Engine Fire with B-190

[mtnmanb]

I've had the B-190 for almost 3 years and have had many adventures with it. Unfortunately, we had a pretty scary engine fire around WA Pass in Washington State. Some may know that this is a pretty good push up hill and can tax the engine pretty good. Well, the engine started racing, so I let off the gas. Tried the gas again, it caught, then raced again. Looked in the mirror and saw smoke, thought it was just overheating. Pulled over and lots of smoke now. Got out and looked underneath, fire and embers were dropping to the ground. Told my two passengers to get out and grab the fire extinguisher on the way out. I sprayed up into the engine from below. Fully discharged, didn't put it out. Two more people stopped and I sprayed up into the middle of the engine where the flames were coming, finally put out, but with a lot of smoke still coming out. Got the hood open with a bit of prying and started to shovel snow into the engine compartment. That seemed to help a bit. We then started to get gear out of the vehicle VERY quickly. This all happened within about 20 minutes. Luckily no one was hurt and it didn't go up in a ball of flames. About 2.5 hours later, it finally stopped smoking. Towed the next morning to an auto shop.

Anyone EVER seen this before with the van?

Unfortunately, the tow company, insurance company, and the mechanic says that it's totalled. Friends are saying that I'll have a LOT of problems from here on out even if I get if fixed. It'll also be hard to get the burnt oil and rubber smell out too. I'm having a VERY hard time accepting this since all electrical still works, there is no damage to the cab at all. Do you think it's salvageable or worth it? I'm guessing that most people here have sentimental attachment to this and could relate. But when do you say, no more? They told me they can't even give me an estimate on the damage unless they pull the engine out.

We've put a LOT of time, energy, and money into restoring and upgrading it. The tires and Bilstein shocks have less than 200 miles on them, JUST installed them Also upgraded the power converter, ceiling fan, lights, and stabilizer shock in the front recently.

Thoughts?

B

[skater]

Oh wow! First, I'm glad everyone is okay. I'm also glad it happened while you were on the road and not while you were asleep inside!

This is the first I've heard of one catching on fire, but of course it's a vehicle and it does happen from time to time. I wonder what caused it - likely something dripping on a hot manifold, or an electrical short of some kind.

Cleaning/repairing it: For the camper part of it, I think it'd be just like cleaning a home of smoke damage, a lot of work but not impossible. There's a thread on AIR Forums right now from a couple that bought an Airstream trailer that had been in a building that caught fire (wasn't on fire itself) and was totaled, and they are restoring it. You'd probably have to replace all of the 'soft' stuff - fabrics, cushions, curtains, mouse fur on the walls if yours has it, etc. - to get the smells out.

For the engine, the issue that everyone will be concerned about is the wiring harness. You'd most likely want to replace it. I'm not sure beyond that what else would need to be replaced. The shop won't do the estimate because they don't know how much they'll need to do until they pull the engine. It sounds expensive, but on the other hand, used parts shouldn't be hard to come by.

I don't know... I see why they're saying "totaled" - car fires are usually pretty devastating even when most of the car is intact. But I see why you want to repair, it, too. We kind of went through the same thing after our accident with ours. I'm sorry.

[mtnmanb]

Thanks, it's a tough decision that we've been toiling over all weekend. Pretty much everyone thinks we're crazy for even thinking we can fix Basher. I guess humanizing our older camper van is not the best idea

Discussed it over with my gf and it's headed to IAA Salvage for evaluation by the insurance company in Tukwilla, WA. I will probably save a few things from it.

RIP Basher....

VIN 1FDHS34GXLHB11582

B

[Planck]

Sorry to read of your incident, but glad you are safe. I would think it is repairable. Problem will be how to get it somewhere to do that. I had a similar incident, but no fire going through the mountains on I-75 in Tennessee. My engine started racing and I looked in the rear view mirror and saw smoke. Coasted over and shut down. No fire. What happened was the auxiliary trans cooler hose came loose and I lost all of the trans fluid. Got towed to a local shop, they found the loose hose and double clamped it and filled the trans. Test drove it and all seemed fine. Continued on for a day long drive to Valdosta, Ga. When I went to put it in reverse it would almost kill the engine and seem to lock up. Drove it to a trans shop and they said the one day old fluid was already burnt and trans needed a rebuild. Torque converter steel was discolored from the high heat and the pump was leaking. $2000 late I was on the road again and trans has worked better than ever. But, now I take it out of overdrive going up grades, which I never used to do. Figured it would kick out if it needed to. Reading one of the trans brochures in the waiting room, it said to never use overdrive in the mountains. Probably a statement like that is buried in the owners manual somewhere.

