Today I learned the hard way that Rt 40 westbound floods really bad along the Big gunpowder river

Didn't see the puddle ahead until I was caught in traffic slowing down for it. Had no option but to go through, as there was a barrier to the left, cars to the right, and cars behind.

Engine cut out at the deepest point. Had the car towed to a shop where a local Civic Si owner had the same thing happen with his AEM CAI.

They used the starter motor to pump water out of my cylinders, and then a suction tool to get the rest. They were able to start the Si, and they will try my car tomorrow morning after changing the oil and plugs.

Bottom line...AVOID 40 WESTBOUND BETWEEN JOPPATOWNE AND MIDDLE RIVER AT ALL COSTS IN HEAVY RAIN. ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A CAI.

Hoping my S will be OK.

 

dam sorry to hear that. I drive on rt.40 often and I rarely see flood. One and only place I saw flood was by Home Depot. In front of Apartments (couple weeks ago when we had horrible rain week)
Anyways I hope your S will survive

 

Really sorry to hear

I hope she fires up tomorrow.

 

You should invest in AEM's bypass valve (~$50 new) just for that reason. Although there's a chance that you can still hydro-lock with the valve (amount of water, RPM's, etc), it's better than not having one and is cheap insurance. I had that valve back when I had an AEM CAI and felt better driving in the rain while still trying to avoid puddles.

Good luck and I hope nothing serious happened.

 

Good luck with your water issue......It's funny I've been running my ITBs with no filters for the past 2 years, and still nothing has happened....Knock on wood.

 

Man, they found water in the engine? That is not a good starting point. Hopefully everything will work out ok.

 

Yes, I was there when they cranked the engine using the starter motor with the spark plugs removed. Jets of brown water shot out through the spark plug openings, and quite a bit of it came out.

The shop was able to remove the rest of the water using a suction tool and a compressor. They got some new NGK plugs and got the car running and let it idle enough to dry out the cylinders. The next day they changed the oil, and I drove it home VERY gently, keeping it under 4500 RPM. They are now my go to mechanic, because this all happened from 6:30 to 9:00 PM. If I had to wait until the next day to get the water completely out I'm sure I'd be in a completely different situation.

A big thanks to hatalu for picking me up to bring me to the shop today.

But the biggest award goes to Mastertech Automotive in Edgewood. I'm very sure that they have saved my engine.