Help! HYDROLOCK

[TJ04GASE]

Today wichita falls got hit by a huge storm and wichita falls and sheppard airforce base are not design to drain water AT ALL!!!!
so i was on my home from work and there was a lake in the middle of the road, and everybody was driving trough it, so i did.... big mistake, half way trough my car died, got out pushed to the side and open the hood, then i slipped apart my intake from where it goes into the trottle body, water just Poured out, i just spent 2 hours trying to suck on the water out of the intake manifold, but it won't turn over, it starts to then it doesn't, a couple times it started up for a couple seconds, then just died...... WHAT DO I DO???!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!

[HornetGT141]

From reading up on hydrolock from some other forums online one of them hints at wrapping a dowel with a shop towel and inserting it in through the spark plug holes to see if you can find water in the cylinders.

That is as far as my knowledge can get me though because I'm not a super mechanic, just pray you didn't crack a cylinder. :(

[Gagt518]

Yeah man that can cause some major damage...Good luck and hope for the best:(

[pontiac3100]

this one guy a pretty good mechanic said his friends eclipse had hydrolocked he removed the plugs and cranked the engine.

i'm assuming you have a cai... 'cause i don't see how a stock intake could cause this....

[levey]

Please ...Tell me you did not drive through that with a "real" cold air intake??

[tenspeed]

Remove the spark plugs and turn it over. If there's water in the cylinders, some will squirt out.

You probably have to take the plastic intake manifold off to get the water out of it. You might be able to suck the water out of it by removing the throttle body.

You may have bent a connecting rod when the piston was trying to compress water.

[TJ04GASE]

update. i took out the spark plugs, turned it a little mist shot out, i stuck a hose in spark plug hole and tried to suck water out and not much cam out but there was a little, then i put new spark plugs in, put it back together and after a few minutes of trying to start it, it started up. there was steam "fog" coming out the tailpipe for a good 5 minutes, now it's at home. I've been letting it sit park running in the driveway, and something doesn't seam right, like it's not running right it's got a faint shake to it, do anybody know what i could have done to the motor to mess it up,

btw: i have the 2.2 ecotec and STOCK intake, the water was DEEP!!! i didn't realize until the point that the car died that it was that deap, other cars were going through it with no problem, even after my car died cars continued to pass by me.

[HornetGT141]

Damn, how high was the water like 3 ft?

The engine could still be getting the moisture out of it so I would continue to let it run when you have time and see if that corrects the problem. How long have you let it run so far?

[TJ04GASE]

well i let it run for about 20-30 minutes, i might go back out later and let it run more if i get bored, but i'm going to take a closer look at it tomorrow when it's day light. but yeah the water was high as hell, i opened my door and the water was maybe 2-3 inches away from flowing into the car. and i had to get out and push the car out of that, it sucked, luckily there were some nice people and they stopped and helped me, and then they gave me a ride to their place after we got it off the road because there was a bunch of tornado watches and warnings around the area and the sky look mean as hell out. it was crazy. there was up to quarter size hail

[bballr4567]

You are from TX and you havent learned that you dont drive through high water??? I learned that when I was like 2.

[TJ04GASE]

yeah i know it was stupid of me to drive through the water, but everybody else was and there was the fact of the tornado warning and such.

[bballr4567]

Well I guess everybody learns the hard way. Hopefully it didnt do too much damage to that beautiful engine.

[TJ04GASE]

so... does anybody know what could have broken and how do i know if anything did break, is there any chance that everything is ok? or is that wishful thinking?

[tenspeed]

Originally posted by tenspeed
You may have bent a connecting rod when the piston was trying to compress water.

See if you can find a way to turn the engine over by hand. If so, remove the plugs, get something long with a non scratching end like a wooden dowel and take a measurement of each cylinder at top and bottom dead center.

They should all be the same, that is, unless you have a bent rod.

[TJ04GASE]

would any of the damages done be covered by insurance,

[Shadow-D]

Ok I don't know that motor so I may not have great info but I will give it a try...
I assume it has a coil pack and not a distributor.
If it does have a distributor then you need to get a new cap and rotor, If it has a coil pack make sure it is dry. Your LAP should sell something called wire dry or something to that affect.
You should prob change the wires.
Get a couple bottles of dry gas.
CHANGE YOUR OIL and FILTER!
Change your air filter.

Good Luck

[Shadow-D]

Originally posted by TJ04GASE
would any of the damages done be covered by insurance,
I highly doubt it but your insurance company would tell you better.

[TJ04GASE]

actually my car doesn't even have spark plug wires, it's the future!! lol

[tenspeed]

Originally posted by Shadow-D
I assume it has a coil pack and not a distributor.
Get a couple bottles of dry gas.
CHANGE YOUR OIL and FILTER!
Change your air filter.
Good Luck

It has a coil pack between the cams, no wires or distributor. I don't think dry gas will do anything unless water got into the gas tank. An oil change and air filter wouldn't hurt.

The water had to be high, the air intake is behind the drivers side headlight.

