hear the Northeast got DUMPED on, Manhattan got 2 feet, brought the city to a standstill...but- 36 degrees? That's downright BALMY! If it was 36 degrees here Stickylifter would have come over and drove his '50 Chebby home from my house (sans windshield or other gl***) the 15 minutes it takes...but it was closer to 19 so he wisely decided to wait 'till tomorrow when the prediction is that it will be above 30. I wish it was 36 degrees here...I'd like to s****e up the snow around the Merc and be able to move it back into the garage...but with crusty snow/ice on the ground, those little 3" wheels on my "car skates" won't roll very easily. You think you got it bad...try waiting weeks for the "right" time to move a car or two around.
Damn Mike, sorry to hear about you getting Xed, that ****s. I know, I know, hard lines are the way to go, I promise I'll do it it sometime soon. And yes Keith, that wagon's been somewhat problematic lately.
I thought I had a bad day when the welding shop changed its hours and was closed when I got there at 4:32 (they now close at 4:30). Glad you're ok. BTW......18* when I left yesterday, 26* today.
I work offshore, in the oil patch, and get force fed safety every day. I have a large bucket of water AND a fire extinguisher in my garage at home. BUT, when I had a small rubbish fire under my car while welding I jumped around like an idiot stamping it out with my boots, totally forgetting the extinguisher and water bucket. Lesson learnt: People behave totally unpredictably when an emergency goes down
Wow!!!! three good lessons for all of us 1. Red Fluid in the driveway. go ahead and call in 2. Always finish a job especially fuel lines before cranking up the motor 3. Always keep a fire extiquisher handy. Sure am glad everthing is okay. You need a beer
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