NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Engineering Analysis EA87-020: ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Engineering Analysis EA87-020 on May 7, 1987 and closed it on September 24, 1987. NHTSA's investigations file lists 5 Ford models for it and links recall 87V-139 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- EA87-020 (also written EA87020)
- Investigation type
- Engineering Analysis A more detailed stage of a defect investigation, opened when NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation decides an issue merits further review, often after a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query; it can include vehicle testing, surveys and further information requests.
- Status
- Closed September 24, 1987
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Component
- Vehicle Speed Control — Linkages
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 87V-139 (NHTSA record)
- Vehicles and equipment
- 5 Ford models, including the Ford Truck and Aerostar
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Engineering Analysis EA87-020.
ANALYSIS:A REVIEW OF FORD MOTOR COMPANY'S RESPONSES TO ODI INFORMATIONREQUESTS ISSUED UNDER PRELIMINARY EVALUATIONS PE 87-012, PE 87-017, ANDPE 87-020, INDICATED THAT THE FAILURE AND/OR MALFUNCTION OF THE SPRING-LOCKFUEL LINE COUPLINGS APPEARED TO BE THE MAJOR SOURCE OR CAUSE OF ENGINECOMPARTMENT FIRES IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.BASED UPON THIS, AN ENGINEERINGANALYSIS WAS INITIATED WHICH INCORPORATED ALL THREE OF THE ABOVE REFERENCEDPRELIMINARY EVALUATIONS.ADDITIONAL REPORTS WERE RECEIVED WHICH INDICATEDTHAT SPRING LOCK FUEL-LINE COUPLING SEPARATION HAD BEEN RESPONSIBLE FORENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES IN OTHER FORD VEHICLES.THE EA WAS THEN EXPANDEDON AUGUST 18TH TO INCLUDE ALL FORD VEHICLES WHICH USE OR DID USE SPRINGLOCK COUPLINGS IN THE FUEL DELIVERY AND/OR THE FUEL RETURN SYSTEM.STATUS:BY LETTER DATED SEPTEMBER 1, 1987, FORD AGREED TO RECALL 3,600,0001986 THROUGH 1988 PASSENGER CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH ELECTRONICFUEL-INJECTION (EFI) AND CENTRAL FUEL-INJECTION (CFI) ENGINES THAT WEREPRODUCED WITH A SPECIFIC TYPEOF SPRING LOCK FUEL-LINE COUPLING.IF THESPRING LOCK FUEL-LINE COUPLING WERE IMPROPERLY ENGAGED OR DAMAGED DURINGASSEMBLY OR SERVICING, THEN FUEL PRESSURE, VIBRATION, OR ENGINE MOVEMENTCOULD RESULT IN FUEL LINE SEPARATION AND THE SUBSEQUENT RISK OF A VEHICLEFIRE.TO PREVENT THIS POTENTIAL SEPARATION, THE RECALLED VEHICLES WILLHAVE RETAINER CLIPS INSTALLED OVER THE SPRING LOCK COUPLINGS.THE RECALLNUMBER IS 87V-139.
PROPOSED ACTION:BASED UPON THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE RECALL, EA 87-020SHOULD BE CLOSED AND THE RECALL'S EFFECTIVENESS MONITORED.===
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Engineering Analysis EA87-020. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Ford VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for EA87-020
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.