Blue Smoke / Engine Compartment Fire on 2014 International 4300 Maxx Force 7

Discussion in 'International Forum' started by Food Bank SLO, Mar 6, 2017.

  1. Food Bank SLO

    Food Bank SLO Bobtail Member

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    Mar 6, 2017
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    Hi, Folks-
    I work for a non-profit that owns a 2014 International 4300 Maxx Force 7.

    Last week, a driver reported seeing engine oil spray roof of hood and seep up onto windshield, so we located nearby International dealer and took in. Shop reported it was an issue with the crankcase breather and covered under warranty, so they replaced.

    We checked for symptoms at start and close of day for next 3 days without incident.

    On Friday of the same week, driver smelled electrical fire, saw blue smoke and then had to extinguish fire in engine compartment once he popped hood. Thankfully, no one was injured and fire was put out.

    Oil sprayed all over engine compartment, and down onto ground below truck, where driver also had to extinguish oil fire. Dipstick for engine oil also appeared under pressure, as it was popped nearly 3/4 out of its housing. Fire department shot engine block with infrared thermometer within 10 minutes of incident and it read below 200 degrees F.

    My question is, in your folks' experience, could this fire have been related the breather issue or labor involved to fix it that took place 3 days prior to fire occurring? Seems to me that if oil hit the turbo or other elements in compartment that that could cause the fire to kick off?

    Truck is en route to International dealer, but I'm hoping for any insight you may have.

    Thanks
     
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  3. strollinruss

    strollinruss Road Train Member

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    Jun 5, 2012
    Montgomery, TX
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    Welcome to life with a Maxxforce motor. Those things are terrible and you can't even give them away. Sorry to be the one to break it to you.
     
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  4. Heavyd

    Heavyd Road Train Member

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    Hard to say, could be, maybe. But you can't go marching into office somewhere and demand they pay for the damages based on what we say here. Sounds like the crankcase is being pressurized somehow. I think that is why the first oil problem happened. The crankcase filter may have only been a symptom of a deeper cause. Basically the problem happened again and unfortunately caused a fire. So the first shop did not identify the root problem. The issue with that, is they cannot always duplicate real world operating conditions with a road test to induce the problem and verify the repair. Some situations take hours to develop.
     
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