Truck caught fire!

[Lammie]

My truck caught fire today in the driveway, parked, not running. I was out feeding chickens and smelled smoke. The engine is gone and there is all kinds of damage. It was an '01 F150, and no, I had not had the service done yet on the recall of the cruise control. Mine had just gone out this week along with my turn signals and brake lights. I had a mechanic look at it on Saturday and he replaced a fuse and told me to get it in to the dealership.

Man, this sucks! Anyone else have this problem? How hard is it gonna be?

 

[Miss Daisy]

man thats bad news! hopefull insurance or the dealer helps cover it.

 

[bigbull338]

sorry that your truck caught on fire an burned.a guy i know shed/garage caught on fire last week an burned.an it also burned his truck to a crisp.but we had rain an storms.so lighting couldve stuck the building.but if not his truck did the samething as yours did.but i really dont know what happened.after your truck burnt i remembered about his deal.

 

[cfpinz]

How long ago did you get the recall notice?

I sat one on fire myself. Was welding the firewall back together while laying across the motor, noticed the cab was full of smoke when I got done with a pass. Crawled down and looked under the steering wheel and all kind of crap was on fire. FYI, Ford's soundproofing material on 87 F350s is quite flammable.

 

[Earl Thigpen]

Wow, that recall went out a couple of years ago. I can't believe you are just now getting your notice. Hello, Lawyer?

 

[Alice]

Lammie, my brother-in-law's 01 F-150 did the same thing. He works for the Highway Dept. and it was parked at his station. He was inside and someone came in yelling that a truck was on fire. He went out never suspecting anything, and there it was, burning.

Alice

 

[Lammie]

Well I turned in a claim to my insurance, (Allstate) and they said they would settle with me and then go after Ford Motor Company. I have another truck I am driving at the moment, an '06 Silverado my FIL no longer wanted, as he had just bought an '08. I miss my Ford.

We were out feeding chickens and I heard the horn honking. Steve was burning leaves down by the road, so I thought the smoke was from him. Then I started smelling plastic. I ran to the driveway and Steve was already there. His Crossfire was sitting right next to the truck, flames pouring out the Ford, and Steve pushed his car out of the way and got the hose. It was parked right next to the house and I thought the house would catch fire, but there was no way to move the truck.

Called 911, and then Allstate to make the claim. I had just gotten a recall on it. I had heard about it, but since everything was working, I didn't really pay notice. Last week, the cruise control stopped working followed by the brake lights and signals. Had our mechanic replace a 20 amp fuse for the signals and lights, (I couldn't tell which was out and I don't have an owner's manuel :frowns: ). He advised me to get it in to the dealer. Then it caught fire the next day. It was freaky. I had gotten back from taking a kid home about an hour before.

It was freaky. While it was burning, the horn was honking and the starter was turning over, rrrr, rrrr. I thought for sure it would 'splode.

I am just glad to have something to drive. We had just sold the trusty back-up, the '83 F150.

 

[Brute 23]

Thats Ford for ya... :lol:

 

[cfpinz]

It was freaky. While it was burning, the horn was honking and the starter was turning over, rrrr, rrrr. I thought for sure it would 'splode.

That might be the cause of the fire, I've seen starter solenoids stick with no one in sight and the starter grinds away until it over heats and eventually catches on fire. One of the neighbor's Ford 5000s did that about 2 years ago, the starter pushed it across a field until it ran into a fence post and then caught on fire.

 

[Wisteria Farms]

Hey Lammie.... once you get the whole burned up truck thing straightened out and are a happy camper again.... tell 'ol Steve you need to borrow that Crossfire 'cause you got a buddy in Illinois who LOVES those things!!!! If I didn't have soccer-mom syndrome (Ford Expedition) I'd be driving one of those bad boys!! Just kidding.... I hope it works out for you it sounds like it was quite an ordeal to go through.

 

[Beefy]

i thought surely when i read this subject that cfpinz would be the author.

 

[dun]

i thought surely when i read this subject that cfpinz would be the author.

