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Basically I was coming home from hitting some baseballs with my girlfriend, The parking lot was flooded and had to go through it to get out of there. My car started to act funny and it turned off on me while I was coming to a stop, Now i cant even start it and when I manage to get it started I have to keep giving gas or it dies, Nothing seems to be wet anymore, The air filter was drenched and is still damp, Is this the problem? or what else may it be? Thanks
you just ran a really good chance that you hydrolocked the engine, or bent your rods.
it wasnt that bad at all, maybe came up to the bottom of the car, I have drove in that kinda water last month and nothing happened then, what do you mean hydrolocked it? like its done for?
Hydrolock is where water gets sucked into the cylinders. During the compression stroke, the liquid can't get compressed, so the excess energy bends the rods. Needless to say that is a very costly repair.
Since your air filter was wet, it's a possibility, but I don't think that giving it more gas to keep running would be a symptom.
Another possibility is that you got water in your distributor. If you're not firing on all cylinders, then it would not start easily, and you would need the momentum from a faster-spinning engine to go past the non-firing cylinders to the firing ones.
I'd recommend taking off the dizzy cap and making sure that there's no oil or water in it. You can also check for sparks on all four cylinders. That's where I would start.
Hydrolock is where water gets sucked into the cylinders. During the compression stroke, the liquid can't get compressed, so the excess energy bends the rods. Needless to say that is a very costly repair.
Since your air filter was wet, it's a possibility, but I don't think that giving it more gas to keep running would be a symptom.
Another possibility is that you got water in your distributor. If you're not firing on all cylinders, then it would not start easily, and you would need the momentum from a faster-spinning engine to go past the non-firing cylinders to the firing ones.
I'd recommend taking off the dizzy cap and making sure that there's no oil or water in it. You can also check for sparks on all four cylinders. That's where I would start.
K cool, I mean nothing else looks wet, I checked the hose and it was dry(air intake hose). My next step is to take the distributor cap off and see, as well as i was told it could be my alternator
I also managed to get it to start when I jumped it from another car. then it died after i got out of my car.
What I've learned to do first thing if an engine gets exposed to any measurable amount of water is to pull the plugs and crank it. My other car ('92 Geo Tracker) would not start whatsoever one day, turned out that when the engine bay was pressure washed a hose popped off and water was forced into the intake. Pulled the plugs, cranked five seconds, put the plugs back in and it fired right up.
Replace that air filter. Sucking water vapor into your engine is going to cause a lot of damage in the long run.
What I've learned to do first thing if an engine gets exposed to any measurable amount of water is to pull the plugs and crank it. My other car ('92 Geo Tracker) would not start whatsoever one day, turned out that when the engine bay was pressure washed a hose popped off and water was forced into the intake. Pulled the plugs, cranked five seconds, put the plugs back in and it fired right up.
Replace that air filter. Sucking water vapor into your engine is going to cause a lot of damage in the long run.
How fast were you going when you hit the puddle?
I will be sure to try that tomorrow, when you say pull the plugs you mean the spark plug wires right? making sure and I wasnt really going that fast, it was a parking lot so not too bad going slow enough to where the water was barely movin so it seemed but something is wrong with it
"when you say pull the plugs you mean the spark plug wires right?"
No, he means the spark plugs themselves. Then, with the spark plugs out, crank the engine for about 10 seconds. Then reinstall the spark plugs. This will force any water that may be in the cylinders out.
Also, take that air filter out and replace it or at least let it dry out while it is out of the air box. More air can get to it that way to help it dry more quickly. Don't reinstall it until it is completely dry.
If your battery is weak you might consider removing it and recharging it from an outside source while the air filter is out of the car drying.
Exactly what Mike said! You should also pull all your spark plug wires (being wary of where they go) and spray them out with an electronics cleaner. Water in the plug wires can cause them to short to the block rather than fire the plug.
Exactly what Mike said! You should also pull all your spark plug wires (being wary of where they go) and spray them out with an electronics cleaner. Water in the plug wires can cause them to short to the block rather than fire the plug.
Gotcha, will try now, thanks for that info I will post back with any results
Edit. So It wont even do anything now. anyone have any ideas? i try to start it but nothing.
Your battery good? Charge it with a charger, or try jumping your car.
Yep battery is fine, took that in to have it checked as well as the alternator and starter, which were all fine. and now when I go to turn car on you hear a faint buzz, and only the headlights and inside light works when you open door, the radio was working but not at all today,
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