Gauge

iTrader: (3)

Hey everyone,

It's been forever and a day since I've posted on this awesome forum. I love this place. You guys literally taught me how to work on cars, and I thank you for that.

Okay, so here goes... I have a Procharged '02 TA with an intake hat that sits under the driver side headlight and has an elbow that can collect a small amount of water. The first time the car hydrolocked, water had collected in the elbow (which I hadn't thought of previously), and about 3-4 tablespoons of water were in divided between two cylinders when I tore the motor down. It tweaked a single rod, and I got out of it pretty cheap.

This time, the car had been sitting out in the driveway for a week (very uncommon) because I had a big project going on in the garage. I knew it had rained, so I took the intake hat off and poured a very small amount of water out of it. I tried to start the car without the hat on the blower, and BANG! Hydrolock number 2. The car sat for 6 months, and I'm just now getting around to tearing it down. The first thing I noticed is that when loosening the last two bolts on the back of the intake manifold, water started pouring down the back of the motor and dripping on the floor from the bellhousing. The water stank like a dead animal. The intake manifold smelled terrible, too, when I got it off. After taking the heads off, there is probably 2 cups of water divided between three cylinders right now. Nothing looks bent or cracked, but the cylinders are all rusty, so I'm probably gonna need a hone and a new set of rings.

So, here's the deal. The intake hat can only collect a small amount of water. The first time there wasn't much water in the cylinders, so I just assumed it had collected in the intake hat. The second time, though, I took the intake hat off before trying to start the car, and it hydrolocked with a lot more water in the cylinders. This leaves me to wonder if I don't have another source of water getting in the motor. There is absolutely no way this intake hat could possibly have held as much water as I found in the cylinders after pulling the motor. MAYBE the intake hat could have held the water at a high enough level that it could have spilled into the blower, but I still doubt that would explain the amount of water I'm seeing in the motor.

This all leaves me to wonder... is the problem somewhere around the intake manifold and not actually the intake hat? Has anyone ever had a problem with water dripping from the cowl onto the intake manifold and then into the intake runners through the injector holes? Perhaps just bad O-rings on the injectors is causing my problem? My car made 16psi of boost pretty reliably, so if there's a leak, it has to be in a place where water could pool and slowly drip in.

Before you guys give me a hard time about the intake hat, keep in mind that I know that is an issue, and I work around it. This is not a daily driver, and it's in the garage 95% of the time. It's on my to-do list. But, now I'm wondering if I don't have another issue that needs to be addressed. I'm looking for some help diagnosing the problem here.

Thanks in advance for your help. It is always greatly appreciated.

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

Did you have any vacuum leaks? Maybe a gasket on the intake?

I would think you would have fueling issues if you had a tore oring on the injector.

Have you inspected every gasket/seal/oring/etc to make sure you don't see any rips or anything?

This might be way off but a long shot is still a shot I guess... Heads been milled any? I'm assuming no since you are FI.

Gauge

iTrader: (3)

No vacuum leaks, and the gaskets were replaced not long ago. They're in very good shape.

I haven't looked at all the O-rings yet since the tear down, but I did look them over before the last rebuild, and some were a bit squashed, but not ripped.

And, yes, the heads were milled .040", but they have been that way for many years... since way before the blower. The car was practically a daily driver and has spent many a day and night in the rain since the heads were milled. I can't imagine that would all of a sudden start causing this problem. These two hydrolocks were within 4,000 miles of each other.

DarkblueTA

Coolant level? Is it constant (keep checking it day after day in the AM before you start it).

Have you been driving it in the rain or go through any bigger puddles?

Gauge

iTrader: (3)

I haven't had any problems with the coolant level. I never drive it in the rain. The intake hat is just too close to the ground for that.