So, needless to say, I believe I may have wrecked my engine driving home in a storm from work . Went through a massive puddle that didn't look as deep at first until my bird went from flying like an eagle to a duck just sitting like a in the middle of pond. Anything I can do to get the water out or will I have to replace the motor now? I have a procharger on there too. I planned on replacing it next year, but money is tight right now. I am of course worried about getting it to run but ending up suffering from any unforeseeable damage to the rods; then, having even more damage done to the vehicle. Anyone with good news would be a great help but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Ok, here is your best chance...

Take out all spark plugs. Unplug fuel relay. Run starter. If anything is bent you will likely hear it. Water will come shooting out all the spark holes.

Squirt about a spoonful of acetone into each hole while at tdc. Run the starter some more. Another squirt of acetone. Let it sit overnight and dry out.

In the morning, put the plugs in and fuel pump relay in and try to start it.

Dont ask why I know how to do this...

 

Where can I get the acetone? Thanks for the help.

 

Lowes, Home Depot, ace hardware.

 

Or any automotive body/paint supply.

 

Ok Thanks guys. I'll get up in the morning and see what I can get done. Got school and work all day so I may not really get to do much until about thursday or friday.

 

Well, here's hoping you get 'er up and running without complications!

 

If you want to save it don't wait, The longer the water sits in the cylinders the more damage will be done. Here is my recipe to get a water logged engine going.

Drain the oil/replace filter then refill with oil, I use the cheapest I can find because it's going to replaced almost immediately.
Check the air filter and related components to make sure they are not holding water.
Pull the spark plug and turn it over for several seconds to flush water from the cylinders.
This part I do at least twice> Pour a few ounces of diesel fuel or kerosene in each cylinder and turn it over a few times making sure you get all fluid out of the cylinders.
Put new plugs in and try to start engine, It may take a few tries to get it to fire and it may smoke for a couple minutes.
Run for a few minutes and check the oil for contamination. If it milky then change oil and filter again, If the oil looks ok then start it back up and let it run for a little bit.
Drain oil again and replace filter.

I've done this a few times and never had anyone bring the car back, It's doesn't seem to effect them if they didn't bend rods when they first ingested water.

How deep was the car submerged?

 

first thing is first, pull plugs and spin engine over if it wont turn over with plugs pulled then there is no reason to go any further.
if it will just spray some Wd40 in the plug holes and spin it over some more put plugs back in change oil and see what happens!

thats what i used to do with 4 wheelers anyways....

 

Exactly. Pull the plugs and bump the starter you'll know. I use acetone because it helps the residual water evaporate rapidly. Side note - I use acetone to dry steel samples after mounting, cleaning, polishing, and etching. Dries almost instantly.

And I don't bother with oil change until I know it will start. Then kill engine and change fluids out

 

Good to know, Ive never used acetone for anything lol so ive learned something new. Although I figure the water would be gone after a few compression strokes anyways so?....

I never change the oil till I know it will run either, but I dont know who were dealing with.... lol

 

If there is water in the oil pan why would you risk pumping water through the engine?, The water is the first thing the pickup tube is going to suck off the bottom of the pan. He didn't say how deep it was in the water or for how long, I've drained pans that were nearly full or water and the engine still ran afterward.

 

 

Skip class and save that motor!

 

Exactly, I can tell if there is water in the oil so if it looks ok I won’t drain it just to see if it would run. Then after firing it.... change oil....
so just drain it and make everyone happy!!??

 

How can you tell if there is water in the oil without pulling the drain plug?

The company I worked for would buy the cheap fleet bulk oil for about a $1 per quart and the filters are like $4, I guess it's worth it to them and me to not risk pumping water through the engine.

 

IMO
0. Take out ALL THE PLUGS. make sure
1. drain and re-fill engine oil
2. check trans fluid or drain a little bit to see if theres any water in it also. make sure
3. disable fuel pump/injectors somehow (fuel pump relay or unplug harness) so no gas goes in
4. Crank engine over to push out any water.
5. Use a battery charger to keep the battery healthy while you turn the engine over with good oil pressure and no spark plugs
6. Don't run the starter too long. Use maybe ~6 second bursts, a few of them to "air dry" the cylinders.

7. You can add something now to the cylinders if you want to keep them from rusting and displace leftover water. WD40 or engine oil is the recommended juice for this.
Just a LITTLE BIT! Less than a cap-full of either in each cylinder.
I would not use acetone (no offense) because it will 'super-dry' the cylinder walls and encourage rust immediately if you don't start the engine right away.

8. Turn the engine over again without plugs to 'spread' the oil around inside the cylinders.
9. Let it air out for another 30 min to an hour then turn it over one more time. make sure nothing comes out.
10. Now you can replace the plugs and attempt to start.

what did i forget!?

 

I mean... if y’all really wanna make it that complicated then go right ahead... lol

 

If this is complicated you need a different hobby lol
I'd still like to know how you can look at an engine and tell if it has water in the oil pan without pulling the drain plug?

 

When it happened to me, I got zero water in the oil - or at least oil was still black vs milky. The entire nose went under water. Only water I had was in the intake and enough in two cylinders to hydrolock if I had tried to start it.