'89 Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth

BarryPort

RMS Regular
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BarryPort
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4,106
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Portstewart/North Sea
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Sierra Cosworth
Ah no way. Did it just go up all of a sudden or what?

Yeah didn’t take long. Even with the keys withdrawn from the barrel I still went to boot as there’s a cut off switch in the spare wheel well. Climbed underneath her & snipped the feed for the fuel pump. Anything to stop feeding fuel to the fire.

On an unrelated note I’ve only just managed to eat food now. It’s astounding how the mind & body works. Must’ve been some sort of trauma I guess.
 

andy.

RMS Regular
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993
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Bangor
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MKVI GTI
My heart sank a wee bit for you Barry! Sad to see it in that state, hopefully it’s repairable and works out for you.
 

McKay

RMS Regular
Messages
506
Location
RMS
Sorry to see this @BarryPort, it’s such a classic and am sure if you get the opportunity to rebuild it will be better then ever.
 

Blackie

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End of my tether
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Who knows?
Yeah didn’t take long. Even with the keys withdrawn from the barrel I still went to boot as there’s a cut off switch in the spare wheel well. Climbed underneath her & snipped the feed for the fuel pump. Anything to stop feeding fuel to the fire.

On an unrelated note I’ve only just managed to eat food now. It’s astounding how the mind & body works. Must’ve been some sort of trauma I guess.
Absolutely it’s a trauma! As you have alluded to, it’s an old friend, it’s something you’re massively invested in emotionally and physically/financially.
So it’s no surprise that you’ve struggled to eat before now.
 

ALN

RMS Regular
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3,244
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Orlando, FL
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Clio 182
Yeah didn’t take long. Even with the keys withdrawn from the barrel I still went to boot as there’s a cut off switch in the spare wheel well. Climbed underneath her & snipped the feed for the fuel pump. Anything to stop feeding fuel to the fire.

On an unrelated note I’ve only just managed to eat food now. It’s astounding how the mind & body works. Must’ve been some sort of trauma I guess.
Fair play for reacting like that. I'd have just cacked myself and not know what to do to be honest. I'm sure it will take a while to get over the shock of it alright!
 

stevieturbo

RMS Regular
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21,096
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Antrim
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Old Ford
Correct Kev & @svensktoppen.
It was along the fuel rail. Braided hoses so a bit surprised. No potential of abrasion either. Dickie regulator possibly.

The term braided hoses covers a wide range.

Problem with that, is braided rubber hoses are utter ***** and there have been many cases where they pish fuel out and I think it's even been mentioned here before ? Paul from Bangor I think ? And a few other cases I've heard of. And not even from fittings, literally the hose along its length.
IMO Never ever use any type of rubber hose with a stainless overbraid on it, as it leaves you no way to assess the actual hose condition inside. And I think a lot of cases were actually branded Aeroquip hose, so not even generic or cheap stuff.

If you must use a braided hose, always teflon.

What regulator was it and what methods of connection ?

And always carry at least one fire dry powder extinguisher. PAS pump is over that side too....PAS fluid is extremely flammable, but would need a good source of heat to set it off.

Hopefully you can rebuild ok, it really does look like those guys with the extinguishers saved you.
 

BarryPort

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BarryPort
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4,106
Location
Portstewart/North Sea
Drives
Sierra Cosworth
Fair play for reacting like that. I'd have just cacked myself and not know what to do to be honest. I'm sure it will take a while to get over the shock of it alright!
There was 4 of us doing what appeared to be a some sort of tribal dance around it.
I put some rhythm into it by shouting erratic orders to the heavy set middle aged gentlemen.
The term braided hoses covers a wide range.

Problem with that, is braided rubber hoses are utter ***** and there have been many cases where they pish fuel out and I think it's even been mentioned here before ? Paul from Bangor I think ? And a few other cases I've heard of. And not even from fittings, literally the hose along its length.
IMO Never ever use any type of rubber hose with a stainless overbraid on it, as it leaves you no way to assess the actual hose condition inside. And I think a lot of cases were actually branded Aeroquip hose, so not even generic or cheap stuff.

If you must use a braided hose, always teflon.

What regulator was it and what methods of connection ?

