Tahoe died
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 12
From: Visalia, California
Tahoe died Did a little mud bogging today near my house in my 02 Z71 Tahoe, hit a huge puddle about a foot deep and oh... about 80' long going about 40mph. About 3/4 the way through it the engine died, and I coasted through the rest of the mud. Turn the key to start and it goes "click" and my xfer case selection (2wd/4wd) buttons light up and it's like the battery voltage drops out or something, it just flat out will not start. Checked the air filter (K&N CAI) and not a drop of water on it. Any ideas? Definitely not hydrolocked, think it's got to be something shorted/wet. Suggestions, and any help would be greatly appreciated!
Tony
Tony
Last edited by 67Firebird455; Mar 1, 2008 at 02:45 PM.
if it didnt suck any water you should be safe......wait till everything is dry and crank it again.....
i had a buddy that sprayed that dealer cleaner under his hood...on everything....wiring engine ....everything.....we were smoking a cig and thinking how nice it looked......
went to start it and nothing happened......car sat for 5 days before it would start again....hahaha....i havnt touched that crap since!!!!
it;s like when 4wd guys go muddin and then go o a do it your self car wash and power wash the under side of the the truck and then pop the hood and do evrything under there to.....not a good idea i think
who knows man....try not to rush it....just look around under hood and wiggle all the connections.....maybe you will stumble onto the problem
good luck
i had a buddy that sprayed that dealer cleaner under his hood...on everything....wiring engine ....everything.....we were smoking a cig and thinking how nice it looked......
went to start it and nothing happened......car sat for 5 days before it would start again....hahaha....i havnt touched that crap since!!!!
it;s like when 4wd guys go muddin and then go o a do it your self car wash and power wash the under side of the the truck and then pop the hood and do evrything under there to.....not a good idea i think
who knows man....try not to rush it....just look around under hood and wiggle all the connections.....maybe you will stumble onto the problem
good luck
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 12
From: Visalia, California
Thanks man for the advice. It's been sitting all day. I was just about to go have it fully detailed inside and out and wanted to hit some mud in a new construction site that had been sitting since the last storm. What's strange is this has never happened, this ol Tahoe runs and runs and runs, and runs great, and now bam, nada. I'll try it again. At least I still have the ZR2 I guess. =\ Just trying to figure out what would make everything light up and what not when I turn the key to on. Got under there and checked wiring to the starter and what not, and it looked great. Will go out and jack around for a few minutes before I leave. Thanks again, and wish me luck!
There was a guy on here who washed his engine with a hose and then it wouldn't run right. I think it was something like a leak around where his egr bolted to the intake. I think yours sounds more like something electrical if it still won't crank.
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 12
From: Visalia, California
I'm full of it. The part I pulled apart didn't have water, but the TB did, and different segments in the CAI did. Pulled the plugs and every single one had water. All plugs are out, and it still won't turn over. Battery voltage under crank is about 5v, which obviously isn't right. What am I missing?
I'm full of it. The part I pulled apart didn't have water, but the TB did, and different segments in the CAI did. Pulled the plugs and every single one had water. All plugs are out, and it still won't turn over. Battery voltage under crank is about 5v, which obviously isn't right. What am I missing?
Put the battery one a charger over night and try to crank it in the morning.
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 12
From: Visalia, California
Yeah, I was up on the rev limiter in 2nd going through the mud when it died. No knock, bang, boom or anything, so it sounded like it was going to be electrical. The solenoid engages, but the starter doesn't engage, and never will @ ~ 5v. Will see if I am able to turn it over by hand tomorrow, get the battery fully charged, and see if I can get the water out. Just got the oil changed, rear diff serviced, and fuel system cleaned today too.
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Put a fresh battery in, crank it plugless for awhile, change the oil, and try firing it up. Don't forget to unplug the ignition coils and injectors. Damage is done already if its damaged, so might as well see what you can do.
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Brett Foote Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 12
From: Visalia, California
1. Haven't sold the TA yet...
2. Popped our family SUV.
Will give it a whirl tomorrow and see what happens. Thanks again.
I have an 88 F350 i used for mudding. 460 efi. This engine has been hydrolock 3 .... yes 3 times. I just pull all the plugs. put it in gear (manual) and drag it down my driveway with my dump truck and it free the motor up. Replace plugs and start. My old 79 F150 was hydrolocked twice before i cracked a piston ring.
Just pull the plugs, let it sit for a day and crank it man. The damage that's done is done. I didnt even wait 5 minutes before pulling the plugs on mine. I had the plugs out in the bog, had a buddy tow me out and hooked up the old dump truck and popped the clutch a couple times to free the motor. Runs like a dream!
Just pull the plugs, let it sit for a day and crank it man. The damage that's done is done. I didnt even wait 5 minutes before pulling the plugs on mine. I had the plugs out in the bog, had a buddy tow me out and hooked up the old dump truck and popped the clutch a couple times to free the motor. Runs like a dream!
