water in the engine...:(

[kord9]

So I am pretty sure water was sucked into the engine today...It was raining quite a bit and I was going down the highway when I suddenly felt a loss of power in the engine. Before I knew it the car stalled and white smoke was coming out of the tailpipe. Immediately I assumed water was in the engine. I do have an exposed CAI in the wheel well, which I ordered the wheel well lining on Friday....good timing huh?

Needless to say I am really bummed about this whole thing. I finally started working again and making money to put towards fixing my car, and this happens. I had it towed and dropped it off at the mechanic but he is not going to look at it until Thursday. I am not sure what else to expect except water or maybe coolant in the engine. I do not have money for a replacement engine so I am hoping there is something that I can do.

I have done some research and read a little bit about draining the oil, pulling the plugs and cranking the engine, but my reason for this post is to see if anyone has gone through this and been successful in reviving their car. Everywhere I read the response is always negative, and solutions to trying to fix it, but nothing about anyone who has actually experienced it and fixed it without replacing the engine. If I can get anyone's input or knowledge in this situation it will be greatly appreciated. I really do not want to get rid of the car I always wanted...

[SD_GR]

Your mechanic will see whether the motor spins freely first, and correctly second. If both answers are yes you are ok. If either is no you are not, but without more details all you can really do is wait.

[Rambo]

but my reason for this post is to see if anyone has gone through this and been successful in reviving their car...

Paging Cap'n Drews!



Tl;dr: Yes, it was totally fixed.

[06wrx4me]

Sorry for your loss. I'm betting its toast. I replaced an engine for a guy in an Acura Integra that did the same thing; drove through a puddle with a CAI. If you are gonna drive in wet weather with a CAI, AEM sells a nice little piece to prevent incidents such as this called a BPV AEM Air Bypass Valve for Cold Air Intakes - Prevents Hydro-lock.

Personally you gain little to nothing performance wise with a CAI, and the stock box is a CAI by design.

It's unfortunate, but a $200 mod can cost you $4000 worth of damage.

[kord9]

SD_GR thanks for your input. I am hoping to receive positive news come Thursday, but as you said, I will just have to wai.

06wrx4me I definitely understand what you're saying. When I bought the car the CAI was already installed so I just left it as is. I am definitely going to look more into these things next time though, and if my car ends up being salvageable I am getting the BPV you mentioned, thanks for that. I am sure it does not matter whether you drive through a puddle or just on a wet road, but the thing is I did not even drive through a puddle. I was going uphill on a 50mph highway, so the only water would be from what was on the road. But I guess it was enough to stall the engine.

Rambo: Thanks for posting the picture and link to that thread. I have read throughout this forum about a member who drove his wrx into a lake and still got it running again and was curious to see the original posting, so thanks for that.

[EJ257]

If you are gonna drive in wet weather with a CAI, AEM sells a nice little piece to prevent incidents such as this called a BPV AEM Air Bypass Valve for Cold Air Intakes - Prevents Hydro-lock.

Unfortunately, it can't be used on our cars:

The AEM Air Bypass Valve is NOT for use on forced induction vehicles.

[Calvinball]

Unfortunately, it can't be used on our cars:

Also:

The RSX-S world was big on the intake debate. CAI's definitively gave much more power than SRI's, and the hydrolock issue was constantly debated. People looked for any and all ways to get CAI power with the "safety" of a SRI. And in that environment, those bypass setups were generally frowned upon. IIRC they were considered to not be as useful as advertised, while simultaneously essentially erasing the performance gain of the CAI over the SRI.

[Ingo]

My suggestion:
Put a plastic bag over the intake. It'll keep the water out and also keep it from actively sucking water in. Then you brake out the oars...

Seriously, if it wasn't for the FMIC I wouldn't consider anything other than factory intake...

[EJ257]

My suggestion:
Put a plastic bag over the intake. It'll keep the water out and also keep it from actively sucking water in. Then you brake out the oars...

Seriously, if it wasn't for the FMIC I wouldn't consider anything other than factory intake...

And you would leave a lot of power on the table, then. A lot of turbos that you could upgrade to with a TMIC setup and would benefit from an intake by 25-30+whp...

[99pgpgt]

Op,

I hydrolocked the engine in my grand prix. Common problem where the upper intake manifold fails and the egr tube sucks coolant into the lower intake and then the cylinders. Well, I did the plug removal trick:

Take the plugs all out
Unplug injectors(not really needed since they spray only once)
Crank the car with the key for about 5-6 seconds at a time, let it spit out as much as it can.
Next, I would put a socket and breaker bar on crank pulley, and turn each cylinder till it closed. Then with an air gun with a 1/4" copper tube attached to the end along with a rubber hose on that, stick it in each plug hole and spray it out.

I did all that and fired the engine up that night. I think you may be okay. You'll wanna change your oil a couple times though.

[zax]

Screw nitrites... I'm glad my car doesn't have a pesky EGR system...

[chutoyy]

[zax]

When did Drews get an STI?

[kord9]

Alright awesome, I will definitely try that. I should find out tomorrow from the mechanic what the verdict is, but I don't think it hydrolocked, or at least at bad as it could have. Did your grand prix run poorly after that or was it running fine?

[kord9]

When did Drews get an STI?

haha