Problem you have with the fire, is finding all of the damaged parts and buying replacements if available, then installing. Could add up cost wise.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[mtnmanb]

Definitely wasn't the transmission, lots of oil trailing the vehicle and the oil dipstick was displaced, moved quite a bit. I'm thinking I blew the oil pan/gasket or something. Almost certain the engine seized in the end. Mechanic said it would be a massive undertaking to replace and fix it all with no guarantees. Not sure I would trust driving it in the mtns again, especially with no snow or cell service.

RIP Basher, we had many great adventures together and he protected us in the end. Slainte!

B

[lido14co]

Sorry for your loss. I hope you change your mind about reviving Basher or that someone else takes on the task. If it's just the engine and wiring cost for a replacement engine is about $2200-2500 with labor at about 20 hours ($2000) plus wiring harness so $5000 all in as long as smoke damage in cab is minimal. A chunk of change to sink into an old vehicle but it will be tough to find anything else in that price range. Hope everything works out for you.


Cliff

[mtnmanb]

Hi lido14co,
Believe me, we were certain that we were fixing it due to our passion for the B190. We talking to the experts, looked at prices and things that needed to be replaced without even talking to the mechanic. Then looked at how much time, energy, sweat, love and money we've already put into Basher (three years and countless hours restoring and upgrading). Also considered the basic fact that we could fully fix it and it could still die in a month since engine fires can cause unseen damage. Estimates just to fix the basic engine, entire wire housing, replace hood, firewall, extensive cleaning and countless hours of labor would be around 8-10 grand. I cannot do it myself, I'm not a mechanic or expert electrician and will not pretend to be one. Also, the resale value after fire damage is pretty much zero since it'll show up on the carfax. We were extremely attached to Basher and have been hurting all week about it. It was a privilege and I've counted on this B190.com site for MANY projects and countless troubleshooting.

Ultimately, we'd love to look for another one or something similar.

Here are some of the last pics. I didn't get pics of the damage as it was hard to get good lighting and it's tight in the engine compartment.


Poor Basher van, engine fire for about 20-25 minutes and then smoked for another 2.5 hours at WA Pass. Took 3 fire extinguishers to put out


Basher van, smoke finally subsides after a ton of snow packed into the engine block on 17Apr2015. Took 3 hours.


Basher van gets towed on 18Apr2015

[lido14co]

A sad sight


Cliff

[Lou0403]

So sorry to hear what happened. One of the things I've been thinking about lately is that Ford had a recall on their cruise control. I know I had to have it replaced on my previous Class C. I have been wondering if it also applied to the B190s. I was told that some of the cruise controls could cause a fire even if the vehicle was standing still. Could that be the problem?

[skater]

One of the things I've been thinking about lately is that Ford had a recall on their cruise control. I know I had to have it replaced on my previous Class C. I have been wondering if it also applied to the B190s. I was told that some of the cruise controls could cause a fire even if the vehicle was standing still. Could that be the problem?

I had forgotten about that. But I don't think his van would have been eligible - it covered later years, I think. For example, my '91 wasn't affected.

[Planck]

I took our 93 in last summer for that recall.

[skater]

I took our 93 in last summer for that recall.

Looks like it started with the 1992 Econoline.

[Alaskan]

What was the final decision and what became of the van...??

[mtnmanb]

Hi Alaskan, I sent you the long version through an email. Short of it all, the damage was too extensive to fix Basher and we're still pretty torn up about it. We took the insurance payout for it and just recently found an amazing deal on a 2003 Peak Kodiak, a 24ft class B on a Ford E-450 chassis. Basher was sent by Pemco to IAA Salvage in Tukwilla, it may be up for auction or sale. But the engine block, firewall and electrical were all destroyed. The bunk and cab were extremely smoky since that's where most of the smoke poured into for almost 3 hours. We looked on the IAA site for a while but it's actually kinda painful, so we stopped. We did manage to get all of our gear out and I salvaged the new custom water resistant curtains we made. We cleaned them and they are in great shape, no smell and no damage. They were made from outdoor patio umbrella material, both water resistant and has anti microbial fibers in it. I'll be selling them in the For Sale forum and will fully guarantee money back if people don't like them.

We'll miss Basher and have many great memories with him, may he RIP.

B

[Alaskan]

Thanks for the update Brian......I suspect someone will git her back on-the-road-again...as Willie said