Bam!, Loud Bang in the engine bay at 3000rpms....Uhoh Options

[forrestkhaag]

After a few hours of installing a new fuel pump and sorting out wiring to the relay, I was leaving my shop and within 1500 feet of travel there came a huge loud bang followed by a exhaling sizzle - directly behind my right ear. A really significant louder than a backfire explosion at 3000 rpm's as I accelerated. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sheeplove.gif)

Startled, I shut the engine off instantly while pushing in the clutch and then rolled to a stop. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sheeplove.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sheeplove.gif) Out of the car and looking underneath, there was no visible giant pool of oil or shattered aluminum case halves, pistons and parts or even the left and right fenders blown off of the car as such a noise would produce. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

As a precaution, i pushed the car to a safe parking spot and went home to contemplate the cause (before risking a start-up that would further damage what ever was left of the engine innards............. I consulted several 911 people and the general consensus was that it had to be a fuel accumulation in the muffler from working and testing the fuel pump while not firing up the engine. That, in turn, ignited in the muffler once hot enough - and that must have been the explosion that i experienced.

Rather than turn over the engine, the next day, I drained the oil for inspection. I removed the strainer and mags-drain plug and filter. All were clean and without any debris or shiny stuff therein. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) So maybe the chunks of debris are so big that they didn't get to the lower part of the engine............ yet...

Kieth came by the shop and we then removed the lower valve covers to see if one of the valves had exploded or a spring had decided to eject thru the opposite side of the internals of the heads / the noise was that substantial........ (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Valve covers off top and bottom and still no evidence of the cause of the backfire-times-ten explosion noise.......... so we plucked the fan and pulley hatch cover at the firewall.

AhHa!

Three individual guys were definitely involved. (in addition to me...)

They, your honor, were responsible for the BAM!-zzzz that halted my progress home last evening.

Their names were Many, Moe and Jack.........


Apparently the engine fan sucked a big plastic Pep Boy's bag into the shroud area and onto the upper fan pulley from the parking lot debris. That piece of jetsam in turn, whipped around and around as I accelerated - and the hideous bag then caught on to a piece of wire from inside the engine bay at the inner firewall and the two clusters of debris began a death spiral ever tightening the grip on the bag until the bubble of trapped air exploded like no sound I had ever heard from a backfire or other catastrophic event in an engine bay........

The updisde of the story is the oil and filter are now new, the valves are tuned to a perfection, and I rest assured that the bag was not my fault as I have not been to see Manny, Moe, or Jack in several months..........

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[db9146]

So your -6 is so low you're starting a side business cleaning parking lots now? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)


Glad there's no more damage than that!!!