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water flooded engine

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Old Apr 20, 2016 | 10:34 AM
  #1  
SWHouston's Avatar
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Default water flooded engine

What tests/procedures would have to take place, to get engine running again ?

Clarification:
Driving a little too fast,
Wave of water washed over hood,
Engine immediately stopped.
Battery Volt dropped to about 7vdc,
When trying to restart, just herd starter clicking.
Even after several hours wait, engine still won't turn over starter just clicks rapidly.

Engine was never actually submerged.

Last edited by SWHouston; Apr 20, 2016 at 11:46 AM.
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Old Apr 20, 2016 | 1:30 PM
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see if the air filter housing and intake have water in them, make sure your starting system and battery aren't the problem
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Old Apr 21, 2016 | 4:24 AM
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engine may have inhaled water in the cylinders. in that case you`d be hydro-locked. pull every plug and spin the engine over. if it`s sat for a while with the water in the cylinders it can quickly become locked by rust. quit trying to start it without more trouble shooting. a hydro locked cylinder and a good battery can bend a rod. good luck.
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Old Apr 21, 2016 | 10:05 AM
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Thanks for your reply Richard,
I think it was just a moderate wash of water that got through the Air Cleaner and stopped the engine. I was barely applying the throttle when it happened.
What concerned me was, that when I attempted to restart the engine after an appropriate wait, was that the Battery Voltage had dropped to about half.
Do you have any thoughts as to why that may have occurred ?
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Old Apr 23, 2016 | 3:17 AM
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Only guessing but the starter may have had water in it or you injested just enough water to stall or partially hydro lock the engine. Maybe when you tried to start the engine the piston coming up on exhaust stroke pushed the small amount out. Did the engine run rough when it first started? Give thanks to the man up above. You were lucky.
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Old Apr 23, 2016 | 3:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Richard Till
Only guessing but the starter may have had water in it or you injested just enough water to stall or partially hydro lock the engine. Maybe when you tried to start the engine the piston coming up on exhaust stroke pushed the small amount out. Did the engine run rough when it first started? Give thanks to the man up above. You were lucky.
How much luck has yet to be determined
At this time (just checked) the Battery has 2.8 vdc in it. Will take to Auto Supply and see if it has a dead cell(s). It was barely three years old, and I can see it not holding a charge, but, to just dump like that, is strange. Even with a shorted out starter. I'll probably have to replace it, just to get things going again.

Here's what I plan on doing...
1. Get new Battery, or charge it to sufficient voltage where it can crank engine.
2. Remove Spark plugs.
3. Crank engine over to discharge any volume of water captured in one/more cylinders. Or, replace starter if necessary.
4. Remove Air Filter, check ducting to eliminate any residual water therein.
5. Replace Spark Plugs
6. Attempt to start engine.

Anyone think of anything else I should do ?
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Old May 14, 2016 | 12:29 PM
  #7  
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Water Flooded Engine - FYI

There are two ways this could go..

1:
You ran into some heavy water, and a wash up over the hood (or similar circumstances) filled your Air Intake and wetted the Air Filter.
Air Filters can drain pretty easily. All one has to do is just wait about five minutes, and try to restart engine. That may take a couple tries.
When the engine starts, DON'T try to rev it up, just let it idle for a few minutes, and the air movement through the Filter will dry it out. Then you're on your way. Once on your way, it may be a good idea to change the Air Filter.

2:
When you get a substantial wash of water and it passes through the Air Filter and gets into a Cylinder.
This stops the engine immediately, and that's called a Hydro Lock. The tell for this is that when you try to start the engine, all you hear is a clunk of the starter hitting the flywheel, and possibly clicking, indicating the engine is not turning.
In other words, a cylinder is full of water, on the compression stoke, and it just won't turn over.

Get towed to a convenient/shop area, and follow the procedure listed in my Post #6.

So, two things may have happened...
You just got a little water in the cylinder, and after evacuating and putting the Plugs back in, you're ok...or

The momentum of the engine when the water was ingested, bent a Rod, locking the engine completely up. Which leaves tearing the engine down and replacing the damaged parts, or, replace the Engine. Given that the Valves may have been doshed with cold water, may require you to do a Valve Job as well, or, just buy a complete engine assembly.

Unfortunately in my case, I had to replace the Engine and Heads.

Last edited by SWHouston; May 14, 2016 at 12:31 PM.
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Old Jul 20, 2016 | 4:23 AM
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My father have this problem once while searching found this forum and told him about it. Thanks for the information it really helps.
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Old Feb 16, 2018 | 9:28 AM
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thank you for posting your problem sure you will find answer.
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