hello all, happy new year. I have a 350 z with engine noise, went to a dealer they told me they will not warranty it because i had a cold intake, so i towed car home and removed all mods, went to a diff dealer- they told me the engine has water in it(hydrolocked motor) they will not cover that do to perf parts that were onn car. they said regular ins should cover the car. which they will also not cover any suGGESTIONS?????

 

I'm wondering how the second dealer knew that you had "perf parts" on the car if you removed them? My guess would be that the first dealer flagged it in the computer system which the second and any other dealers will have access to. Basically you're screwed - take his suggestion and claim it on insurance.

 

yeah thats what we did, and insurance doesnt want to pay for it. I wonder iff AEM will cover ir. next thing is a hydrolocked motor drivable? I think both nissan and ins dont want to pay- but somebody is going to pay, the car only has 29k on it, never used and im not paying 8k for the install. It sounds like a lifter, not a so called hydrolock motor. Simple - If the engine is ****ed the mnufacture has to pay- if it is from water- act of god -ins needs to pay. Either one should have nothing to do with the perf mods, Especially i had cai with a bypass valve. I drove the car as well- hydrolocked motors dont drive..

 

oh boy, ya you don't drive a hydrolocked motor, you can't!!!! where did they find water? i would talk to a laywer. the lifters in the vq are solid and would not make a ticking like a hydralic ones. sounds like a bad rod bearing maybe. even if it sucked in a little water in the intake it couldn't make it to the inside of the motors oil passages. i would fight this, the dealer likes to tell you to stuff it and make you pay. i would call nissan north america and start getting the ball rolling. so tell, where was the water found and how did they figure it was hydrolocked? i would have come unglued at the dealer cause hydrolocking is not the prob. "hydro"=water "lock"= well it won't turn over. even if it was this condition, you just pull the plugs and turn the motor over and it would purge out the water, or could be vacuumed out with a tube and vacuum source. sorry to hear man, but i would be pissed at the dealer.

 

false they have to prove that the intake caused the hydrolocked motor. there is no way for that to happen call a lawyer and youll be fine

 

there arent many ways for water to get into the engine...that is one of the risks you take to get 4 hp from the cai...you could ask for the a regional service manager to look at it...if its hydrolocked the car will not run...

 

I guess the first question is "did you run the car in "deep" water"? You should know if you got into a situation where it could have ingested water. If you didn't then you can argue that it can't be hydrolocked. If you did, then you can't expect Nissan, the dealer, AEM or anybody else to take responsibility.

I don't understand why the insurance co. won't cover it. If you ran your car off the road into a ditch and the car was submerged, they would replace/repair it, right? When if you hit a deep puddle and the engine ingested water, then it's a similar situation and they should cover it too.

 

Not alot of ways to hydrolock...
AEM filter is in the left wheel well...
The design is safer than Injen...
I dont know what would be the hold up...
Change oil and see whats going on?

 

After I though about it, I realized that no dealer would ever cover hydrolocking as a warranteed repair. That's caused by an external condition, not by a equipment defect.

Unfortunately for you, the warranty manual that comes with the Z explicitly covers this situation:

WHAT IS NOT COVERED
DAMAGE, FAILURES OR CORROSION DUE TO
ACCIDENTS, MISUSE OR ALTERATIONS
This warranty does not cover damage, failures or corrosion
resulting from:
■ Accident, theft, fire, driving through water (including engine
water ingestion) or misuse (Proper use is outlined in
your OWNER’S MANUAL).

 

hey this gives you a chance now to rebuild the motor from the internals out...

 

Ive been thinking alot about "Hydrolocking"... Basically there are 2 scenarios where water could get into the engine intake, either just spray (from driving behind another car in heavy rain) or from driving into a DEEP patch of wather covering the whole or the majority of the intake filter...

What would be the possible engine damages be from the 2:
1. Getting water spray on the intake so SOME water makes it into the engine?
2. Totally submerging the intake?

Also to me it sounds unlikely that the dealer could see that the car had hydrolocked unless it would have taken in several litres of water and stopped completly and hasent been run after, otherwise the water would evaporate very quickly from the heat of the engine?

I wish you best of luck in getting someone to pay for any needed repairs!

/Roger

 

in order to hydrolock the motor u need to submerge the entire intake in water and ingest a lot of water into the motor. if it is hydrolocked it wont even turn over. i think the dealer is full of crap on this. if u think its a lifter why not just pull the valve cover and inspect it manually?

 

How does a mechanic determine internal engine damage without taking the engine apart?” The dealer is telling you the “cause” of the problem before they verify what the damage is. I don’t understand.

 

Take your plugs out and get 6 pieces of clean cotton rope, 1 for each cylinder. Stick each clean one through the hole until you hit the crown of the piston. When you pull them out you'll be able to determine if you do have water in your motor.

If you're comfortable with what you find put each one in a zip lock, number it according to the cylinder you took the test from and take the car back to the dealer and demand they further investigate. AND tell them to remove that hydrolock **** from the computer, if that's how you're getting flagged..

 

i think you should pay for it, why should nissan or aem be your pit crew???? neither of these companies warrantied against hydrolock, and they shouldn't have to pick up for your mistakes. all the srt4 boys were *****in and moning when mopar wouldn't waranty axles cause they were pushin 500hp. make an insurance claim. nissan has to prove the part caused the problem in order to deny a warranty claim and a cai+water=hydrolock.

quit cryin cause you ****ed up and call your insurance. thats why you have it.

so you are telling me a filter on a pipe that is 3-5 inches off the ground has no chance of being sebmerged in a puddle or flood??????????????? i dont think so. and any lawyer will either 1. laugh in your face and tell you there is no case. or 2. go to court anyway and make $$$off your dumbass.

 

I know of two friends who hydrolocked their motors and their insurance covered it. You have to drive through a pretty deep puddle of water to hydrolock. I had a CAI on my Prelude for a long time, ran through some deep puddles and never hydrolocked. Like the others are saying, you have to fully submerge the filter to hydrolock and AEM nor the dealership will cover this because it is at your own risk.

 

plz go back and read what he wrote, the dealer never even inspected it thoroughly to determine that hydrolock occurred. the issue is not whether the aem intake caused it but what is actually wrong with the car. if the dealer just glances at the intake, sees AEM, and says hydrolock go fix it yourself, then he has the right to demand that they prove its hydrolock as a result of the AEM. the warranty specifically excludes damage from aftermarket parts, but the burden of proof is on the dealer, they havent proved what really happened or how.

 

If your car is still running it's not hydrolocked. Nissan's ****ing you over. They wouldn't know if they didn't take a look. But if it is hydrolocked, it's 100% your fault. The disclaimers from all intake companies say that if the intake causes your car to hydrolock, they're not responsible. If the intake isn't the direct cause of the problem, regardless of what Nissan says, the warranty will cover whatever the problem is (if the problem is covered under the warranty).

 

ok, wait a minute, cause this hasn't been clarified. was the car in a flood or anything where water could have gotten into the motor?

 

Hydrolock = car cant run?
or can run but is noisy and sounds like crap?