Strong Smell Of Fuel

On the subject of fire extinguishers I think the boot is probably the best place to keep it, furthest fron the probable seat of any fire. Any thoughts?

Derek

At the front of the driver's seat under your legs is the most usual place, and certainly where I would instinctively dive in the event there was a WHOMPH from under the bonnet

I don't think I'd relish the thought of being trapped in the seat of a burning car, safe in the knowledge that I had a fire extinguisher in the boot !!

I'd vote for one within arm's reach, given the option, but then who am I to be giving advice on fire prevention !!

My father met a newly engaged fighter pilot at Roehampton who couldn't bale out and had severe all-over burns, particularly to the backs of his hands. The only exception being one small but precious and almost unused part of his anatomy that his hands were covering......he said he wasn't going to let the Luftwaffe spoil that for him.....sadly a lost breed.

My dad on the other hand was more fortunate. They had some illicit beer onboard his Halifax which was used to help put out the fires.

Rodders.

This post has been edited by roddew on November 25, 2008 07:06 pm

Hi all

With any car this old i think no matter how good or bad they seem to be, unless you have proof it has been done recently CHANGE ALL RUBBER FUEL HOSE.
It will cost pennies to do and will give much peace of mind
Make sure also if you get your hose from a motor factors, that it is for fuel injected cars, the thinner hose that carbed versions use is useless and will often burst under a injected engines delivery pressure!

Fire extinguishers? a small one in the passenger footwell (for you) and a bigger one in the boot for when you round a corner to find a car on its roof with trapped passengers thats alight........ive been there, believe me its worth carrying

D

We have fire extinguishers in two of our cars, the VW (shows we trust Germany build quality ) and the traction. Both are under the seat, the thing with having them in the boot is you have to open the boot and faff around trying to get the extinguisher out, obviosuly the traction doesnt have central locking so there is a good chance its boot would be locked too. So best under the seat i think, then in the event of a fire it can be grabbed on the way out of the car.

Ill have to have a good look at mine, its probably best to change them anyway as Dean says. Ill be forever thinking im going to have a fuel leak until i do!

This post has been edited by Citroenmad on November 25, 2008 07:18 pm

I've heard of similar instances - you can't exactly carry on driving past but equally,
in these situations we're always told by the emergency services to just get people
safe and don't try to put out the fire. What do you do?

Many years back my mother had a fire behind the dashboard on our Avenger Tiger
and she managed to pull over and stop to get a passing Policeman to help her.
My father had (with rather good foresight )positioned a fire extinguisher under
the driver's seat which saved the day with the PC administering the powder!

Just as well as apparently I was a nipper in the back oblivious of the significance of
proceedings...

The Cx petrol turbo has a 2kg extinguisher handy alongside the driver's seat and you
see it immediately when opening the door - there's no such room on the Xm where
a 1kg one sits under the driver's seat on the V6 24v. My only regret is not having one
in the red 2.0i on the day I had my impromptu BBQ at the roadside. Should have one
in every car - INCLUDING THE DIESELS!

Andrew

This post has been edited by Andmcit on November 25, 2008 10:26 pm

Guess we could ask the supplier to do a line of these in sphere green
and have them as keyrings!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-PinQy-Worlds-Sma...emZ200278214875

Least I wouldn't keep losing the damned keys!

Andrew

This post has been edited by Andmcit on November 25, 2008 10:33 pm

I have a wee fire extinguisher I bought in Lidl last year, they were doing them cheap. Really must get around to putting it in the car. Do you guys mount them to brackets or anything, or just leave them sitting loose?

Ciarán

I like the idea of a fast access and even a bracket is a mental hurdle along the way! Whilst it
the correct means of securely mounting one I've just wrapped hook and loop velcro to the
1KG one in the 24v and it does stay under the driver's seat without any movement. Don't think
that's take the 2KG size as that's substantially bigger and heavier - with the Xm's the only
hassle is mounting anything under the seat where you've got electrics in it.

Somehow, the Cx has space to the right of the driver's seat between the sill/door/seat. One
other thing I've been told at work, is the powder inside them needs a gentle shake every now
and then if it sits untouched for periods of time.

Andrew

Velcro loops, great idea Andrew, I'd never have thought of that

Ciarán

Long ago in a car tuning manual I read that it was imperative to replace all rubber hoses of the 1) cooling system, 2) braking system and 3) fuel system every 5 years. On the cars I used to drive then, my pre hydraulic Cit days, I actually did. The quality of the rubber may be better today, and I did not see any deterioration on the fuel hoses of the '95 XM I drove for 9 years. But the speed rubber breaks down may have something to do with the environment the vehicle is used in and perhaps the badge of products available at the time of installation?

My car has returned from a week at the menders. Turns out it was a split o-ring in the junction between the injector and the feed above it. All eight have been replaced and there's one part on back order, a bracket that directs the fuel pipe round the back of the manifold. Nice to have it back!