D3 burnt to a crisp. Self ignited!

[spudboy]

I was getting my car assessed for hail damage from last week down in Adelaide when a very sad looking D3 rolled in on the back of a tilt truck.

The owner had just driven it up to Mt Lofty lookout and parked, and was still within walking distance from it when it went up in flames.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/l319-discovery-3-4/116757d1479694384-d3-burnt-crisp-self-ignited-20161121_102129.jpg

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/l319-discovery-3-4/116756d1479694384-d3-burnt-crisp-self-ignited-20161121_102140.jpg

Looks like it was pretty well set up.

[Crofty]

OUCH!!!

[wlin88]

Wow . I wonder what causes it .

[Chops]

Bugger, that's gotta hurt :(

[Redback]

Wow . I wonder what causes it .

Heat:)

[Chops]

Sometimes it the simple things that can brighten our day. :)

[Celtoid]

Heat:)

I was going to say fire but you're more technically correct! ;-)

I've read a few of these stories regarding D3/4 fires and potential fires, including my older D4.

All the ones I read about and in my case, were straight after a service .... fuel filter incorrectly fitted on my car. My car hosed fuel everywhere.

Apparently a strut (?) makes it a bit finicky to fit ... unless you are experienced.

[vnx205]

I'm surprised that no-one yet has offered the helpful suggestion about the benefits of some judiciously applied buffing. :)

[Babs]

He didn't have an unopened CoolRidge water bottle on the front seat did he [emoji780]

[LRD414]

He didn't have an unopened CoolRidge water bottle on the front seat did he [emoji780]
That genuinely caused me a lol. :)

Scott

[stealth]

Didn't have a Samsung battery did it?

[Piddler]

I phone on seat ? :wasntme::wasntme:

[BigJon]

Easy access for timing belt replacement.

[Graeme]

All the ones I read about and in my case, were straight after a service .... fuel filter incorrectly fitted on my car. My car hosed fuel everywhere.

Apparently a strut (?) makes it a bit finicky to fit ... unless you are experienced.The filter is mounted above a chassis cross-member below the driver's seat, an improvement over the original D3 spot of below the turbo and near the catalytic converter.

[Disco-tastic]

My vote is on HPFP seals. There was apparently a recall some time ago. They leak directly onto the exhaust i believe...

[ozscott]

I really like the 4.0 V6 D3 for a number of reasons... Here is another.

Cheers

[Blknight.aus]

Wow . I wonder what causes it .

Genes, every now and then the spontaneous combustion gene inherent in the jeep line of the 4x4 family tree from which the original landrover was born surfaces and well, youve seen the pictures.

Generally we permit the unfortunate victim the dignity of the best life we can provide but when it finally succumbs we honour it its prye, console the family and usher them forwards with a the best wishes of the marque and the sound knowledge that the longer in the timeline and the older the sibling they reassosciate themselves with the more robust and refined the soul and genetics of the vehicle is proven and become.

[Epic_Dragon]

That is crazy :( just saw it on the advertiser page so came here to try and find out more.

[alien]

No Cookies | The Advertiser (http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/car-bursts-into-flames-at-mount-lofty-summit-carpark/news-story/b49e804967f7e83c67e5ecb4a27ba5b6)

[Discofever]

Holy amazeballs!

[justinc]

Passenger floor area, could be a high pressure pump leak, fuel line to lh fuel rail leak, battery failure / acid leak which can (and does) drip down onto the electrical connections and main harness containing the power source for the eas compressor. Also possible is an oil leak onto the engine pipe/ turbocharger, or foreign matter igniting like rodent nest etc.

A very sad loss and a lucky escape by the driver.

Jc

[Celtoid]

The filter is mounted above a chassis cross-member below the driver's seat, an improvement over the original D3 spot of below the turbo and near the catalytic converter.

Thanks Graeme. So mine was just messy but less risky.

Kev.

[TerryO]

There are a number story's and videos going around lately of late model V8 Commodores going up in flames while being driven, so it's not just Landys and Jeeps doing the burst into flames trick.

Freeway driving has a habit of finding mechanical weaknesses. Over the last few years I have driven past or been caught up in traffic jams of four vehicles that have caught fire while being driven. So it must be quite common as I don't drive on the freeway that often.

[BobD]

I passed a Mazda CX5 with an engine fire on the way to work last week. The new Ford Everest had an engine fire while being tested by a newspaper journo, I think in WA, which is very embarrassing.


A few members on here have had D3 engine fires destroy the car. I can't remember their names but one was in Byford in WA.

[Ferret]

... I can't remember their names but one was in Byford in WA.

And one was going up Kalamunda rd. The local 'DitchWitch' man.

[scarry]

A mate of mine had an XJS jag that caught fire one night due to an electrical fault.
Luckily that night it was not parked in its usual spot under his house.

