I think I hyrdolocked my B :(

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xj0hnx

I wanna be sedated
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So I was driving through a large, deeper than it looked "puddle" (massive rain, oncoming traffic, couldn't go around) and my car instantly shut off, and when I tried to restart it, I heard a grinding loud clunk.

Is there a way to check besides tearing the engine down? I pulled off the intake hose, but it's just filled with blow by oil and what looks like trace amounts of moisture. Time is against me always.
 
i would start with draining the oil or dropping the pan. that would be the easiest way.

too bad you cant pull the plugs and rotate the motor like on some cars where the plugs stick out the front or back or sides and not the top.
 
id say drain oil to start before any damage is done to the point of having a new engine or needing to rebuild it.
if damage has been done (correct me if wrong) wouldn't most of the damage be to bearings and what not. and maybe have a mild rebuild down and smooth sailing
 
Drain the oil? Why? Unless you left your oil fill cap off and submerged the engine, there's no reason that you should get dangerous amounts of water in your oil. I've rebuilt tons of flood cars, and draining the oil is NOT the first step in diagnosis.

When you hydrolock an engine, it's because water gets in the cylinders. Water, unlike air, cannot be compressed; thus, when your cylinders fill up with water (once it's sucked up through your intake, past the valves, and into the cylinders) your pistons can't compress it, so things start bending and breaking - most commonly connecting rods.


1. Remove the spark plugs, look and see if you can see any water in the cylinders.

2. Turn the engine over by hand. If you can turn it over, it isn't locked up.

3. Using the starter, crank the engine. Be sure and pull the fuse for the fuel pump and unplug the distributor first. If there's any water in the cylinders, and you didn't hydrolock it and/or bend a rod (or break something), it'll spin over and spit the water out of the spark plug holes.

4. Spray brake clean (flammable type ONLY) into the cylinders - not a shitload, but enough to mix with any moisture that may be in there. Hit it with an air nozzle and blow out whatever's left (be sure to not have your face directly over the spark plug hole while you're doing this).


I don't have a clue why you'd start out by draining your oil. Waste of time and possibly good oil, IMO.


Now, something else that I should mention, it's possible you didn't hydrolock it at all. When you get water on your air filter, it restricts the flow of the intake - and it CAN cause the engine to bog down and die WITHOUT causing any damage to anything. This happened to me waaaaay back in the day when I had my EG with a cold air intake on it. Same thing happens when you clean and oil your air filter, and don't wait for it to dry all the way before installing it and cranking your car - it just causes the engine to bog down.
 
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I doubt water got high enough to reach the head

Of what I experienced with B engine they like to leak on the front of the motor by the tranny.
 
I doubt water got high enough to reach the head

Of what I experienced with B engine they like to leak on the front of the motor by the tranny.
it gets sucked in through the intake..
 
dont these cars have magnets on the drain plugs? you would see metal shavings or pieces... seems the easiest way to check really.

not so much on the water part. not unless a piston cracked and the water got in the oil that way.
 
The intake is like a giant straw it sucks the water traight up through the intake through the head into the cylinder then boom hole in the side of the block. Its happened to me, hopfully it just got your filter wet enough to kill the engine like civiciouse said.
 
Just a thought but if there was water in the cylinders it wouldnt hurt to try and pull the plugs and rotate by hand tell tdc on all the cylinders and syphon the water out with turkey baster and some tubing. worth a try imo.
 
Thanks guys, when I get off work I'll pull out the plugs and have a look inside. We were going to try push starting it to see if the engine would turn over, I really don't have the time to drop the engine if I don't have to, but I really don't want to pay a shop to do it.
 
So now the worst is confirmed. Pulled the plugs and looked into the cylinders and 3 and 4 have water in them. I can't jack up the car to get an angle on the pulley to see if it will turn, but it will not crank via the ignition. I need to remove the starter and see if it is screwed up, or if the engine is locked up to the point that it won't turn.

So I guess the positive side is if the head and transmission are still ok it will be cheap to do a lsvtec, or swap the block with a GSR/ITR block.
 

lol, w0ot!!

I WILL NOT SHIP THIS BOTTOM END.YOU WILL NEED A NEW TIMING BELT. I WILL ONLY DO LOCAL PICK UP IN MARYLAND AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA

I don't think he is going to ship it :(

Anyone in Texas, south of say Dallas have a B18C short block they want to sell?
 
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