Post your updates here.

 

Here you guys go... ='-(

 

What happened?

 

From what we could tell, the tranny shop that she took it too, didnt seal up the trany pan properly, which let the tranny fluid drip onto the exaust, which inturn caused the car fire

 

I don't think it was leaking from the pan it self, if it was leaking just from the pan it would drop onto the ground. I was thinking a loose cooler line or something

 

here is pics of it on fire, thanks arron for pic..

 

Nightmare!!!!

 

man that sucks now i know what its like to see someone elses baby messed up. sorry that it happened.

 

how is the engine? toast too??

pics of the engine bay

 

The back 2 runners on each side of the TPI intake literally melted away. The intake at the very least is completely shot. All aluminum parts melted when the fuel rails burst. At this point right now the hood is latched at the tow yard where it was taken and we can't get into it until the insurrance company has a chance to come look at it. Then we will tear into it and check the full extent of the damage. If the block and heads are still in good shape we may try to pull it. The fire didn't reach the front of the engine compartment so I think we can salvage the Throttle body and the brand new CAI that she just bought. The exhaust is also salvagable along with the wheels and tires at some point. So if we have the time and desire we may try to pull the block and heads to perhaps rebuild them at some point...but that will depend on Ellen and the Insurrance company. (If they will even let us near the car)

Ryan

 

In other words... an accident?

 

That is too bad! Hope the insurance co takes care of ya.

 

WTF! Wow...now this makes me scared since I am almost done with the 383/T56 swap. I better ensure all the bolts and ****t are tight!
I hate seeing a beautiful thirdgen looking fuked up like that.
Sorry for your loss :-(

Tommy

 

What up, Tommy? Long time.

I want to see the 383.

 

x2

IMHO it would take a pressurized leak to cause a fire like that.

Trust me, I've had a few pan leaks in my DD's.

 

exactly. every car i've ever owned has had a pan leak LOL including my T/A when I tightened a bolt too tight once

A cooler line is in the perfect spot and is pressurized as vin said. It's likely it was loose and slowly backed out until it could spray fluid out. If it wasn't the cooler lines I'd be looking at maybe a fuel leak. Thank *** you're safe and it didn't blow up!

If that engine is still good it's time to get some old school muscle without an engine and give it a heart transplant!

 

i dunno.... that exhaust would have had to be red hot to cause it to catch fire... i dont think that could be it..... if i really had to guess i would say the fuel rail leaked and the spark plug arched it and it just went from there...it would only take a minute to cause other things to leak so **** dropping on the ground doesnt mean much... fire dept should be able to tell you where it originated.


still totally ****in sucks.

 

If you saw it happen, it would be clear that it wasn't fuel. The fire was dripping as if it some degree of viscosity. The initial flames were dripping onto the ground from the passenger side near where the transmission joins the engine block. The fuel didn't go up for a few minutes after the initial fire. It was clear when it went up. My bet is on transmission fluid.

 

Agreed. There is no way what we saw when that car caught fire was fuel. When the fuel rail did finally go you not only could hear it blow but you could see the flames extend because of the pressurized fuel spraying out. No, what we saw start that fire was something much thicker. I almost wonder if the Tranny Dipstick could have come off and fluid leaked from there? But being that she had just had that car in for a tranny leak, and they told her the cooler lines were leaking (which they supposedly fixed) I can only assume, that was the culperate. Either way, we are not sure exactly what caused that fire, but like Aaron, my money is on Tranny fluid.

Ryan

 

If you were an insurance adjuster, what would you think about this? There's no doubt it will be a total loss (very, very sad) but aren't they going to require a precise explanation for the payout to occur?

If it does end up being the something associated with the tranny and it sounds like you just had work on this, I would be seriously interogating the shop manager about it.

 

As far as an explanation the Cops didn't even so much as take down a name on any of us let alone question us as to what happened. The only explanation that there can be is from us.

In regards to talking to the tranny shop, is that our place to do that? Do we personally need to go down to the shop and talk to the manager/owner about the situation or will the insurrance company handle that? As of right now I'm not sure what needs to happen, and to top it all off the insurrance company hasn't called Ellen yet. They said 48 - 72 hours on Monday, it is now Thursday afternoon and still not a peep. She is supposed to call them again later today. I just hope she doesn't get screwed on this whole deal.

Ryan

 

I'm sorry to hear/see your loss. I lost my 84 Z-28 when my wife was rear ended on the freeway. My wife was fine(most importantly)but the Camaro was a loss according to the insurance co. They paid me 1800 and I kept it for the powertrain and interior, as I knew I'd be looking for a new third gen. I ende up with my 5.7 IROC. Not sure if this makes anything better for you. I hope they give you at least what you owe. I hope that you end up finding another third gen and can salvage the newer parts you just put on. Look forward to hearing from you soon. Glad to hear you were fine! Can't wait to see the rest of the pix from the cruise. Sorry I missed it. Look forward to cruisin with you all soon!

 

Any new updates yet???

 

Ellen just got off the phone with her insurrance company a few minutes ago. According to the company her policy was cancelled for some reason according to their records. Ellen says that the bill for the policy is up to date and that her payment for this month comes due next week so there shouldn't be any reason for the policy to be void. Unfortunetly her receipt for her payment ijn January was in the car when it went up in flames and she has no record of the transaction because she paid by cash. So at this point who knows. The company is going to go back through their receipts and try to track down the payment, but at this point I wouldn't hold my breath.

So for now we are looking into getting ahold of the fire department for any sort of record they have as to what caused the fire so if it turns out they too believe the tranny was at fault Ellen may have a chance to sue the tranny shop for the damages...but that to is a long shot at this point. One of us will keep you guys updated as to the progress.

Ryan

 

a friend of mines mom had the same thing,,,,,,,had a trans flush and one of the lines came loose,sprayed onto the engine(nissan maxima), and only the front was toasted (not to the interior),,,her ins. paid and went after the shop

 

What a shame... Hate to see someone have to deal with that sort of loss.... Best of luck getting it worked out !!!

Jason

 

Being in the buisiness i hate to tell anyone to do this but, if you do have to go through the tranny shop threaten to go to BAR and have them do an investigation. This will usually scare a shop manager into working with you. Cheap insurance companies pull this bs with denying your claim and reporting it as cancelled and leaving it up to you to prove you were insured. Its why they are cheap, they screw people. Im sorry about your loss, hopefully the tranny shop does the right thing here.

 

i am actully already filling a claim with the BAR =) i have everything they asked me for inculding my recipet of getting the tranny worked on and them " fixing the leak " (that WASNT fixed) I should hear something soon i hope

but thanks!

 

Have you talked to the tranny shop first?They may be willing to rectify the situation without filing a claim.I know they screwed up but,stuff happens.Just saying.Good luck,hope you get something out of it.

 

no i didnt talk to them, i dont want to fight with them.. i was just going to have someone else do it for me..