Water Gets Into the Intake & Causes Mechanical Damage

anything, including the need for a replacement engine/

mrcheerful

you just answered your own question, it hydraulic locks as water doesn't compress to well, we've seen cases were the customer has just done the same very thing driving through high puddles and sucking water up through the air intake and bending con rods, i seem to recall renaults having a problem as the air intake pipe was down low behind the front bumper.

When you drive into a flood the bow wave at the front of the car reaches up the grille and allows water into the trunking leading to the air filter. The engine then sucks water into one or more cylinders. Then when a piston comes up on its compression stroke, the cylinder is full of water, the piston meets it and pushes it to the top and stops, because it cannot compress the water.

We call it hydraulic or hydrostatic lock in UK, I'm assuming you're american? I don't think insurance covers that here, but I could be wrong.

Bent con rods/damaged pistons usually. It used not to happen when the air intake was a fairly short trumpet attached to the air filter. Modern demands for quietness have led to the trunking to the front of the car, reducing intake noise, but there's always a downside and this is it.

Steve

In news:d9cprc$bk1$ snipped-for-privacy@news7.svr.pol.co.uk, shazzbat decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

This is pretty much exactly why serious off road vehicles have a snorkel.

< We call it hydraulic or hydrostatic lock in UK,

Must be the same thing.

< I'm assuming < you're american?

In Arizona.

Here they are so happy to get any rain they forget to drain the streets.

The driver said kids were rafting by him in inner tubes. That's when I decided to check the air filter.

< I don't think insurance covers that here, but I could be wrong.

This policy covered hydrolock but not a lot of other mechanical problems. Running into water shouldn't be any different than running into a bridge or another vehicle as far as the insurance in concerned.

All cause unintentional damage to the car.

What are the typical problems from water getting into the intake?

< Bent con rods/damaged pistons usually.

This one is flopping around, definitely broken.

I explained to the driver that engines are not very robust machines. They all get damaged when you run them under water.

Bret Cahill

Bret Cahill ( snipped-for-privacy@aol.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

You're right. All are utterly avoidable.

Bret Cahill ( snipped-for-privacy@aol.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Your neighbour is a muppet.

It's nothing to do with temperature or thermal shock or the water boiling or hot bits rapidly cooling. It's far simpler than that.

Basic physics.

Gases compress. Liquids don't.

You fill a cylinder with an air & vaporised fuel mixture and compress it

9:1. It compresses.

You fill a cylinder with water and try to compress it 9:1. Something breaks.

Expensive.

The message from "Bret Cahill" contains these words:

Bent conrods, broken big ends, snapped crankshaft if you're unlucky. Of course, once broken the conrods can com out through the side walls of the block, which is always entertaining.

You may well also blow chunks out of the head gasket, but that won't matter since you'll probably be taking the engine apart anyway.

I've also seen it unseat an injector from the sealing washer and subsequently blow round the stem.

The message from "Bret Cahill" contains these words:

Not at all - some are quite happy fully immersed provided you take care of the inlet and exhaust and electric. And the fan. And a few other things.

OK - so it's not ideal!

The 'best' one I ever saw involved a friend going down a steep hill, at high revs in first, into what used to be a ford about 3" deep. This time it was about 2 feet deep! The cylinder head stripped all the nuts & dented the bonnet and the con rod was found about 20 feet downriver, when it dried up again. The crank was bent, too. I'd suggest a full strip & inspection, but a recon engine would probably be a safer bet. Dave B

Damp spark plugs?

Hilarious!

Adrian has a great sense of humour... should have been a comedian!!!

LOL!!

:)