Flood damage to car engines

It's happening because drivers who don't THINK are driving into water too deep for the car. What made you think the car works like a boat?

Manufacturers cannot protect vehicles against all stupid moves by their drivers - and this qualifies.

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No offense, OP, but if you cannot breathe water, what makes you think your car can? Brings to mind the movie line, "So, who's the U-boat commander?". Me thinks someone has seen too many wilderness treks where the "specially-outfitted" trucks go through water up to the windshield and keep on moving. STOOPID.

Bill in Omaha '86 535i

And yeah, I said that!

B - boat M - motor car W - Water

Come on guys - Really how many of you realised that all the NEW BMW and Mercedes had the air intake below the Axle centre? If you are really honest none of you did. The air filter is still on the top and there is no mention in the hand book regarding rivers, streams and fords. There are many such things in the UK and other places in the world. the Handbook mentions other things to be wary of like snow chains and when to use DTC etc. So why not mention something that is blatently different from what is/was considerd the NORM for best part of 100 years. We all know that the coolest air is near the ground but at what cost - good god we might just suck up a Kamakazi Water Ouzel and block the air filter!

I feel sympathy for the guy --------------- Good job you didn't buy an X5 and expect it to go anywhere

Huh? You've got to be kidding. You're driving a BMW 335, not an X5, X3 or some other SUV.

Tell you what? That you're driving a car and not a boat?

It's simply not true that all older cars had the air inlet on the top - those with side draught carbs like SUs often had them on the side. But they would and did sustain the same damage if the water got into the inlet.

Fuel injection cars have a very much better designed inlet tract - and this often means siting the intake fairly low and to the front to get the coldest possible air into the engine. You reap the benefit of this with better performance and fuel economy.

I doubt a warning in the handbook about the maximum depth of water would have much effect. How are you going to measure it? Of course some cars might get through a foot of water while others don't. A Land Rover might be able to cope with several feet.

I am sure that the user manual for my BMW gives advice about not driving through water, and how to minimise the risk of damage if you have to (e.g. to escape rising flood water), so if all else fails read the instructions or RTFM.

Basically if the water is deeper than the ground clearance you are taking a huge risk, even if the engine escapes damage, water is likely to get into the cabin and ruin carpets etc. Most flood water is dirty and often filthy, so don't go there!

A few feet, like maybe two - and it is going to get in the cabin.

You probably want to PX the vehicle ASAP afterwards...

snipped-for-privacy@h-gee.co.uk wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

so if you hit a big mud puddle you might blow your car up? Sheesh.. and the intake is down there I guess you don't want to drive on dusty roads very often or you'd be changing the air filter every couple of weeks.

It's been common practice for years to position it in the coolest airsteam - which means as low as possible and clear of the rad, etc. My

I'll own up to not knowing that.

That other cars apparently made it through and your BMW did not would suggest that the intake is lower -- than shall we say a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry. But, with water a foot high there also was probably a wake.

You are supposed to know that driving in deep water is bad.

That's a very nice story, Brad. Thanks for the entertainment.

in all my 70's celicas i had, i used to blast through floods, hell the water was higher than my car with the spash...theres a couple of road sin Sheffield that always flood, ones under a bridge in a dip, i always went through it, the other cars had to goto the middle of the road slow, and still conk out, i used to just keep going, only problem i had, was the force on the streering wheel, or if i forgot to shut the window...

good fun....

For future reference, sucking water into the motor can be fatal for the motor. This is not something that is new. The term of this is hydrolock. Water does not compress as the piston rises, the resulting solid block that forms between the top of the piston and the bottom of the cylinder head can cause any number of horrible things to happen. Typically, a connecting rod will break.

When you drive into water and make a splash that washes over the hood, there is an air pocket around the engine intake, but if the water is deep enough, when the pocket collapses water can get sucked into the motor. If the motor is spinning slowly at that point, it may only stall out due to the intrusion of water, but if the motor is cranking at a high speed then the solid block of water will do serious damage. It you are lucky, the distributor gets wet and stalls the motor before any serious damage can result. Of course, at that point water is high enough to seep in around the doors and soak the carpets, but that can be dried.

compressing

yeah, the air intake on the old celcia's was a tiny hole, on a long neck.....of course when i was young i didnt think of the outcome, just laughing at the other cars....guess i was lucky though