i've never let a gf drive my z. i don't let my friends either. it's not an amusement park ride.

 

someone explain hydro-lock?

Is it just having something not combustable in the cylinders?

Why would that be the end of the engine? If you drain all the water out, wouldn;t it be ok, if not better since it'll be cleaner?

 

yeah, i agree. in fact, i ws thinking that if i dunked my intake in a tub of hot soapy water and ran the car it would get my engine REALLY clean!!!

 

She feels really bad, accidents happen. The bad thing is she has a jeep, but of course the one day we switch this happens. Your posts are killing me.....they are the first laugh I've had since it happened. I've already got the snorkel intake on order, though I can't decide where to exit it out the hood.

 

taken from http://www.prepsparkplugs.com/hydrofact.htm

Hydrostatic lock, hydraulic lock or hydrolock occurs when liquids, typically water, enter an engine cylinder. This can occur from a coolant, oil or fuel leak, but the chief cause is drawing water into the engine through the air induction system (airbox & filter, ducting, throttle body or carburetor, intake manifold). Internal combustion engines (spark or compression ignition) operating on a two-stroke or four-stroke cycle must employ a compression stroke to compress the charge (usually an air/fuel mixture). Liquids are incompressible; the presence of a liquid in the engine cylinder during the compression stroke generates destructively high cylinder pressures.

Abnormally high cylinder pressures can bend and break pistons, piston pins, connecting rods, crankshafts and ruin bearings and can crack or break cylinder heads and engine blocks. Small amounts of liquids may pass through an engine cycle without damage, but volumes exceeding 40cc (1.4 fluid ounces, <3 tablespoons) will cause many engines to develop cylinder pressures well in excess of 1000psi. A larger volume of water, up to the combustion chamber volume (usually 60cc to 100cc), will generate increasingly high cylinder pressure during the completion of the compression stroke. Volumes of water which exceed the combustion chamber volume will "stop" a running engine through true hydrostatic lock. Something expensive always bends or breaks when this happens.

Hydrolock may occur while the engine is running, the work of the compression stroke being supplied by engine's rotational inertia. Or a liquid may leak into the cylinder while the engine is being stored; the work of the compression stroke will be supplied by the starter motor.

Hydrolock is not a new problem, but it only affected certain applications. Older American made cars, particularly with V-configuration engines, often employed an air intake location which was high in the engine compartment. Because of the reduced tendency of these older American cars to hydrolock, it has not been in the forefront of design consideration and is not a household term.

Most newer, fuel injected cars have the air intake located low in the engine compartment. The objective of this low air intake is to draw cool air into the engine. Unfortunately, when driving through sufficiently deep standing or splashing water, engine vacuum from the intake stroke will suck water into the engine, particularly if the intake is submerged.

The cost to repair hydrolock damage begins at about $1000.00, and only goes sky high from there. Repair bills in excess of $35,000 have been reported in high-end passenger cars. Racing engines can cost twice that amount. Many new cars have been recognized as having poor designs to prevent hydrolock. Even some Four-Wheel-Drive pickup trucks and SUV's have been identified as having particularly high incidence rates of hydrolock. Manufacturers' warranties do not cover hydrolock engine damage, stating that the cause of operator error. One SUV manufacturer states the maximum vehicle speed through standing water to be 5 mph; hydrolock occurring at speeds in excess of 5 mph is judged to be operator error. The repair may be covered by a vehicle's Collision/Comprehensive insurance.

 

LOL! OK, I know what greek is, but if it`s too dirty to state on the message board, someone PM me and tell me what a "donkey punch" is

 

Without the "donkey punch," it can get real messy....

 

http://www.thesinex.com/nye2000donkeypunch.htm Clicky...


The look on that guy's face in the first picture should explain it all to ya...

 

If there were signs that said no driving your SOL.

 

geez, you men are really a tough crowd. im offended that you think girls cant drive Z's.....

now not to shoot myself in the foot, but this happened to me abotu a month ago. i was driving in a fricken monsoon really late at night and suddenly im in 2 feet of water. didnt even see it coming. luckily i put the clutch in when i realized what was happening. the car shut down, so we pushed it into a parking lot and left it there. i really thought i hydrolocked, but the next day we went back and pulled the spark plugs, turned the crank, and water shot out of the engine like a geyser.....

anyways, we put it back together and it was all good....definetely a huge scare though, if i didnt put the clutch in the second i hit the water i would have for sure hydrolocked....

bypass valve anyone??

 

hmm.. my insurance didnt come close to that

 

I live in houston too. and i messed up my gti in 1 foot of water.
I got it started and drove it for a month and the engine blew, and a piston shot through the block making a hole the size of a playing card.


My only advice for you is to have your car towed to the dealer and let insurance pay the dealer to fix your car.

Chances are if there's not a hole in the block, it'll cost you from a few hundred to 2k tops to fix it.

But if you make a hole like I did, it'll be way more.

 

update: Dealer said there is no internal engine damage.....the wife gets to stick around. The problem is electrical.

 

That's great news!

 

That is horrible news, get rid of that car, now! The water will begin to corrode your wires over time. That green stuff that builds up and makes electronic parts stop working. Over time it will give you more problems than you will ever want.

 

Totally agree.... my brother's Vette had electrical system damage from some particularly bad flooding here in Miami about 3 or 4 years ago and his car was never ever even remotely the same. It was constantly in the shop w/ one problem or another. It was really bad and all related to the electrical problems caused by the water. He ended up getting rid of it a year and a half ago after 2 years of aggravation.

 

R.I.P

 

And why would your wife be driving the Z?

 

Had this happen with my 98 Maxima. She should not have tried to start it. It turned over, blew white smoke, and locked probably. Bent rod baby. And no warranty. Insurance will pay for it though.

 

I did this too my 98 Saturn during tropical storm Allison in Houston. Drove through about 1 1/2 ft of water and the car died. My roomate at the time got out and pushed us to a high enough area that my car survived major flood damage. We walked to our apt. (complex got flooded to 6 inches in every 1st floor unit, 5 feet above street level!). Anyway, I went back and she sputtered but started and I was able to drive it, ok stop laughing now, to a repair shop. 4k in damage, insurance covered it. Car never ran the same, and about 3 months later, a Z passed me in the parking lot, and I knew instantly what I was trading that peice of crap saturn in for.