For those that have been to junkyards and have seen wrecked Maximas, did any of them have burn damage? A while ago I was talking to Dahnryman (Bryon) and he said he had looked at 3 4th gens at a junkyard in Iowa that had sustained engine fires after a wreck. He said the cars that broke into flames were ones that were hit on the drivers side front fender. The damage included a total loss of the engine bay and the dash was melted. Have you guys seen this kind of damage?

My guess to why the fire breaks out is most likely due to the fuel line catching fire. THis is what I believe happens. Upon impact, the fire wall bends into the engine compartment. The fuel filter becomes dislodged (very easy to do) and the fuel line connected to fuel filter gets very close to the exhaust manifold. After a few minutes, the fuel line melts and the fuel pressure within the line is released therefore spraying fuel throughout the compartment. Within a few seconds, the fuel ignites and starts a fire.

This is just an educated guess. I think I will probably reinforce the bracket that holds the fuel filter to the fire wall to lessen the chance of it popping off the bracket.


Dave

 

I don't know where the fuel filter is but if the firewall bends is there enough play in the fuel line and is the fuel line flexible enough to handle the change in position? It may not be the filter or hose that is melting but the fuel line which is being ripped from the fuel filter inlet as the filter moves in distance to the fixed entry point of the fuel line.

 

That isnt a bad idea Dave. Maybe i will just relocated it or support it more. Safety first.

 

The battery can be a big factor in this also that's why Mercedes have put the trunks of there vehicles.

 

ya that's on my list of **** to do, i hate having that up there, i need space for NOS wiring.

 

Nope, have not heard of that one, but I did read about complains about the airbags and them not deploying....

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/proble...in/compmmy.cfm

 

I can't seem to find the fuel filter that's in the engine compartment on my 2k sE, Maybe Nissan fixed that issue and relocated it. So I still don't know where the fuel filter ont the 5th gen is at.

 

From what I've heard, they upgraded the 5th gen's fuel filter to a maintenance-free item, and relocated it INSIDE the fuel tank.

 

Maybe this is a reason not to take off your heat shield?

 

I knew it. It had to be the 4th generation Maximas! What else can go wrong?!

 

I seen a good 15-20 maxs at the local junkyard In the past years and never seen one that caught fire(I have seen alot of BMW's,burnt mostly M3's).

 

Maybe that explains why the Fuel filter is no longer in the engine bay in the 2000+. It's now located inside of the fuel tank, and is not serviceable. Hmm interesting..