Question:
Recently, my '87 Jeep Wrangler had an engine fire, which destroyed the wiring harness, plastic(!) valve cover, and carb, among other things. I just figured that was simple bad luck, and set about gathering the parts to fix it. I was rather shocked to find that, upon searching for replacement parts in junkyards, that 75% of those scrapped (according to the yards) come in with engine fire damage! My question is: Does anyone know if there was ever any class action or recall for this? Seems like it must be some kind of defect if that many burn. Naturally, the dealerships are very tight-lipped...

Answer: I've known two guys to toast their Wranglers. In both cases, it was the canister purge. They smelled gas fumes before the fire happened, but they didn't do anything about it. This to me, is just lack of maintenance. There is a recall for the gas tank. I'm not sure if it goes all the way back to '87, but it definiely covers '89-'93. If this had been the cause of your fire, you jeep probably would have been finished.