So my friend was giving me a ride in his VG 3rd gen, the engine was finally warmed up, so i turned on the heater. When I did this, i smelled smoke, and my eyes started to burn, so I opened the hood. There was a fire right under the plenum... I grabbed alot of snow and threw it on there, it went out. Now were not sure if we can do anymore driving.

Is there an Injector recall on these, like the 2nd gens? What would be needed to fix injector leaks?

The smoke didnt smell like gas... I was thinking it could have been leaves or something that was built up in there burning, cause it had that smell of burning wood.

 

First step is to pull the plenum of and see what was burning. It may have just been a bad seal on a injector O-ring or debris like you said, but the first thing to do is pull it off and go from there.

 

I hate fires in cars, of course who doesn't. I had an electrical fire in my Nova a few years ago, scary business. good luck with that.

 

I had a Fiero catch on fire once. That sucked. but I only paid $100 for it and sold it for $200 in a non-running condition.

 

Nope - this engine has a very common problem. the hose connecting the fuel rails on the drivers side leaks when it s really cold. You need to take off the upper and lower collector and replace the hose. If you want to check, get a flashlight and shine it on the fuel rail near cylinder 6. ask you friend to start the car and wait for ten secs.

 

I never knew this engine had such an issue. Many members that had the 3rd gen vg took it past 150-200k without even looking at these hoses. If the hoses are rubber then they would leak since the cold will crack the rubber and the rubber will also tighten up a lil bit. Ask your friend if he had done his fuel injectors within a few months. My guess will be faulty installation. I had my VG in below zero weather many times and it never leaked at the fuel injectors. I also never had to pull my injectors out also.

 

Last winter that small 2 inch hose from the fuel rail was leaking on me.I use to wait till the car warm up to drive. Made the cracks on the hose tighten up.It was a pressured hose.Had to get the piece from the dealer. Thank god no fires.

 

Do a search on "3rd gen gas smell" in the forums. You will find all the answers you need including pics

 

O'rly?

I have never heard of this engine fire "issue" with the 3rd gen maximas,both my maximas have had the fuel rail hoses leak on them,no fires yet..

Please tell us where you found this information from...

 

Judging by his original post, I don't think he was referring to the fire issue..

 

Correct - just one probable spot to check that is likely (92 car in winter)

 

Thankyou for the responses. I know a little about the VG 3rd gens, cause I own a 2nd Gen wagon, So I know the VG's like the back of my hand, but other than the engine I know little. I was not sure if they had changed the design of the hoses on teh injectors in the later models. I have a 2nd Gen FSM (a real paper one, a rare find), but that shows how to re-do the injector fuel line. One of my buddys Z31 Turbo's has leaky injectors, but he just ignores it...

 

I think I would smell it first..

 

He just has to go through a process of elimination. If he finds wood chips or leaves all over his engine then its a good possibility its wood chips. If not he has to look for anything else that flammable. The first potential culprit would be gas. Since its his friends car, the friend may not have the vent open at all times. but he could raise the hood start the car and start sniffing. Maybe his friend did an oil change and some oil dripped somewhere?

Question to neo - where exactly under the plenum did you see the fire ? near which cylinder?

 

I owned a 2nd gen early on as well which had the leaky injectors, local dealership took care of it as part of the recall. Once I got my '89, I emediately had Nissan look at it. They told me the recall pertained to 2nd gen VG as well as '89-'90 VG's but they fixed it off the line on later models. They told me my '89 had already had the recall done but inspected and it was fine.
Do keep in mind that rodents make nests between the block and lower intake, especially in the winter. If it caught fire once, it will likely do it again. You might be able to remove the air intake box and the metal vaccuum hose lines at the rear/tranny end of the engine and shine a flashlight in there. If there is a lot of chips/dirt then you should be able to get to it, maybe even spray some water through that area, maybe even from the front/pulley side toward the tranny. I agree, you'd smell fuel if it was a gas leak. You'll have to make a judgement call based on what you find as to whether you really want to pull the top part of the engine.

 

No you didn't, any auto parts store carries that fuel line in rolls you could have bought the correct length off of.

Id say its well known any car can leak, its all the same hose. Its always good to check it when the car gets older, and when your working in the area.

~Alex

 

Thats what I was gonna say, my car was leaking from what I though was the hose on the rail and change it with a new CUT TO FIT fuel injection hose. DEFINATELY not hard to find...too bad it still smells like fuel and will give me poor gas mileage. 15 to 19 mixed city and highway

 

Well driving like you don't want to die in chicago will do that. Oh and its fun too

~Alex

 

nissan had fixed the 2nd gen fire danger with a small electric blower blowing air onto the area of the injectors when the car is off. Leaky injectors were most likely the issue, as has been said above.

 

Not how Nissan fixed my 2nd gen. Please tell me you're joking!