Hydro Locked Engine

[Fourby]

not really discovery specific, but seeing as it's most likley to happen in my disco... here goes.

Someone told me that if you hydrolock your engine you can roll the car backwards while in top gear and force the engine to spin in reverse, pumping out the water from the bores the way it came in.

 I can understand this as a principle, but was wondering if anyone has ever actually done it with any sucess???

[Thrasher]

Er.....when you put the car in reverse ... it's the gearbox that is in reverse - NOT the engine. The engine always run one way ;-) If you put it in a forwards gear and push it backwards .... I'm pretty sure something would complain ;)

It's easier to pop the plugs ;-)

[Oz]

Put a Snorkel on it :P

[muddyjames]

Dont let a recovery man rock the car back in gear then tell you to turn the engine over. It just blows the pistons out the bottom of the engine. This happened in my rover 620 5-6 years ago :(

Just pop the glow plugs / spark plugs out of each cylinder and turn the engine over that way. DO NOT attempt a restart with the plugs in.

[Skibum346]

Hydrolocking is water ending up above the pistons. When the piston comes up it compresses the water... but being water it'll only go so far. you MUST provide it with an exit or it will make it's own!  :shock:

It's a bit like sticking yer thumb over the end of a bicycle pump and pumping it... the air forces it's way past your thumb and heats up... no thumb... no problem!  :roll:

The correct method would be to remove the plugs as described and turn the car over on starter.  :idea:

Bear in mind... unless you have been incredibly lucky the damage will already have been done so it's probably gonna be a recovery job.  :(

Skibum

[auf_wiedersehen_pet]

Put a Snorkel on it :P

I wish I had. Doesn't look too bad but it killed my car......

link

[nellyscossy]

not really discovery specific, but seeing as it's most likley to happen in my disco... here goes.

Someone told me that if you hydrolock your engine you can roll the car backwards while in top gear and force the engine to spin in reverse, pumping out the water from the bores the way it came in.

 I can understand this as a principle, but was wondering if anyone has ever actually done it with any sucess???

speaking from experience once your engine has hydrauliced then you've had it!!!  usually bends a con rod or two  and on a diesel that means no compression  which then means no go!!!!! :?  :?

dont matter wich way you push it the engine still only goes one way  only way is to remove spark/glow plugs and turn it over to clear  the bores but by this stage the damage is usually done.... :shock:  :shock:

simple then....fit a snorkel  :D

[Bulli]

what everyone else said, unlucky as the water/mud doesnt look too deep.

you will have to be extremely lucky to have not damaged the engine.

[dave362]

I am afraid it killed my Rangie too. It ran fine once I got the water out, but then 2 weeks down the line it sounded like a strangled cat

[Fourby]

The last time i drove through deep water in my disco... it killed the ecu. Air filter was dry but the ECU needed three days on a radiator before it came around!

yep a snorkel is on the list.

I managed to hydrolock my mondeo the other day though in flood water, it was only after having it recovered to a garage that someone told me about spining the engine backwards.

In my head it kinda works and seems to be a good alternative to taking out the glow plugs if you are stranded without the right tools as you could disconnect the inlet hose clip with a screwdriver or knife, run the engine backwards to expel water from the bores, then if it started, use the turbo pressure to blow dry out the intercooler. I suppose it would all depend on the engine layout and just how stranded you were...

I have no plans to do it or drive through a flood again in that car, However, i had no plans to drive through water the first time around. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and wanted home.

But it's an interesting thought....