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I previously had a pegeout 206. The head gasket went and I got it repaired aswell as servicing the car.

A week later the engine catches fire without any symptoms.

What might have caused this to occur? obviously as it was burnt i didnt take it to garage however are the mechanics who replaced the gasket and serviced the car to blame since maybe they didnt find the original cause of the gasket damage and this later lead to the fire? that of course is uneducated speculation on my part.

Also can a blown head gasket cause a car to catch fire? I'm guessing a blown gasket can leak oil and it will heat, cause burns and lead to a fire. Is this correct and if so would it mean a blown gasket can lead a car to catch fire or stop working.

If so is it reasonable to think my pegeout, after it was repaired, the head gasket blew again but this time leaked and caused a fire instead of stopping working altogether?

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    All supposition - the fuel pipe, being old, may have split and dripped fuel on the exhaust - perfectly plausible but unless you have it checked by an expert then you won't know and even then they don't always find the exact cause.
    – Solar Mike
    Sep 30, 2017 at 7:09

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If they had not cleaned off all the oil after the repair then definitely could burst into flames. And also what the other guy said, old lines or anything really. Probably wouldnt have broken the head gasket again unless driven extreme tho

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A common mistake by unprofessional mechanics is to overtighten the replaced gasket, by not using a torque wrench to torque bolts to exact specifications. If all bolts are not tightened to spec, the gasket will be unevenly seated thus unable to seal.

Often an overtightened gasket is more prone to leakage than an under-tightened one. Yes, depending on the extent of the leakage, the volatile fluids could contribute to an engine fire.

Sloppy work could turn deadly.

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