snake

Hey there,

Drove home during a very heavy rain storm which caused deep flooding on a major Atlanta road. Needless to say, I suddenly got caught in a very deep puddle of water. I believe that my motor then sucked up water through the air intake in the fender. Upon realizing how deep the puddle was becoming, I floored it and made it through, but the motor quit. Thought the electrics were wet, so waited a few minutes and restarted the motor...Fired up, but sounded awful. Luckily, I was only a couple of blocks from my house and limped home, trailing a steamy/smoky cloud.

Long story longer, checked the oil yesterday, looked like thick white goo. Also, all coolant is gone.

Changed oil, but car still running poorly. Two questions:

1. Can the goo be remedied by changing the oil, running motor, and repeating a few times.

2. Could loss of coolant be a blown head-gasket? and would this scenario blow a head-gasket? Is there an easy way to check if its blown?

I know that I have heard of this situation happening, but found no info in the archives on this.

Car is a 1984 944, 70k mi, 5sp and ran well until this monsoon.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

-Mike
-Atlanta, GA

SidViscous

Er ah.....

That's too bad.

If you did ingest water into the combustion chamber. Might I suggest you contact one of the motor builder how much a rebuild will cost.

Having said that you might be lucky and it's just old wet wires, but it sure don't sound like it.

Tom Carson

hydrolock ??

have a read...

<a href="http://forums.rennlist.com/cgi-bin/rennforums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=021164" target="_blank">http://forums.rennlist.com/cgi-bin/rennforums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=021164</a>

you decide

ahofam123

What does the oil look like now? Is your coolant level now remaining constant. Hopefully your's will work out like it did in the above thread.

HY M8NC

How deep was the water? I would also be concerned with cold water hitting a hot engine block, causing a crack. Loss of coolant usually means blown head gasket, cracked block, etc. If you are fairly certain you pulled water into the cylinder, you could have compressed the water, and blown the head off-

Is it holding coolant now? Is the new oil turning foamy? I'm afraid it doesn't sound too good judging by your description-let us know what you find.

Legoland951

I hope the hydrolock blew your head gasket and that the water went from the combustion chamber to your oil. Otherwise, you may want to look at the picture of the engine in this thread "Ricerboy Showdown - Not for the faint hearted!". This broken block actually came from a 1988 944 n/a that went under water and broke a rod taking out both side of the block, the oil pan, and part of the bell housing. Believe it or not, I got the car to start with 3 before I started to look for a hole in the block. Good thing you still have oil in your pan.

James86-951

Do a compression test and work from there.

Z-man

Years ago, I tried going through a flood with my '90 Integra. Water was sucked into the engine via the intake. I found out the hard way that water does not compress as well as air does. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />

I threw a rod and needed an engine rebuild.

Check your engine for unusual holes or cracks. Most likely, there's something wrong with the block.

Good luck,
-Z.

snake

Everyone,

Thanks for your replies. Tonight, I will check for any visible holes in the block. Will also fill the coolant reservoir and check for leaks. I assume that with a pan full of fresh oil (cleanish dipstick) that when I refill the coolant and run motor, if its turns milky again...Blown head gasket?

Compression check is also a good idea. Will probably have to wait until the weekend before I can get proper tools from the shop.

However, If it is a head gasket, how difficult of a job is replacement?

Thanks again for everyone's input. I will post tomorrow with an update.

-Mike

User 41221

Personally, I think you are dreaming that its a headgasket. Water, unfortunately, does not compress, and if you took in enough to cause any sort of problem, its going to take out more than your headgasket. I hope I am wrong...

To answer your question, tho, a headgasket job is not that bad, just make sure you have lots of space and patience, work carefully and don't hurry.

Again, I hope I am wrong.

Regards,

qoncept944

<img border="0" alt="[ouch]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" /> I lived at the point where 3 big hills ended for 15 years. I learned several times a summer that when people try to go through the water fast, they are worse off. Hope everything turns out for ya.

Flight_951

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by snake:
<strong>...Needless to say, I suddenly got caught in a very deep puddle of water...</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">It's possible your insurance company can help you with this situation. Standing water is usually considered a road hazard and your insurance company may be responsible for repairing your car (depending on your exact coverage). I would suggest not repairing or troubleshooting your car until you call your insurance company to find out more. Good luck.

Skip

Flight has a very good point - I was able to claim my... oh, how embarrassing... well, you had to find out someday... my Isuzu Impulse <img border="0" alt="[oops]" title="" src="graemlins/oops.gif" /> with State Farm when it was damaged by flooding in Virgin'ya Beach (back in 88'ish). Young, dumb, and full of ... - I ran through a huge puddle, killed the engine (hydrolock), then sat there until the car was filled with nearly a foot of water. Insurance paid for the whole repair, including new carpet, seats, and door panels. Aside from being butt-ugly, the Impulse was a decent driver - handling by Lotus, doncha know

Also, to prevent this in the future (in case you need to ford a raging river) either remove the intake tube (inside the fender) or drill three 1" holes in the upward portion.... this will keep you from ingesting water.

Good Luck!

Tom Carson

who could resist Joe Isuzu back then...it's ok, that's all behind you now

Legoland951

Yes insurance does pay. The pictures from the thread I referred to came from a hydrolocked 88 944 n/a I bought from an insurance auction after the company paid the owner for the total loss.