Ok my wife called me about 2 hours ago and said that she drove the car through a puddle and it died. I knew right away what happened. She said all she sall was smoke come from the exhaust and then it died. She tried to start it but it wouldn't even turn over. I jumped in my other ride and went to save her and when I got there the car started for me and ran very rough for a few seconds maybe like 10-15 seconds then it ran smooth and rine like nothing happend but it was smoking white smoke for ever I drove it home like 12 miles and it stopped smoking and it's running just like it always had and had plenty of power I don't hear any unusual noises from the engine. What should I do now I know I'm gonna change the oil for sure but what else should I do is it possible the engine could still be damaged????
Ahhhh Engine Hydrolocked!!!
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
do a compression check, if it's ok, then no biggie.
my guess is it might have sucked up just a little, and i might have hung around in the IM, and it would suck it in as vapor as it boiled off, hence the temporary white smoke. but if they run, i don't usually complain.
![]()
my guess is it might have sucked up just a little, and i might have hung around in the IM, and it would suck it in as vapor as it boiled off, hence the temporary white smoke. but if they run, i don't usually complain.
Joined
·
5,536 Posts
i dunno bout engine damage but same thing happened to me: driving thru a snowstorm (HAD to get back to college) and my car suddenly died on the road...waited a lil, started it back up, ran rough, cleared out, drove fine. havent' had a problem with it yet.
Joined
·
25,239 Posts
You didn't get hydrolock man. If you had hydrolock your car would still be sitting wherever it died.
Did you wife mention how bad the puddle was and how fast she was going when she hit it? Something doesn't add up here.
You're not going to get hydrolock from driving normally, the puddle has to be at least up to your bumper. (yeah yeah, I've harped on this before, I know.)
Did you wife mention how bad the puddle was and how fast she was going when she hit it? Something doesn't add up here.
You're not going to get hydrolock from driving normally, the puddle has to be at least up to your bumper. (yeah yeah, I've harped on this before, I know.)
Joined
·
25,239 Posts
Trust me, if your engine hydrolocked, you're not going to be driving it home.
Joined
·
25,239 Posts
This is what would have happened if your wife sucked up water.
"What is water suck? Simply put, it is an occurance wherin a large amount of water gets introduced into a running engine. Being a liquid, and thus incompressible, the water fills the cylinders and abruptly stops the engine's rotation, causing a large amount of stress to the pistons, connecting rods, and crankshaft. Usually this stress is very high, causing terminal damage, and the engine has to be disassembled and parts replaced.
While not impossible, water suck is not very likely as long as you drive with your brain engaged. I have yet to hear a story involving engine damage done to a car by water that wasn't due to the driver being unnecessarily careless. The amount of fear regarding water suck is absolutely disproportionate to the actual danger as long as you think while you drive."
I took that from http://integra.vtec.net/geeser/ simply because he words it so well.
"What is water suck? Simply put, it is an occurance wherin a large amount of water gets introduced into a running engine. Being a liquid, and thus incompressible, the water fills the cylinders and abruptly stops the engine's rotation, causing a large amount of stress to the pistons, connecting rods, and crankshaft. Usually this stress is very high, causing terminal damage, and the engine has to be disassembled and parts replaced.
While not impossible, water suck is not very likely as long as you drive with your brain engaged. I have yet to hear a story involving engine damage done to a car by water that wasn't due to the driver being unnecessarily careless. The amount of fear regarding water suck is absolutely disproportionate to the actual danger as long as you think while you drive."
I took that from http://integra.vtec.net/geeser/ simply because he words it so well.
Joined
·
25,239 Posts
You probably just got a bit of water into your engine. I'd put some gas treatment in as well to get any remaining water out. (That would work wouldn't it?)
Anyways, if it's running fine then I wouldn't be terribly worried. But like you said, I'd definitely change the oil as soon as possible. I think your car will be fine though, just had a little cough.
Anyways, if it's running fine then I wouldn't be terribly worried. But like you said, I'd definitely change the oil as soon as possible. I think your car will be fine though, just had a little cough.
hey i really hydro locked my motor. it still doesnt start i drove through what i thought was a harmless puddle. car stalled. took off my intake and opened up the throttle body and watched like a gallon of water pur out. got it towed to the acura dealer. they found water in cylinders 3 and 4 and a broken rod in cylinder one and my insurance wont cover it because they say it is "mechanical" damage and unrelated to the water. anybody have an opinion on this. im looking for lawyers right now.
My car stalled one time after driving through a puddle. It didnt want to start at first, but by the time the tow truck showed, it started up and ran. It was a little shaky at first, but the next day it ran like no problem. I had a compression test months later and no problems. Ive even run a few bottles of nitrous through it with no problems. Im pretty sure in our case, we got some component of teh ignition system wet.
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
Join the discussion
Join now to ask and comment!