help, water got into car......

Body shop? Ask a mechanic. Unless the water was high enough to reach the air intake (not exhaust) I think they're clueless. Most likely there is water in the electricals somewhere...

Just my opinion, of course - Paul in Dayton

P.S. - Oh, how deep was the water? I drove one of my cars thru a flooded road once, it died in the middle and water was above the bottom of the doors (inside the car, too.)

I pushed it out, the friend helping and I drove to the other side of the flood and I started my car and went home.

P

You need a mechanic....

When it stalled out would the engine still turn over with the starter?

If no, then you likely do have a blown engine.

If it would crank over ok, then it is more likely water got in the distributor cap or some other electrical part.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

han wrote:

If all that happens is that the water fills up the exhaust pipe, perhaps no damage was done to engine internals. A few years ago, when samaritanizing some people in and around a flooded bit of road (I was in a lifted Jeep), some kids in a BMW 320i needed a jumpstart because their battery was rather puny, but in the course of a lot of cranking they disgorged all the water from the tailpipe and were on their way. Unfortunately a couple of people also flooded their intakes, a much different proposition. If you get a substantial amount of water high enough, the induction stroke lets water into the cylinders, but then the compression stroke -- whoa nelly! It's all the worse when everything is nice and hot.

One of them was in a minivan and believed in the popular idea that the way to take a water crossing is as fast as possible, lest you lose traction. Throwing a roostertail worthy of a ship coming off the ways, he sucked in rather a lot of water and only made it halfway. Had he taken it slowly, just fast enough to give himself the benefit of a gentle bow wave, he'd have been fine.

So I guess it comes down to how high your air intake is, and whether you sucked water into the cylinders and then tried to compress it. I can think of several ways that unexpectedly deep water might give your car starting issues, many of them electrical. So maybe you just lost your computer, or if you're really lucky you just have a saturated connector somewhere.

Before tearing down the engine, I'd pull the plugs and look around with a borescope, and see what can be done easily to get a similar glimpse of the overhead-cam area. And, of course, I'd drain the oil and see what it looked like. There is a possibility that you have internal engine damage, but also a possibility that you got lucky. Certainly I wouldn't take the word of a body shop unless they also have mechanical and electrical expertise and have gathered some of that kind of evidence.

Cheers,

--Joe

PS. I'd examine the fluid in the transaxle too; and did the brake master cylinder or the power steering reservoir get submerged?

When you drive into the water and your engine stalls, the smart thing to do is not try to restart it if there's any chance it ingested water. That's when the damage occurs, on the restart attempt. Best thing to do is check the air cleaner. If that is still dry then the lack of start could be wet ignition. If the air cleaner is wet you better pull the plugs and turn the engine over to blow the water out. You need a clearler diagnosis. What did they do to determine the damage? You can start a car with a bent rod. Damage control first, then turn it over.

I did this once with an Olds diesel. I went through water that was too deep and didn't realize that the intake scoop was damn near on the ground.

Sucked the engine full of water and hydraulically locked it tighter than a drum. It would not turn over.

I took out the fuel injectors and turned the engine over a few times. What a sight! Looked like an Italian fountain. I sprayed some WD-40 into the injector holes and cranked until water stopped coming out.

I replaced the air filter, reinstalled the injectors, and fired her up. Changed the oil, and drove it for another 100,000 miles with no problem.

So, yes, you may have ruined the engine, but you may NOT have either.

well yeah i went to a mechanic, he said my engine had no compression at all, so im assuming water got into the intake, i have those aem cold intakes that are just besdies the wheel, so basically i have to get a new engine. Oh well.