Guess how this happened...
- Thread starter Brickyard
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gm350reratliff
New member
Yes, that is the rod inspection/ crankcase overflow hole. I've done this mod to a few engines many years ago.
nivlak
New member
How does one perform this mod? How many hp we talking? :lol:
We have a winner! Hydro locked in 2 feet of water at 10-15 mph. 2 things that made stalling out twice as bad:
1. Stalling out right after giving the car next to me a smirk of confidence that my T4R can do anything with its aggressive look and stance.
2. Watching Miatas and Civics drive through the same pool of water with ease.
Since then, I've learned not to drive through 2 feet of standing water at 10-15mph with an off-road bumper that acts as a water funnel straight to your intake. I'm confident this would not have happened with the stock bumper.
Up until I had removed the engine and passenger side exhaust manifold, I had no idea this had happened. I was sure I'd bent a connecting rod since I couldn't manually turn the crankshaft a full rotation.
Since then, the off-road bumper has been sold and a donor motor should be up and running by Friday.
Is this really true? I've seen lots of vehicles fording water without this happening. Isn't there a way to divert the water?
BlackWorksInc
New member
What bumper were you running? Many members including have done fording in similar water with plenty of aftermarket bumpers. Did you remove the fender liner completely or trim it? 10~15mph should have been enough to cause a protective bow wake.
CBI bumper. Fender liner was trimmed to the bumper, PIAA fog lights installed and probably blocked a lot of the water. After pulling the intake tube I noticed light coming through the fender from the dog light opening and immediately realized my failure.
The water wasn't still. I was following other cars who's wakes likely led to my hydrolock.
ARunner
New member
Wow. Very unfortunate. I have read numerous threads about the ability to hydro lock after going with an aftermarket bumper. It didn't deter me from changing my bumper, but it sure slowed my pace down even through inches of water (think flash-flooded roadway). If water is being measured in feet, an abundance of caution should be taken. Sorry to hear of this. 
Davy180
New member
Wow! That is crazy. I would have never thought only 2 feet of water would have done that. I mean two feet is a decent amount but if your lifted I wouldn't have thought that would have been a problem. Really makes me double think driving through water and mud.
Sucks you learned the hard way but thanks for making it a caution for all of us.
Sucks you learned the hard way but thanks for making it a caution for all of us.
Jeremy556
New member
Get a snorkel, or drive slowly so you don't force water into your intake. 2-3mph is a good speed which creates a bow wake that helps prevent water ingestion.
TxRig13
New member
fullboogie
New member
:whipping2
BlackWorksInc
New member
Huh...
You know the CBI and Demello are far more "skinny" on the outboard sides where water could be forced into the wheel wheel where as the Shrockworks has those optional side skids to protect the washer bottle. I wonder if that contributes to shielding the intake a bit better? To be honest I haven't run into this issue before; eve when running puddles or mudding I've had more mud settle at the bottom of the airbox than sucked onto the air filter (which shocked me to be honest.)
But a snorkel would be a good idea. Another idea is to fabricate a plate that goes infront of the inlet for the air box and deflects water away from the opening.
You know the CBI and Demello are far more "skinny" on the outboard sides where water could be forced into the wheel wheel where as the Shrockworks has those optional side skids to protect the washer bottle. I wonder if that contributes to shielding the intake a bit better? To be honest I haven't run into this issue before; eve when running puddles or mudding I've had more mud settle at the bottom of the airbox than sucked onto the air filter (which shocked me to be honest.)
But a snorkel would be a good idea. Another idea is to fabricate a plate that goes infront of the inlet for the air box and deflects water away from the opening.
As most have mentioned, installing a snorkel. I would have done it while I'm up here in Virginia (700 miles away from home for work training) but my obvious priority is a clean swap and a working engine (donor motor came from New York and block is heavily rusted.). I have 2 more weeks up here and foresee a few more days to get the engine running. I had to sell my bumper to compensate cost for the donor motor. I get to drive 700 miles with no bumper like a hobo.
I won't get a snorkel because it only looks good with an aftermarket bumper, and I'm going back to stock.
BlackWorksInc
New member
It's your choice, but I wouldn't avoid all aftermarket bumpers because of this. I honestly think this is a more freak accident than common reality for people with aftermarket bumpers. There's plenty of us that run without liners or snorkels and I don't see many people hydrolocking an engine through a puddle unless they are sitting still.
There are some precautions you can take to avoid this in the future without a snorkel should you decide to go with an aftermarket bumper.