Those PCM connectors seal pretty good. So the motor wont turn over at all? The only time i ever had a battery lose all power is when i hit a jump and landed and it hit my hood and shorted out. You're saying it has voltage resting and nothing cranking? That sounds like a hydrolocked motor to me. We had to yank mine in gear in 4wd to free mine up (with plugs pulled) I assumed hot metal rings/pistons against hot cylinder walls super cooled = frozen engine
I'm assuming its an automatic? I'm not really sure how you can free that engine up. What i would try if it were mine and anything i do really should not be repeated, is stick a breaker bar on the crank pulley (towards tighten) and put a jack on the other end of the breaker bar. That will either break your bolt or free your motor. Not really a whole lot else you can do. My F350 has 38" boggers and the one time it was locked up so bad this truck was drug with all 4 wheels sliding then we reverted to popping the clutch at about 30mph and it freed the motor up.
I'm assuming its an automatic? I'm not really sure how you can free that engine up. What i would try if it were mine and anything i do really should not be repeated, is stick a breaker bar on the crank pulley (towards tighten) and put a jack on the other end of the breaker bar. That will either break your bolt or free your motor. Not really a whole lot else you can do. My F350 has 38" boggers and the one time it was locked up so bad this truck was drug with all 4 wheels sliding then we reverted to popping the clutch at about 30mph and it freed the motor up.
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 12
From: Visalia, California
Yes, sorry, just got in from doing some yard work. Busted out the 1000w halogens to do yard work (white trash style). Anyway... Still won't turn over today, won't turn over by hand, plugs are still out. Geico is going to cover it under non-fault comprehensive. Sending an adjuster out this week to check it out and make an estimate of damage, and cut a check for the depreciated dollar amount for the engine, plus installation. We'll see I guess. Technically was on the road, just a construction site that went belly up when the market crashed so they're covering it. I pay enough insurance without problems on this thing, so even if I get a portion of the cost, it'll be worth it. Still dang bummed out over this thing.
I'd hate to see you using insurance on something you did playing, but that is me. It would be along the same lines as towing your car off the track after you wreck it, and claim you wrecked it on the highway. Even if you need a new shortblock, it will be under 1000 if you do your own work. Its not that hard to pull an engine out of the truck, and can be done with basic tools once you get a cherry picker from Harbor Freight for 130. I'd presonally pull the heads, or use an air pistol in the plug holes to see if you can get water out.
Good luck man!
Good luck man!
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 12
From: Visalia, California
Yeah, I'd hate to use insurance too, except this wasn't done in the middle of an orange grove, it was on the street... mind you... I WAS jacking around, like I said... always do, and have never had this happen, but that's my luck. I get what you're saying, and I would totally do what you're suggesting if I didn't pay out the *** for insurance on this thing I hardly drive, have a trans am I need to sell to pay off debt, and if my wife wouldn't kill me. The plugs are out, I cannot turn it over by hand, cannot turn it over with the starter, a rod is definitely going to be severely damaged. It went from about 6 grand down to nothing when it sucked in the water. I plan to pull this 5.3 apart and see what really happened to it. Guess we'll see... the adjuster may tell me where to go since I have a CAI on it, and if she does, time to tear her apart. Anyway, thanks for the advice...
Use Geico by all means. They have the worst technical support. Yeah they answer your phone call quickly but never accomplish anything. I used them because in my case they are the cheapest but should you have to add a vehicle or file a claim or anything of that nature its like pulling teeth atleast from what i've dealt with.
If you pay for full coverage that's like an extended idiocy warranty really. Use it. It happened unintentionally. It was an accident. It's not like you we're out drinking and driving and slammed into a minivan full of children. The whole idea behind full coverage is them covering you damaging the vehicle under your own fault. It's not a morale dilema here. Insurance companies are right on par with the government with me.
Did you try the breaker bar and jack method of freeing it up? I can almost gaurantee it will work. If not it will break the bolt but you're rebuilding the motor anyway so whats it hurt?
If you pay for full coverage that's like an extended idiocy warranty really. Use it. It happened unintentionally. It was an accident. It's not like you we're out drinking and driving and slammed into a minivan full of children. The whole idea behind full coverage is them covering you damaging the vehicle under your own fault. It's not a morale dilema here. Insurance companies are right on par with the government with me.
Did you try the breaker bar and jack method of freeing it up? I can almost gaurantee it will work. If not it will break the bolt but you're rebuilding the motor anyway so whats it hurt?
Last edited by Shawn MacAnanny; Mar 3, 2008 at 06:18 PM.
Haha it would take tremendous force. Super heated metal on super heated metal cooled super fast means your internals are partially welded together. Like i said we drug my truck trying to free it up and had to pop the clutch. Figure a 9200lb truck on 38" mud boggers at 12psi and that's massive traction to be dragging against an engine. A breaker bar and jack would barely be enough i'd think.
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 12
From: Visalia, California
LOL wow. Well, I guess you're right. Still, the engine is going to have some sort of damage if the wall/piston is partially welded together. 123k miles, and still ran strong. Will be a good time to put my headers and underdrive on I guess.