And always carry at least one fire dry powder extinguisher. PAS pump is over that side too....PAS fluid is extremely flammable, but would need a good source of heat to set it off.

Hopefully you can rebuild ok, it really does look like those guys with the extinguishers saved you.

Braided hoses & carcoons can join the list of ‘for f*ck all’ along with clearasil.
 
Last edited:

Mel

RMS Regular
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10,843
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S3
Not even sure why I laughed at your tribal dance comment, just awful Barry :broken_heart:
 

davyk31

RMS Regular
Messages
3,258
Assume there are no mods that the assessor doesn’t know about? They can use any minor excuse to raise an issue.
 

BarryPort

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BarryPort
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4,106
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Portstewart/North Sea
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Sierra Cosworth
Assume there are no mods that the assessor doesn’t know about? They can use any minor excuse to raise an issue.

Appreciate your insight but there shouldn’t be anything to pick holes in.

*EDIT* seat covers, must remove the seat covers. Mr Allianz if you’re reading this, f*ck you there were no seat covers, ha!
 

stevieturbo

RMS Regular
Messages
21,096
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Antrim
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Old Ford
There was 4 of us doing what appeared to be a some sort of tribal dance around it.
I put some rhythm into it by shouting erratic orders to the heavy set middle aged gentlemen.


Braided hoses & carcoons can join the list of ‘for f*ck all’ along with clearasil.

Teflon braided are fine ( although I hate the stainless overbraid ), it's just rubber hoses with a stainless overbraid.. The ecu should have shut the fuel pump off when the engine stopped turning too as the relay is controlled via the ecu ( plus the inertia switch ).

But although overkill.....another good reason for a full battery isolator/disconnect switch over and above simply stopping fuel moving.

Hopefully you get to assess things soon, and you can get repairs underway.
 

BarryPort

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BarryPort
Messages
4,106
Location
Portstewart/North Sea
Drives
Sierra Cosworth
Teflon braided are fine ( although I hate the stainless overbraid ), it's just rubber hoses with a stainless overbraid.. The ecu should have shut the fuel pump off when the engine stopped turning too as the relay is controlled via the ecu ( plus the inertia switch ).

But although overkill.....another good reason for a full battery isolator/disconnect switch over and above simply stopping fuel moving.

Hopefully you get to assess things soon, and you can get repairs underway.

I totally get the over reaction at the time Stevie mate but if there was a Roman catapult at hand (trebuchet) she’d have been getting hooked up to the towing eye & flung into the sea.
We could talk braided hoses all night but I’d prefer to finish this bottle of red then head to bed.
 

Loggie

RMS Regular
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1,517
Location
Dunloy
Drives
Sierra
Gutted for you Barry - hope your happy with the outcome whether that be a salvage or replacement. As said at least no one was hurt
 

stevieturbo

RMS Regular
Messages
21,096
Location
Antrim
Drives
Old Ford
I totally get the over reaction at the time Stevie mate but if there was a Roman catapult at hand (trebuchet) she’d have been getting hooked up to the towing eye & flung into the sea.
We could talk braided hoses all night but I’d prefer to finish this bottle of red then head to bed.

You were absolutely right trying to cut the fuel supply. Even though it should cut off, when wiring starts to melt and there is still power available, things can stay powered that should not be powered. So it was quick thinking to cut the wires.
 

Todd

RMS Regular
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4,000
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Ballymena
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M3 | A6 | A3
Awh man, that's devastating. So, so sorry for you. At least you're ok, that's the main thing.
 

BarryPort

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BarryPort
Messages
4,106
Location
Portstewart/North Sea
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Sierra Cosworth
Clarity.

The claim was settled today after 2 months of uncertainty.
I’ve insured hundreds of cars, a handful of properties & my health but this was the first time I’ve ever made a claim (against my own policy lol).
It would have been made a lot smoother if I had the V5C in my own name.. don’t ask why I thought I was being clever by not adding my name to this 2 owner car. Proving ownership to insurance was a headache I didn’t need. Lessons learned.

Anyway, the car is with me for life so I will update the logbook accordingly.

Here’s a quick vid I took for RMS, might document the build on YouTube.

 
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