--- Mario Goveia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I have been fortunate enough never to be around an > exploding diesel engine, even though I used to build > the darn things for Telco.
You were building them - not driving them, less still driving ones with sub-standard parts fitted by local mechanics in an effort to keep the costs down. And we're talking of the mid-70s, when Goa really had monster busses (50-seaters) compared to today's 20-seaters. "In a nutshell you must prevent oxygen from getting into the engine. It will not run without O2. As was said earlier a CO2 extinguisher will work, as will blocking off the air intake with something substantial like a board or clipboard. The engine is getting its "fuel" from some other source other then the diesel. Such as the crankcase oil getting by the rings in a 2 stroke engine, or a high concentration of natrual gas or other combustable gas in the air. Firetrucks have a air intake shutoff valve for this very reason (just in case the truck gets driven into a fuel rich enviroment like a natrual gas leak). You do not have much time to act before the engine self destructs, so be very cautious. One of my heavy diesel mechanic teachers used to say "you got 20 seconds to act, 10 to stop it and the other 10 to run and take cover." Runaways are very rare in todays engines, I have seen only about 3-4 in 25+ years as a heavy diesel mechanic. But you will never forget that awful sound when you do hear one run away. " http://www.thedieselstop.com > I rented a car this year, right hand drive, stick > shift, believe it or not for Rs. 400 a day, and > drove > it myself, Good on you. So do I (and a few others who obtained their licences in Goa before they left) everytime I go to Goa. And I know my way around, as I used to drive in Goa since I just turned 18, when I obtained my driver's licence (no bribes paid, thank you) in Goa, in 1973. > Remember, there's only ONE rule on the roads in > India: > DON'T HIT ANYTHING! Anything else goes. And don't get hit by anything. On the lighter side, last Sept, it was well past midnight, and I was driving a Santro on this narrow road somewhere between Saligao and Panjim. There was this huge 4wd with its headlights on fullbeam AND foglights on as well approaching me, I was blinded. I stopped in the middle of the road, kept my horn blaring. Fortunately, the monster stopped and dipped its lights, and I was able to negotiate to the side of the road to allow the monster to pass by. Cheers, Gabriel de Figueiredo. ____________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Take your Mail with you - get Yahoo! Mail on your mobile http://au.mobile.yahoo.com/mweb/index.html