He would have a hard time telling it burned other then seeing the flames. This thread may give his wife some good ideas though.

 

[Lammie]

Hey Lammie.... once you get the whole burned up truck thing straightened out and are a happy camper again.... tell 'ol Steve you need to borrow that Crossfire 'cause you got a buddy in Illinois who LOVES those things!!!! If I didn't have soccer-mom syndrome (Ford Expedition) I'd be driving one of those bad boys!! Just kidding.... I hope it works out for you it sounds like it was quite an ordeal to go through.

Never had much of a passion for the two seaters. It is fun to do day trips in, though. Kinda like an indoor motorcycle, and about as comfortable. If you are over five foot ten inches, you ain't fitting into it. I drove it for a week and really didn't care for it. He loves it, though. I am afraid to see what tires for it are gonna cost. :help:

 

[Lammie]

It was freaky. While it was burning, the horn was honking and the starter was turning over, rrrr, rrrr. I thought for sure it would 'splode.

That might be the cause of the fire, I've seen starter solenoids stick with no one in sight and the starter grinds away until it over heats and eventually catches on fire. One of the neighbor's Ford 5000s did that about 2 years ago, the starter pushed it across a field until it ran into a fence post and then caught on fire.

You can see that the fire started over the fuse box. It burned a hole in the hood. It started making the noise after it had burned for a while. I am told I should have let it burn, but it was so close to the house I was concerned about that. We just wanted to keep it cool enough that it would catch the house on fire. Steve was out there with a hose till the fire department arrived.

Get this. I don't know what 911 addresses are for... we used to be on Rural Route 6 or something like that, and our address got changed for 911 calls. The operator still wanted a cross street. I was like, "Lady, the truck's on fire, and I am not exactly thinking clearly, and what cross street??? Look for the flaming red truck. You can't miss it!"
:help:

 

[Wisteria Farms]

Don't ya just love the whole 911 address thing... our address changed 3 times... first we were RR3 Box ???, then we were one street name, then they decided to re-route that road and give us a new street name. People around here are so confused...all I have to say is "the old Witt place" and they know right away. Probably could do the same thing when calling 911 and get better results... Our GPS says that "home" is out in the middle of nowhere (no streets) so that makes me a little uneasy... I think in the beginning its going to hurt more people than help.

As far as the car... I'm joking... I do think they're gorgeous but we couldn't have one... our daughter has a Mustang and the husband refuses to drive it... I like to steal it now and then though... her friends are amazed when she pulls up in her dad's truck... they say "how do you drive that thing!!!" (she's petite). And, yes, if you could have rolled it away from the house (your truck) it would've been best to have a weenie roast before calling the FD. Hope all works out for you.

 

[Lammie]

Update: Allstate totaled the truck and paid it off with a little left over for me. I was slightly relieved about it, as I am in the process of buying my FIL's truck. I will miss my Ford. She was a clean old lady.

 

[iowafarmer]

I better get mine checked out then seeing as i jsut bought a 2002 f150 and im not sure if the cruise control wa taken care of or not and i park it in the garage so i better get on that.

 

[Lammie]

I better get mine checked out then seeing as i jsut bought a 2002 f150 and im not sure if the cruise control wa taken care of or not and i park it in the garage so i better get on that.

Yeah, mine was fine up until a week before it flamed up. You can get on Ford Motor Company's website and look it up by VIN.

Silverado's nice, but it just ain't sexy... :frowns:

 

[dun]

Silverado's nice, but it just ain't sexy... :frowns:

And it's UGH, a chevy

 

[Lammie]

Silverado's nice, but it just ain't sexy... :frowns:

And it's UGH, a chevy

Dun, the world, at least as I know it, has been made up of Ford people and Chevy people. I have had both over the years. I can really go either way, although I have had better luck with Ford, in terms of maintenance and longevity. I have seen sexy Silverados out there, but mine aint one of them. I doesn't sit as high off the ground, the paint is just that plain jane beige, we don't know what to call it, color. It drives like a car... I don't know. I just don't look as good in it.
It will have to do for now...

Heavy sigh...