Did I hydrolock my engine?

[atalarico]

Hey all! Pretty epic flooding right now in Denver, and I was out and about rescuing my girlfriend from work downtown. I have been in what I thought was deep water before, but this was easily the deepest and I was still on the pavement! There were spots that I could swear were approaching the top of my wheels.

Anyway, I have a lifted (3") 97 Limited. I was doing my best not to splash (even though it's so tempting), and I didn't have any issues until...

I was making a right hand turn and my front passenger wheel took a digger. What I thought was the road was actually the sidewalk, and it caused a splash for sure. I didn't notice the water getting any higher than *maybe* 3/4 of the way up my wheel, but it happened so fast and I was just trying to drive out of it. The kicker is that I was being so good about not splashing and just keeping a steady and consistent speed to cause the little break wave in front of me, and then a huge jarring motion just knocked me out of that and into "Oh shit, drive!" mode!

Sure enough, my engine started idling really rough and felt like it was going to stall any time I stopped. At first I thought (desperately hoped) it was just my lower control arm finally giving out because of the pretty massive hit it took. I knew it wasn't and that it was something engine or tranny related, so I just sort of slow rolled home (few miles), and about halfway home it smoothed out and returned to normal (it idles a little rough anyway).

I just did a pretty frantic search of the forum and learned all about HYDROLOCKING. I just went out to check the air filter to see if there was water in it, and I found a really small amount on the bottom of the filter housing (like, 1mm at most), and the filter was a little damp to the touch, but not dripping wet.

So, do you think I'll be alright with that small amount of water? Is there anything I can do to prevent damage before starting my engine tomorrow? I'm kind of afraid to try to start it. That said, it seems like it might be covered by comprehensive (especially since it's kind of a disaster around here lately with the weather) if I need a new engine...and boy do I need a new engine.

Thoughts? I appreciate any!

PS no rear diff breather either, so I know I know...but I'm not afraid of changing my diff fluid, and it's about time anyway.

 

[JBurt]

If you hydrolock it Ruhr engine will seize. You could pull the spark plugs and crank it over to blow any water out. That being said I live in a desert so I've just read about it. Good luck

 

[Raintrees]

that doesnt sound deep water at all, maybe something electrical got alittle wet to cause the rough idle?
here in oklahoma when if we get water in the motor most just pull the plug give it a few cranks with the plugs out.

 

[Asaspades93]

could be plugs/wires/or coil packs. I've borderline suck my front end a few times and never had any real issues besides flooding my starter.

 

[cashmoney]

Hydrolocking usually involves severe engine damage. Like bent or broken rods. Drain the oil and see if it has water in it. My guess is you got the air filter wet, motor was choking for a bit. And that's it.

 

[atalarico]

Alright, so these are manageable issues! I can't find a black and white answer in the other hydrolock posts, but when you say pull the plugs and crank it over until water stops coming out;

I can definitely pull my plugs no big deal. It's the second part I'm confused about. I've seen people say use a ratchet (not sure where) to manually crank it over, but are other people suggesting to just use the key in the ignition with the plugs out?

 

[atalarico]

Hydrolocking usually involves severe engine damage. Like bent or broken rods. Drain the oil and see if it has water in it. My guess is you got the air filter wet, motor was choking for a bit. And that's it.

Yeaaa! That's really what I was hoping/thinking when I pulled the air filter. It's pretty dirty as it is, so I'm sure the water didn't help the situation. Any chance I can just check the dip stick for water to get around draining out the new-ish Mobil 1 synth I just filled her up with like 4k ago?!

 

[calimobber]

Yea my bet is just something got wet. It would take some pretty insane water levels to take in enough water to hydrolock. Its almost impossible going through puddles. Dirt bikes get it when they go completely under water and even then it doesn't hurt the engine most of the time but the engine wont move since water cant be compressed.

I drove through puddles over my hood in my 99 frontier, I sucked a lot of muddy water in the intake and it still ran( Im sure it did some long term damage though :frusty: )

I would go for a drive, if its stuttering just find a sweet spot its ok and let the air and engine heat dry her out.

We got a little rain up here at Rocky Mountain NP on the west side but I didnt know you guys here getting hit so hard!!!


If your a stick shift I might check the oil in tranny. I got water in my frontier transmission when I went water mobbing

 

[T4R2014]

If it is running then it is not hydrolocked my friend.

 

[Koko4]

I hydrolocked my '91 Pickup one time..it basically just shut completely off, then wouldn't turn over at all (acted like a bad starter, basically). We had to take off all 6 spark plugs, then with all of them out, turn the engine over. The movement of the pistons up/down will shoot water out of all of the spark plug holes. Then you just put the spark plugs back in, and it should crank and drive (assuming there's no serious engine damage).

Pretty neat trick! But it sounds like you did not hydrolock :clap2:

 

[JayRolla]

You sucked in water, soaked the plugs and you stalled out. Hydrolock you bend rods. You are lucky. It happens, ive done it.

I actually am in the springs and there was a good 3-4 feet of water in an intersection. As everyone is turning around and not going through. I slowly proceed. Some dumb ass in honda suv flys past me, splashing all over. He made it about 100 feet past the water and then pulled over stalled. His face was priceless as I drove past him shaking my head. LOL.

 

[Konwater]

The air flow sensor doesn't enjoy getting wet. Chances are you got a little water in the intake tract and it got a little wet. Both times i hydrolocked my 4runner the air flow sensor killed the engine before serious damage could occur. It will not turn over if it's hydrolocked.
Also, the oil will sit on the water, so if the dipstick indicates you have more oil than before there is a chance there is water sitting in the oil pan.

 

[shootmymime]

you truck is fine. at the very least check the oil (with the motor hot and after it has been run but turned off) check the dip stick and look for white foamy milky substance thats a form of water. if there is much id probably do an oil change but then again if its not much you can burn the water out pretty quick.

dude your truck is fine.

 

[JayRolla]

you truck is fine. at the very least check the oil (with the motor hot and after it has been run but turned off) check the dip stick and look for white foamy milky substance thats a form of water. if there is much id probably do an oil change but then again if its not much you can burn the water out pretty quick.

dude your truck is fine.

Ohh yea, after going through water change motor oil, rear diff and front diff fluids. There could be contamination. I have done some crazy water crossings. Changed fluid and it looked pretty good still. But you never know.

 

[BrianSD_42]

If it is running then it is not hydrolocked my friend.

Pretty sure this is it.

The way I heard it is if you suck in a bit of water and it doesn't lock up and the engine keeps running then it wasn't hydro-locked.

Based on your story you very well might have pulled some water into the engine and blown/burned it out.

If it were me I would change my oil in the near future.

Ohh yea, after going through water change motor oil, rear diff and front diff fluids. There could be contamination

2nd'd

 

[atalarico]

Thanks, all! It was just one of those situations that I figured would happen to me if it was going to happen to anyone. I just have that kind of luck (but I guess not this time).

Can you blame a guy for getting jumpy though? There are a lot of things building up that are going wrong with my 4runner and this was going to be too hard to handle. I love her and I'd hate to mess her up like that.

:banana: