Cam Leak FIRE!

Checking under the hood whenever you fill up with gas, and keeping a fire extinguisher in the vehicle are two things all of us need to do.

 

There are no spark plug wires. There needs to be a lot more oil than a drip or two to ignite other combustible material near the point of origin. Flame height and heat will cause spread to surrounding combustibles. If you’ve had recent electrical work done, like remote start, I would strongly suspect an electrical issue. Mine leaks an occasional drop, but I can smell it burn off and no fire. Yet.
OP: sorry for your loss on the truck, thankfully no one was injured.
And TOYOTA: fix the cam tower leak ASAP, so Tundra owners can have peace of mind.

 

I live in North western Oh and had a very reputable installer from the region do it. Progressive took the truck into Columbus to have it examined at a cost of $3000. He said over the phone they where SURE it was not electrical in nature but SURE it was oil! I have contacted NHTSA about it. And Progressive contacted Toyota. Best thing for all of us to do so far is hvac24 sent me a link for a starting class action lawyer group out of D.C. to see about forcing Toyota to deal with this so I'm going to see what they have to say. Here is the link http://www.classlawdc.com/2018/07/18/toyota-camshaft-tower-seal-leaking-class-action-investigation/ I have no idea the steps involved but I do know when all the older Toyota truck frames where breaking in half the only way to get Toyota to do anything was a class action or they may just say ok here is a coupon for $200 off a new Truck. HaHaHa. There are some fire suppression systems out there which might be our only guarantee for safety. BlazeCut, FireSlayer or PROTENG these are the only one's like this I know of. But if anyone had a fire and it stopped it it would show exactly where and how the fire started for the class action suit.

 

I'm not buying this fire being caused by leaking cam tower seals.

 

I just saw to other posts from other owners and one hadn't been started for a couple days and the other a couple weeks and both burst into flames. From the pictures it looked like it started toward the drivers side of engine. So now what? We absolutely have a leak issue and could be some kind of phantom wiring issue? Multiple options to turn into a torch? This just might put me over the top with a for sale sign. And our only other options are rust bucket Chevy's, Ford Spark plug blow out's with rust issues or Dodge- Where do you start with that mess.

 

Im not either. As a former ICC certified Fire Inspector, and 20 year paid Firefighter, auto fires involving flammable liquids or shorted electrical, are far, far more common than an oil leak. To conclude that the fire was 100% caused by an oil leak? I don’t know? After extinguishment and overhaul, I’d be curious to know what the conclusion would be if a cam tower oil leak was never mentioned (and maybe it wasn’t), and the only mention was recent electrical work? For the OP’s sake, I hope Progressive Ins. Co., goes after Toyota, and a good payoff comes to the OP. Wouldn’t count on anything from a class action suit. Number one: they take a l-o-n-g time, and number two: attorneys win, and all those who filed get peanuts. Just the way it works. I know, it sucks, that’s why attorneys are rich, and we’re not.

 

Couldn't agree more. The only ones that we can trust is us (the people who own these trucks). Lets all hope one of us can come up with a permanent fix. As Toyota would just reseal them again if forced to do so. But when they were sealed at the factory it was under clean and perfect conditions. The real best mechanics I have come across in my life are the ones in the trenches, like the people on these forums. What is the real "best sealant" which will hold up? Even something crazy like JB weld the things together?

 

So you're saying your truck wasn't leaking any oil but you are sure that the investigator is correct in saying it was a big enough oil leak to start a fire? I feel for your loss and that you feel gunshy about it happening again. But to me it seams like something else happened.

I've spilled oil on hot exhaust manifolds while trying to add oil to engines. Back in the day it was common to have a poor fitting oil cap on a valve cover. Those old Chevy trucks had so much room under the hood that you almost had to climb in. On one of my first jobs I had the oldest company truck that would require a half quart of oil each time you filled up with gas. Seen plenty of smoke but never once did I get anything close to a fire. Heck the valve cover gaskets leaked so bad that you couldn't pull the plug wires off the plugs because they were too slippery.

Now if you can start a class action lawsuit and get Toyota to repair every leaking cam tower then I say go for it. But I think it's going to take a lot more than a couple fires and some guy saying that's the problem. A coworker was a co-captain at a local fire department. Often they would put down "electrical" as the cause because it was impossible to tell what actually started the fire. They had to put a cause down and "unknown wasn't accepted by insurance companies". He said most insurers wanted to know if it was intentional when it came to auto fires. Seams that they are worried that somebody could get in over their head with payments and underwater with the loan and would use a fire as a way out. One time he said after they put out the fire they found one end of a jumper cable clamped to the steel rod that held down the air cleaner (which wasn't on the car). The owner said he was trying to jump start it and must have crossed the polarity.

Again I'm not trying to down play your loss. I just think something else happened (fuel line split, mouse chewed through a wire or hose, something broke allowing a lot of oil to coat the exhaust manifold, etc.). I haven't read once about someone saying they didn't have a cam tower leak then suddenly oil started gushing out. They all seam to start off seeping and getting worse.

 

They will fix it with it with Gen 4 when they do away with the 5.7.

I to think a fire by this leak would be hard pressed since the manifold is covered up so well by heatshields, but you never know.

 

Let me add one thing I haven't said to this mess is when i pulled up and got out of my Sequoia the first thing I heard was the Tundra trying to start it's self. No joke/wish I was and that was what convinced the insurance company to do the investigation in the first place. I gave up hope putting it out when the crazy thing kept clicking over the starter in turn kept pressurizing the fuel pump to add more fuel to the fire. It was like a real horror movie happening in front of my face. My neighbor asked why I didn't just try to hook a chain or tow rope to it and hook it to my Sequoia to drag it to a field across my street. I knew in the freezing rain I wouldn't get enough traction on the ice. But yes I've owned some old cars that looked like I added one quart of oil in the engine and one quart over the top of it. But never even smoked as far I could tell.

 

I hate to say it but sounds electrical in nature. Whether remote start or a short to the starter caused it to hang open. Those starters are pulling a lot of amps. Maybe electrical wiring too starter got hot and ultimately what caused it?

I am sad for your loss either way, but I do find it hard to believe the leaking oil from can hear was the sole cause.

I have messed around with a lot of vehicles and some pretty high performance and never seen leaking oil on a header cause a fire but it is possible.

Hopefullly everything gets taken care of for you. No doubt Toyota should be more proactive in the cam tower leak. Crazy thing is you only here about it on this site or the other one.

 

Dayum. What a story. So glad no one was hurt and that the property damage was relatively limited.

I have a comment / question regarding fire suppression systems: I have no first hand knowledge, but plenty of second hand and its the latter that has always kept me from using one (where property protection was the focus; obviously this is a different game where personal protection is involved). I use to race street cars (road courses and drag strip), and therefore ran in those circles for a while. The general consensus was... if its a current production vehicle and covered by insurance (and holds no specific this-car-cannot-be-replaced! value to you personally)... let the thing burn. The reason was, from those who'd lost cars to fires and from those who'd had their cars "saved" by suppression systems is that the vehicle was never the same after. Once the chemical deploys, yes it will take out the fire but it will also permanently eat up whatever else it touches; wires, some metals, paint, plastics, computers, etc And its a serious bitch to clean off and never really does ever come clean (and the smells; that was the #1 complaint... the smells never go away). And then the gremlins that pop up over time from stuff the heat damaged. Most of which, if any, insurance just wont cover. So, the 'word on the strip' was get yourself out and safe, and just stand back and enjoy the show.

Does that jive with anyone's experience here? Would the OP have been better off, all things considering had he been able to "save" the truck? Or, again all things considering, with it totaled out and insurance taking care of him, is he ahead of the game?

 

I'm glad some folks with fire inspection/investigation has chimed in. Like someone earlier, I had a Chevy 350 that leaked so bad I bough oil by the case and put a quart in every other fill up. Hitting the manifold, sure did, truck would smoke from the hood when I parked it. Last I heard, the truck is still running a lawn care business in GA.
I'm having a hard time understanding how oil hitting a heat shield (something that disperses heat by design) gets hot enough to start a fire from an oil drip.

 

Thanks all for the condolences! And WOW never thought of it like that. I had always herd the stuff was toxic but that BlazeCut has DuPont FE-36 which is suppose to be non toxic and non corrosive with no residue. Any thoughts? Just don't want to come out of a store or have my boat attached to a bomb (or someones car/truck).

 

Yeah I'm just not sure. The DuPont FE-36 does look like the ticket, but I'd really like to hear from those who've been thru this with it before I'd jump. There are lots of good reasons to run a suppression system (like the one mentioned above; having to park outside to protect the garage) but its strictly looking at save the vehicle vs not I'm wondering about.

BTW and for the record, I've always carried an extinguisher and always will. You've got to try if you can, and quite frankly I've used mine successfully a few times outside the vehicle (in one case saving a hillside with homes on it from going up after someone threw a lit cig out their car). But a suppression system? That's a specific and different thing.

 

The suppression system it's just basically a capped garden hose 6 to 9 foot long and when the fire melts the hose it would shoot out the fire, that's it.

 

About $165 for 6' and $220 for the 9'. Just zip tie it to the underside of the hood then it's done.

 

Use an extinguisher to prevent life loss. Let the truck burn, insurance will cover most of the loss, AND don’t let anyone add an aftermarket remote start.

 

If the fuel line was damaged the fuel pump (as long as the key is in the ON position) will run until it looses power from the battery dying or the wire melting/ cut. That means it will be spraying fuel under the hood. The lines are steel everywhere except for the part that has to flex. I don't think you will find a fire suppression system small enough to fit under the hood yet powerful enough to overcome what is basically a flame thrower.

The fact is that this happens very rarely. But it does happen and it happens to every brand.

 

Thanks for replying on install location. I had a “very” reputable shop in Columbus install my remote start on my Tacoma.
I found they ran the antenna receiver line directly across my A -pillar side curtain airbag when I pulled the a-pillar cover to dyna-mat the roof.
They were lazy and tucked the wire in just behind the trim. Didn’t remove and confirm.
A few years later I was in my enclosed trailer with the interior lights on from the 7-pin hitch power.
Opened my truck a few minutes later and entire cab smelled like burning plastic. I confirmed they tapped my trailer harness wiring for the remote starter when i installed my brake controller.
There should have been fuses on the trailer harness to blow but i am now wondering if they swapped out a larger fuse to make the remote start work....

 

I'm not willing to say the name as I don't have proof. And I have now read one case of a Tundra sitting for two weeks going up in flames and another after two days the same. So i think all of us owners are left scratching our heads. Not to mention all the oil leaks around the valve cover cam seals? Believe me I want to KNOW the cause of this due to the 14 that I now drive.

 

Someone knows their fire science and arson investigation....

 

Read a lot of detective books!

 

I'm not sure you are ever going to know with a level of confidence. The problem is that if you do a search you will find pictures of F150s and 1500s that look burnt the same way. I'm much like you. I don't like mysteries that don't have answers.

 

Wow, sad to read about this. May stop me from adding remote start to my truck if that had anything to do with it.

Here is a thread with 2 other Tundras that went up in flames, both sound like electrical though nothing conclusive.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/tundra-fire.25705/

 

Glad to hear no one was hurt in the fire.
Hopefully Toyota figured out how to keep the engine oil in the engine for the new 2019 models.

 

Eh, that's just a weep not a leak!

 

All 2019 models are pissin' like that?

 

With all due respect, not buying cam tower leak theory... when lastmaintenance preformed? From Past experiences in maintenance, wiresgetnicked,lines bent, parts broke..... As many here have stated in the old days, cars leaked oil like the proverbial seive. (Sp?) If indeed it was the oil leak theorey i would expect signs prior to the inferno.
Sorry for your loss, glad your family is ok..
Staying tuned!