hydrolock 01 integra gsr

Ok few days ago at night I got stuck in a flooded area and now I have
some water in my engine. I had the car towed home and the next day I
took out the spark plugs and sucked out the water from each cylinders.
The first two cylinders had some water but the last two didn't. From
someone advice from some newsgroup on the internet I sprayed some
intake cleaner fluid in each cylinder. The next day I check and there
was still some intake cleaner fluid in the cylinders. So I sucked it
out again and drained everything. I then realized that I forgot to
check the intake so when I took out the intake hose there was bunch of
water. So I drained that and used some intake cleaner to clean that
out as well. I changed out the old spark plugs and the car still
won't start. When I go to crank it, it sounds like the way the car
cranks when you have a dead battery. So I tried to get a jump and
still no luck. Any ideas before I call my insurance?

Thanks in advance

 

Bet your ECM is toast, as will be the rest of the electrical system. Did
the water go above the door sills in the interior?

 

Water didn't get in the compartment, I think due to the good seal I
have round the door but the water was up to the middle of the bumper.
Now when I turn the key all the lights on the dash come on, but just
won't crank over.

 

You're saying the starter turns the engine over really slowly?

Does the Check Engine light come on for two seconds when the key is first
turned to "II" then go off again?

 

Yes, it come on for 2 seconds and then goes off, but the SRS light on
the top right stays on for 5 seconds then goes off, not sure if that
has any value.

 

if it's simply hydrolock, simply remove the plugs, crank the motor, and
let everything shoot out of the plug hole. keep a fire extinguisher
handy in case of gasoline discharge. then clean and dry the plugs and
she should start. if so, then change the oil as it will probably have
water in it.

check for the other electrical problem mentioned by tegger after you've
eliminated the hydrolock condition.

 

Jim it won't crank over, plus I have already sucked the water out from
the motor. Far as the electrical, not sure where to start or how to
do it. When the car died, I had the vent on, and then I could smell
some air with gasoline mix, not sure if that is a hint for a blown
gasket of some sort.

 

/without/ the plugs? if you put the plugs back in and there's still
fluid, you'll still get lock.

seldom good enough. besides, cranking without plugs and expelling fluid
that way is highly entertaining.

so, you got hydrolock when the engine was running? that could be very
expensive! look for bent rods or a broken crank.

 

yea thats what I am afraid of

 

it might have helped diagnosis if you'd mentioned the small but
important bit about the engine running earlier...

 

yea time for the mechanic

 

Ok today I jacked my car up and found some oil leaking, after some
careful inspection there are chunks of the engine missing, looks like
a rod or something broke out. yea time to call a real mechanic.

 

I'll bet that if the water got high enough to get into your intake it also
got into the distributor and shorted that out too.

This is ultimately a "flood salvage" vehicle. It has automotive typhoid at
this point. If it were me, I'd take as much from the insurance as I could
negotiate and walk away from it.

 

let me guess - you had an after-market "cold air" intake?

 

That's sad. Let us know how the repair process goes. I would
particularly be interested if you end up buying a lightly used
Japanese engine which seems like the best option from what I read
here.

 

Maybe, but when I see "hydrolock" my first thought is broken pieces.

 

The damage is pending investigation by insurance company.

The cabin of the car is dry, water didn't get high to reach the
distributor but then again I didn't check. I don't think the
insurance will consider this a flood salvage, since the value to
repair the engine, or even to get a new engine, would be far less than
what the car is worth, but then again they can always pull out some
kinda formula to screw me over. If they do I will probably get a used
engine, heck if the price is right maybe even a Type-R engine.

 

OK update on my car, turns out I really messed up the pistons, it made
a huge hole right above the oil pan. Now I will need a new engine,
and my insurance will pay for it. Not bad considering I was due for a
new timing belt, that would of cost me close to $2000, but for $500 I
get a used engine.

The agent told me I was lucky the water didn't get in the cabin, if it
had they would of had to give me a check instead of repairing it.

Lesson to be learned, don't get a friggin Cold Air Intake, not worth
it.