[Shadow-D]

Originally posted by TJ04GASE
actually my car doesn't even have spark plug wires, it's the future!! lol

Damn computers LOL

ok scratch the wires and Dri-gas
but you should make sure the pack is dry

[TJ04GASE]

it was pretty high. I've been reading alot of articles online about people that have had hydrolock, mos of them file a insurace claim and get a complete new motor, which is pretty cool, but... idk what kind of damge is done, if i took my car to a shop how much would they charge to inspect it for damages?

[Shadow-D]

Originally posted by tenspeed
It has a coil pack between the cams, no wires or distributor. I don't think dry gas will do anything unless water got into the gas tank. An oil change and air filter wouldn't hurt.

The water had to be high, the air intake is behind the drivers side headlight.
I know, he said he had water in the cylinders. Thats why I thought about the dri-gas, if it got into the motor it could've gotten into the tank

[Shadow-D]

Originally posted by TJ04GASE
it was pretty high. I've been reading alot of articles online about people that have had hydrolock, mos of them file a insurace claim and get a complete new motor, which is pretty cool, but... idk what kind of damge is done, if i took my car to a shop how much would they charge to inspect it for damages?

Prob what ever they charge per hour. You should expect about 2 hrs minimum.

I've never heard of the insurance company footing the bill for a new motor but keep in mind I live in NY so things are a little different up here

[TJ04GASE]

Originally posted by Shadow-D
Prob what ever they charge per hour. You should expect about 2 hrs minimum.

I've never heard of the insurance company footing the bill for a new motor but keep in mind I live in NY so things are a little different up here


Footing?

[Shadow-D]

covering

[tenspeed]

"footing the bill" = paying for it

[TJ04GASE]

what do you all think i should do next?

[SE2000]

I'd empty the gas tank and refill. Disconnect engine connectors and dry out. If still not running right, get a dealer or other quality shop for a diagnosis. If your ins. will cover it, they will need proof from a garage

[pontiac3100]

you said it has a faint shake to it?
i've seen quite a few ecotechs have the shakes....
if you were able to get it to run...imo it's fine.
because with a bent rod your car whould either run crappy or not at all.

the only this i'm assuming that got wet under there was the engine.

[Matt95GT]

Shouldn't have tried starting it until the spark plugs were removed... you probably bent a rod.

It would be covered under comprehensive insurance, if you have it. I know someone who hydrolocked theirs in a flood. It was covered, although the insurance company totaled it.

[dajuiceman]

i would do some research with your insurance company to see if this would be covered or not. If it isnt then i would come up with a story that would make this be covered by your insurance. Auto insurance is the biggest scam ever created so you might as well try to get some of your money back. Of course they would probably raise your rates after you make a claim so you are just ultimately paying for your problem anyway. Oh wait, I forgot about the stupid deductable. Not only do you throw away money every month to the insurance company you also have to pay a deductable and you also will be paying higher rates because you made a claim so maybe youre just better off trying to figure out the problem and if your engine is bad or one of the components then you just may want to buy it out of pocket because it will probably save you money in the long run.

[Matt95GT]

^Comprehensive claims don't raise your rate, but there's still the deductible you'd have to eat.

[rixGAphx]

Those of us with Jeeps encounter streams, big puddles, etc. all the time.
We learn from others' mistakes (and our own :D ) what is 'too' deep to ford.

If you get into deep water and the engine is still running smoothly, keep it going; the exhaust pressure is preventing water from coming BACK thru the tailpipe/muffler/exhaust manifold (this is the lowest part of a car or Jeep).

If the engine starts to 'feel funny', SHUT IT OFF!!!
That means water is already where it shouldn't be, and real damage may occur.
Jeeps have their air intakes up HIGH, not down near the road like GA's and other sedans.
Do not turn-over the engine until the spark plugs have been removed and excess water has been squirted out of the cylinders

Seems like you did everything right, until you tried to restart it.
The starter motor alone is *prolly* not strong enough to turn the engine and bend a rod.
But when it finally DID 'fire for a few revolutions' is when the damage prolly happened.
* * *

At this time, I would:
1. Remove the spark plugs.
2. Using a compression gage, do a compression test.
Report back here with the values.
Basically, all cylinders shaould have pressures within 10% of each other (this is normal rule-of-thumb for gas engines).
If one is lower than this range, it's prolly because the rod is bent and the piston crown isn't coming as high as the others (therefore not compressing the mixture as much).

No other drying, oil changing, or other activity is of any use unitl you know if this expensive outcome (bent rod) is the problem or not.

Standing by,
-Rick

PS: The gasoline system is 100% sealed against air/vapor/water leakage.
There is very little chance there's any water in it, but we can examine that possibility after we know if the engine is still sound.

[purp99grandam]

^ He beat me to it. +1 on the compression check. I was kinda surprised no one else mentioned that.

Also, if everything checks out fine, change your oil. I would take the whole pan off, myself. Clean the inside of the pan out the best you can. Im sure when the pistons were trying to compress that water, a small amount could have passed by the rings. Ive seen motors spin bearings by much less.