Underwater Disco

[seabo]

Had a choice on Sunday - finish fitting the snorkel v. catching the last couple of hours at Cowm pay & play - obviously went to play.

Amateur mistake - drove into puddle (with wife and 3 kids!)  - engine stops - water comes in - finds its level 2" above seats - lots of wet bums.

Some one on site took out injectors and blew water out of three of the cylinders - still won't start - AA got me home (after 3 hours in a pub and near divorce)

Help - how can I get it going again (the disco not my marriage!)?
 (Dehumidifier working overtime!)

[hairyasswelder]

300 tdi?
Does it now turn over freely?
Check for water in the ecu. Saw one in ford at bakewell and he had drowned it.
Remove ecu and take it in house to dry out.  Was told he put his in oven but I think near fire or rad is more sensible.
Worth a look  
Steve

[seabo]

Will try it tonight
Thanks

[thumbs]

is everything just wet eletrically and inside or has it hydrolicked (cant spell that)

if it has it will be - new push rods please normally!

[seabo]

I'm hoping its just wet - someone said it  might have hydrolicked (can't spelt it and don't know what it means!)

Going out to give her some TLC now

[TDi90]

and...

[DurtyDisco]

Hydro-Locked, I think it should be......

Basically it is where the engine sucks water in the through the air intake and forces it into the cylinders and fills the combustion chamber with water..... water won't compress, so locks the engine...unless you get it quick enough it can be terminal.... several thousand pounds of scrap metal under the bonnet as they need most bits to fx.....

That's the theory anyway.....

[Xtremeteam]

Hydro-Locked, I think it should be......

Basically it is where the engine sucks water in the through the air intake and forces it into the cylinders and fills the combustion chamber with water..... water won't compress, so locks the engine...unless you get it quick enough it can be terminal.... several thousand pounds of scrap metal under the bonnet as they need most bits to fx.....

That's the theory anyway.....

at best u might have bent a few pushrods etc if your really unlucky its gonna be a few bent rods

BTDT a few times

[Tyke]

if your really unlucky its gonna be a few bent rods

That sounds worse than it is though . . . . . a decent spanner man should be able to sort it in no time . . . . . not realy high tech aint TDi's . . . . that right dude?  


Me, I'd dry it all out first, then go for the compression check. If you get widely varying readings from that you can be pretty sure you need a serious engine strip.


Hope it's ok fella.

[solihull-mick]

Just a quick note i had a customer that did the same, did get it running in a fashion, and i did compression check it, all the same psi readings, when i took the head and sump off cylinder no 2 had indeed bent the conrod, but no compression loss, i guess it ran rough due to the piston not reaching tdc there for not burning correctly, but still gave a good psi reading,

So beware if you get good compressions dont rule out a bent conrod

[Tyke]

Point taken there mate . . . . would expect an 'early warning' from the compession test if there's any bent rods though.


Would check and drain the fuel tank sedimenter and fuel filter as well. If water has got in the fuel sytem through the tank breather, which often gets overlooked when wading, and by the sound of it the water was well high . . . . that could also cause a starting problem.


Moral is . . . . . don't let the engine stop when your in the water . . . . but I know it's not always that easy.

[Range Rover Blues]

Some of you are saying puchrods, surely you all mean con rod.

One of the resons you get the same PSI even with one bent rod is that at cranking speed you are testing the sealing on the rings and valves, hydraulicing will not alter this unless you are very unlucky (snap a ring) so although a compression test is a good idea it won't neccesarily giove you the all clear.  Get it running again first, then worry.

[dave_2A_2.25Turbo]

its the pushrods that bend - because water doesn't compress, it holds the valves shut while the pushrods are trying to open them

Pushrods are cheap and (relatively) easy to replace.  A conrod is more likely to break than bend

[MudRat]

Drivers door has decided to stop locking, when i activate the alrm, central locking locks the passenger and boot (3 door) but does not activate the button on the drivers, also does not lock with the key! Is it the spring gone that i keep seeing advertised on ebay or is it some thing more (or less) expensive, and is the spring an easy job? Cheers

[seabo]

It appears the engine has "ceased" according to a local "mechanic" - his answer was to buy a new engine.

It will not turn over - and 48 hours later I have a flat battery!

Surely it can not be that terminal - I am towing it home tomorrow.

If it won't turnover so I presume that I cannot test compression etc (even if I knew how to!)- HELP

TYKE - do you know any decent "spannermen" (to use your word) in Kirklees??

[way2deep]

best to check the whole system ...air filter, turbo pipes, intercooler,air intake on top of engine ....some unfortunate soul went in too deep at sibbertoft a few year back i recall and after i recovered him ,i took everything off his motor to do with the air intake ,,as above air filter all turbo pipes ,,drained intercooler and dried out intake bar on top of engine ,,took out all injectors and turned it over ...after several spins all was put back together and he drove home no problem.......

[way2deep]

i think some people forget that water could still be in the intercooler so when ya try turning it over it sucks the water up and hydraulics straight away..

[solihull-mick]

its the pushrods that bend - because water doesn't compress, it holds the valves shut while the pushrods are trying to open them

Pushrods are cheap and (relatively) easy to replace.  A conrod is more likely to break than bend

a conrod will bend not break, due to the way its made, and the push rod wont bend due to water ingress, its the conrod that bends under the pressure at TDC on the fireing stroke, both valves shut, even if the bore is full of water the valve will still open due to the piston not at TDC when they open,

[solihull-mick]

i think some people forget that water could still be in the intercooler so when ya try turning it over it sucks the water up and hydraulics straight away..

Good point, worth dropping off all the intercooler pipes, seeing as it will still start with them disconnected

[RACINGBONKERS]

IF YOU TRIED TO START HER THEN YOU'VE BENT AT LEAST 1 OR 2 CON RODS M8Y, MY MATE DID THE SAME THING WHEN HIS SNORKEL LEAKED HE BENT 2 & 4 & I MEAN BENT THE [!Expletive Deleted!], IT'S VERY UNUSAUL FOR THEM TO BRAKE, IF YOU'VE GOT A BIT OF MECHANICAL NOLAGE THEN PULL THE HEAD OFF & CHECK THE PISTON HEIGHTS, IT SHOULD ONLY TAKE AN HOUR TO REMOVE THE HEAD IF YOU GET STUCK GIVE ME AN EMAIL OR BUY THE HANNS MANUAL IT IS QUITE IS TO DO. TAKE THE BOTTOM INTERCOLLER PIPE OFF & SEE HOW MUCH WATER COMES OUT OF IT, IF YOU GET ALOT YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR YOU'VE BENT A CON ROD. IF YOU WANT ANY ADVISE ABOUT IT EMAIL ME & I'LL HELP AS MUCH AS I CAN.

[seabo]

Thanks for the advice - you may me getting emails shortly!

[Cassillis]

Going through exactly the same thing at the moment with my defender 300Tdi

Have a look here

Hope this helps a little

[Tyke]

Was wondering what you mean by saying it won't turn over. Is that in as much as the starter is not working or is the engine actually locked up?

If the later you are looking to find the reason why and an engine rebuild is on the cards I'de say. If it's locked don't force it, you will only make the damage worse.

Also agree with the other comments regarding bent rods. That's number one failure mode for any swamped diesel engine  :(



A few decent mechanics in the Kirklees area, I'll pm you a few numbers when I get my mobile phone sorted. It got a soaking up the Lakes at weekend and it ain't worked since . . . all my numbers were in the bleedin' handset