[TerryO]

A mate of mine had an XJS jag that caught fire one night due to an electrical fault.
Luckily that night it was not parked in its usual spot under his house.

I owned a V12 XJS many many moons ago, it was a great car. However if you have ever looked under the bonnet of any V12 Jag at the fuel hoses scattered everywhere on top of the engine you would wonder how by now they all have not burnt to the ground.

[Toxic_Avenger]

I passed a Mazda CX5 with an engine fire on the way to work last week. The new Ford Everest had an engine fire while being tested by a newspaper journo, I think in WA, which is very embarrassing.


A few members on here have had D3 engine fires destroy the car. I can't remember their names but one was in Byford in WA.

If it was around the 9th of November, and was in WA, I saw this on another forum I'm on.
It was a CX7- the poor bugger had just finished rebuilding the engine, and was on his way to get it blue slipped / inspected.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/11/216.jpg

[BobD]

If it was around the 9th of November, and was in WA, I saw this on another forum I'm on.
It was a CX7- the poor bugger had just finished rebuilding the engine, and was on his way to get it blue slipped / inspected.

http://www.aus300zx.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=960&stc=1&d=1478725927
It was about a week or two ago in Belmont, so probably the 9th. It could have been a CX7, it was a bit hard to see exactly from a distance riding a motorcycle to work in traffic. The engine bay was burnt but the rest of the car seemed OK.

[Roverlord off road spares]

Maybe that's why Land Rover make the ashtray an optional extra, they don't want you smoking in them.

[Oztourer]

If you're a member on this site, my thoughts go out to the owner. I know I'd be crushed if my D3 went up like that. Lucky no one was hurt. I won't name names here but in an obscure twist of fate, the owner has the same name as the Chief Engineering Manager at Land Rover who oversaw the development of the D3 and TDV6!

[BusinessConnected]

Just a Lick of Paint and that ARB Bar would be fine ;)

[ATH]

Car fires are frightening things to see. Many years ago a school friend of mine got burnt to death when the Austin/Morris 1100 he was in crashed and burnt to bits with him trapped in it.
I arrived just after it was put out and the fireman rolled him out onto a canvas after the Police Doc had pronounced him deceased.
Not a nice sight and I didn't know it was him until I saw it in the local paper later.
Imagine a Halloween turnip head and that's what he looked like.....with arms and legs burnt to stumps.
I drove home slowly that night.
Just about 10 years ago now the Cook and I were up the GRR and went up to Drysdale station and came across a burnt out wreck of a vehicle and camper..... I was told at the station it was Nissan and luckily the family including kids got out alive.
The whole thing was burnt from front to back and the only recognisable things were the gas bottles on the A frame!
I don't scare easily but the one thing that frightens me is being trapped in a burning vehicle.
Drive safely people.
AlanH.

[LandyAndy]

Car fires are frightening things to see. Many years ago a school friend of mine got burnt to death when the Austin/Morris 1100 he was in crashed and burnt to bits with him trapped in it.
I arrived just after it was put out and the fireman rolled him out onto a canvas after the Police Doc had pronounced him deceased.
Not a nice sight and I didn't know it was him until I saw it in the local paper later.
Imagine a Halloween turnip head and that's what he looked like.....with arms and legs burnt to stumps.
I drove home slowly that night.
Just about 10 years ago now the Cook and I were up the GRR and went up to Drysdale station and came across a burnt out wreck of a vehicle and camper..... I was told at the station it was Nissan and luckily the family including kids got out alive.
The whole thing was burnt from front to back and the only recognisable things were the gas bottles on the A frame!
I don't scare easily but the one thing that frightens me is being trapped in a burning vehicle.
Drive safely people.
AlanH.

I lost my best mate Fat Baz and his girlfriend in 2008.They hit a tree and the Toyo 80ser burst into flames.A back seat passenger was able to drag 2 unconscious girls out of the rear seat.Baz was trapped in the front of top of his lady,they were incinerated alive.The poor bloke who couldn't get them out before it engulfed them has never forgiven himself.
VERY SAD,I miss the big fella heaps.
Andrew

[Toxic_Avenger]

Interesting docco on the early years of Grand Prix racing: "Grand Prix- the killer years"

Before driver safety and safe track design was a thing, drivers were taping spanners to their steering wheels to allow them to undo the wheel to escape a burning racecar. They were literally bolted into the vehicle. The pioneers of the sport lobbied for driver safety and helped to build the sport into what it is today.

Grand Prix - The Killer Years (Documentary) - Video Dailymotion

[Babs]

This thread took a depressing turn. Sorry for all those losses, very sad incidents.

[Tombie]

My vote is on HPFP seals. There was apparently a recall some time ago. They leak directly onto the exhaust i believe...

Even more susceptible to this failure if a "tuning" (tic) box has been fitted...