[mathmagician]

quick question, after having to give a quick burst onto the carb area(no air filter) how/with what do I clean off the extinguisher residue? I would assume carb cleaner, but I've never had to do this before.


also, while I'm asking dumb questions.. I pulled the gas tank about a month ago, so the lines etc are dry and this is the first time trying to get it to suck fuel down the line. I pumped pedal, poured fuel into the carb etc but I don't think I'm getting enough fuel through(sputtering out). I assume this is normal but *shrugs*

 

[DesertDawg]

Don't know what carb you have; but I spent almost a full day -sunup to sundown- tearing down and cleaning the 4-pot Holley that came with my '73, because the PO had done the same when he was trying to re-start it after rebuilding the engine.
Took a 5 gallon bucket, 1.5 gallons of diesel, three cans of aerosol "carb cleaner", a can of Brake-Kleen and a pack of 8 'dollar-store' toothbrushes. The best advice I can give is to get your hands on a good heavily illustrated manual for your carb.

There are no dumb questions. How long has it been since the engine actually ran? If it's been quite some time, I'd first suspect that the diaphragm in the fuel pump 'looks like a lace curtain'; so it's not sucking the gas up to send it along towards the carb.
Obviously, getting the fire extinguisher "gunk" out of the carb first would help.

 

[mathmagician]

thanks. gave my dad a ring(ford master tech), basically, toothbrush, carb cleaner and elbow grease, and of course "use a rag next time". she's running again(man that's a sweet feeling), took a bit to get it pulling after sitting for a two months.

 

[Bad69cat]

x2 to use a rag next time....as long as it isn't soaked with something flammable, it will go out quickly if it's only in the carb. Guys use thier hands all the time to do it actually - but of course it's not very wise! Keep a rag under your seat at all times for just such an instance. A halon extinguisher won't hurt anything either....a good investment

 

[mathmagician]

which is pretty much what happened. couldn't remember which rags had been used with what. I'll have to think about the halon, cause now the engine bay's gonna need a good detailing.

 

[1969XR7Vert]

...A halon extinguisher won't hurt anything either....a good investment

This ia good advice, advice that I plan to follow, right now! Thanks!

 

[simon]

Was that done with a dry chemical extinguisher?

Good Lord, that's trouble. Even more if the engine was still running!

Powder based agents are plain nasty and really bad news. They are made of ground stone salts, potassium bicarbonate, potassium chloride, monoammonium phosphate and such things. If left unattended, it WILL eat through chrome down to the copper layer within a week. Even more critical, this stuff is EXTREMELY FINE, once entered the engine, it will clog up mostly everything it will reach. valve guides, piston rings, bearings, everything. Even an air cleaner is no precaution against that stuff. Sheetmetal surfaces will be fine mostly, but overlapping seams will trap the hygroscopic and chemically aggressive powder. Flush with baking soda and plenty of water, then flush some more. And after that, flush even more.

Not trying to stir hysteria, but better make sure to check, then check again. Dry powder extinguishers are really bad news.

in the US, you can still get HALON extinguishers, which have been outlawed in most parts of Europe (I got mine from the UK, but even British Halon extinguishers are becoming scarce already)



question: would I ever use a dry powder extinguisher on a classic car? Answer: If people's life were at harm, absolutely yes! Life is too precious.

If nobody was trapped in the car and the fire meant no imminent dangers to others, I'd rather try anything else, even if that meant that my car would burn to the ground.

All the best,

Simon