Cranking car - do I need to disconnect ignition first?

It hydraulics the engine. Basically it builds up too much pressure in the cylinders which in turn causes alot of stress damage. As well as that, it also bypasses the piston rings and gets into the oil.

aparently the woman driver went past the "road closed flood" signs, and the police man waving at her :O)

And what is the very obvious way? The only time I notice a bad engine is when it wont start. Whats the difference between turning over ok and the engine being dead/damaged?

I'll probably regret this but how much did you use and where did you pour it. I thought Redex went in the fuel tank!

Depends on what has actually gone wrong. However if you managed to hydraulic a piston it'll possibly sound extremely noisy and rattly and have as much performance as an asthmatic badger. Assuming it starts. If it refuses to start (but turns over) and drying the plugs etc doesn't get you anywhere then the next thing is a compression test.

The message from AJ contains these words:

That's right.

Ever had the feeling we've been here before!

Sorry. As has been mentioned before, water does not compress and if you suck a lot of water into the cylinders while the engine's running it will lock up on the first compression stroke it comes to and quite possibly bend con-rods.

If it has turned over normally after the event it's probably fine.

If it's turning over ok it will sound the same as it normally does. Not that this is a guarantee that it'll start, of course. If hydraulic damage has been done then it will not sound "normal". Either way you won't make it worse by trying to start it so...

Try it!! :)

Si

It can go into the carb or the plug 'oles too. If in the latter it's usually left overnight to soak then either pumped out of said 'oles or burnt out by starting the engine, which is much more fun but a bit antisocial.

Si

Yeah, my stuff went in my plug 'oles. It soaked for a while, but only for a few minutes (what ever it said on the side of the bottle). I then 'fired' it out of the plug holes by turning the engine over. It went all across my driveway, and all across my garage. It went about

I then drove it, and had thick white smoke comming out of it. Soon after I started it, a bloke walked past and I had to explain to him that there was nothing wrong lol. I decided to drive it, cos it was a bit embarassing lol. It was kinda good, but a bit 'antisocial'.

I flew some water the other week, i got damn soaked thru the open window. The front wheels protrude the arches (which i always thought was a mot failure but never has) so in rain you get the rooster tails

I have gone thru road closed signs, seen people stuck. Same goes for driving in show up hills, if i dont stop im fine but then you get some idot who has never driven in snow who stops the run up.