Hey guys it has been 2 hours since my car died in a flooded road. I was doing about 20mph as I went into the flood. I didn't realize how bad the road was until i got half way in. As soon as I thought about turnging back, my car shut down. All the lights on my gauges turned on (battery, eps, check engine, oil etc.).

I tried to restart the car in the middle of the flood (dont know if that was a bad thing) and nothing happened so I decided to get out and push. I pushed my baby out of the water and tried to fire it up again and nothing.

I would just like to know if this has ever happen to anyone else. If so, what was the out come? Is it something where you just have to wait a few hours for the engine and its components to dry out or is it something more serious? Would it hurt to try and start the car after 2 or 3 hours or should I wait longer?

I checked all the fuse breakers and they all seem fine. The only mod I have to the engine is a cold air intake so the air filter is all the way at the bottom + new spark plugs. I also changed the complete exhausts system.

Any suggestions or comments will be appreciated. Thanks in advance guys!

Some weird stuff.. Thursday I had a horrific nightmare. I dreamed that someone stole my engine... Friday night rolls over and my engine died in a flood.... hmmmm? someone or something trying to tell me something?

 

Since you have a CAI, there is a 99% chance you have water in your engine. Since you were able to get it out of the water right away, the only real damage would be the water in the engine. It could be as simple as removing the spark plugs and draining the oil to get the water out of the engine. On the other hand, it could be as severe as needing a new engine/new parts for the engine. Since you weren't going that fast, I don't think the damage should be that bad. Give your insurance company a call and let them know what happened. I've flooded two vehicles myself. Both of them sat in water for too long, and the cars were a total loss.

 

wow dude that was a scary reply... i'm over here thinking nothing that serious has happened but you flooded 2 cars so you should know alot more.... thanks for the prompt reply.. anyone else?

 

Sodaks2k is right,
Do a search on "Hydrolock" and see what you come up with, I assume you have the AEM or Injen CAI and we have seen several of them ingest water and damage engines.

 

yea hydrolock is really bad. dont try to start the car again, water does not compress like air does so it can do some really nasty damage.

 

water doesn't compress like air does....so when your pistons try to compress it, water has no where to go except thru the valves, open or closed.....

Valves might be broken, some have even broken connecting rods as a result of hydrolock....however it sounds like your engine speed was pretty low (going 20mph)

Good luck

 

Tow it to a trusted mechanic and contact your insurance company. Most likely serious engine damage has occurred. Good luck.

JeffA

 

OK, I have had a Hydrolock motor. The repair was covered by my Comp section of INS. The bill came to over 5k and all I have to pay is the deductable. In my case a rod went through the block. the head was fine and I am still using that head to this day (35k miles post Hydrolock). It took my Honda Dealer 2 weeks to fix. That was more then 1.5yrs ago.

 

as far as stalling in flood can be "ok" but trying to start it in the water is really, really bad. like everyone above said, take it to shop.

things that you could do - not that I recommend it.. while doing this, never try to start the engine.

check oil level. see if it's low. if it's lower than you expected, you might have hole on the engine.

if it's normal, fill few qts of oil. you might want to put drain pan under the car. see if there's leak.... if it leaks, you have hole on the engine.

if there's no leak, unplug the spark plug. only after all spark plugs are removed, try to turn the crank by turning it manually. - I don't recommend using start button. see if water is pumping out of the spark plug hole.

if there isn't any water, drain the oil and check for any water or coolant.

if you saw any leak or water or coolant, stop everything and take it shop. otherwise, your engine should be in good shape. just take it to dealer and tell them what you've done and found. and hope for the best.

 

thanks for all you guys help and suggestions... Its been 10 hours since the incident. I will now go check the oil and look around. I'll try to start it as well. Wish me luck s2k homies.