Help! Drowned Engine - stalled going through puddle! :-/

[BenB]

Cheers guys for the responses, I've had to work today, so left the car to dry and not touched it since. I think I'll call the RAC in the morning, see if they can do the necessary checks etc.

What keeps playing on my mind is how all the electrics died at the same time as the stall. Perhaps a little hope there- I'm sure that it happened together. I took a photo and yes, only up to wheel centres.
Would the electrics shorting out cause the engine to fail?
I guess I'll find out tomorrow! (I'm curious to see if the air filter is damp- guess I've left it too long, will be dry by morning anyway!

[BenB]

Today we undid the lowest pipe under the engine (to the turbo) loads of water poured out! Took out the air filter, that was drenched too. Not a good sign! Also took out the injectors, then turned over the engine on the starter and loads of water shot bout of the top of one of the cylinders! Once sure there was no water left in the engine, reassembled everything to try and start it again. Problem is, by now the battery was flat, and the fuel lines had lots of air gaps in them, so would have taken quite a bit of cranking. So right now it's left on charge, still won't know if it's a gonner or not til the battery is full enough to let me crank it for a while.
Did seem to turn over freely enough though, (til the battery was too weak to carry on) and only one cylinder had any water in it, hopefully it stopped before damage was done. Will have to wait to find out!

[tommyweaves]

Originally Posted by BenB

Today we undid the lowest pipe under the engine (to the turbo) loads of water poured out! Took out the air filter, that was drenched too. Not a good sign! Also took out the injectors, then turned over the engine on the starter and loads of water shot bout of the top of one of the cylinders! Once sure there was no water left in the engine, reassembled everything to try and start it again. Problem is, by now the battery was flat, and the fuel lines had lots of air gaps in them, so would have taken quite a bit of cranking. So right now it's left on charge, still won't know if it's a gonner or not til the battery is full enough to let me crank it for a while.
Did seem to turn over freely enough though, (til the battery was too weak to carry on) and only one cylinder had any water in it, hopefully it stopped before damage was done. Will have to wait to find out!

Ben, so hoping it'll be alright for you, I love a story with a good outcome! Thumbs up to all the guys who posted the advice that you've clearly taken.

[BenB]

Cheers, I'm hoping it turns out well too!!

I've seen the technique for forcing water out of the cylinders before, but I never would have thought about letting water out of the turbo pipe without the advice!

It did seem to turn over fine, no nasty noises, just seemed like the typical sound of an engine trying too start when the fuel wasn't getting through yet. Not that that's an accurate diagnostic!

If it's bad, and it won't run, or runs badly, and something internal has been damaged, I've been looking at how much a second-hand engine would be- looks like you can spend £1000+ on one.

Now I know it's not exactly a small job, but stripping an engine and replacing valves and con-rods etc isn't going to cost a fortune is it? Everyone talks like 'you've killed the engine' but really if the worst has happened, it's only a few internals to replace?
I've stripped a beetle engine in my youth - this will be far more complex I know, but surely only £300-500??

[tommyweaves]

Originally Posted by BenB

If it's bad, and it won't run, or runs badly, and something internal has been damaged, I've been looking at how much a second-hand engine would be- looks like you can spend £1000+ on one.

Now I know it's not exactly a small job, but stripping an engine and replacing valves and con-rods etc isn't going to cost a fortune is it? Everyone talks like 'you've killed the engine' but really if the worst has happened, it's only a few internals to replace?
I've stripped a beetle engine in my youth - this will be far more complex I know, but surely only £300-500??

Hmmm, I hear where you're coming from but I've heard some shocking engine replacement cost scenarios of circa £5k, essentially a car write off on the basis of engine replacement costs. If you have the skills for a rebuild then maybe £500 if you're lucky, very lucky, and a lot of your time.

Having said that, I'm no expert on these things!

I'd suggest keeping your fingers crossed, try not to worry too much, and check your insurance details.

[BenB]

Would it be as simple as telling the insurance company and they give me a cheque for a few grand? I wonder what valuation they would go by?

I really really don't want to tell them unless I have to, I can imagine the premium going up by a good £500 a year, so I'd actually rather spend a grand on a replacement engine! (I currently pay about £250 a year!)

[tommyweaves]

Originally Posted by BenB

Would it be as simple as telling the insurance company and they give me a cheque for a few grand? I wonder what valuation they would go by?

I really really don't want to tell them unless I have to, I can imagine the premium going up by a good £500 a year, so I'd actually rather spend a grand on a replacement engine! (I currently pay about £250 a year!)

Ben, again, not my area of expertise, but if I was in your position I'd be looking at ways of limiting my financial exposure.

Lets face it, gearbox selector fork failure? £500. Steering rack replacement? £500. Clutch replacement? £500. All those are best value estimates.

Engine self destruct? £x,000. It's not a multiple of hundreds!

Check the detail in your policy, get your "story" right, just in case you need it it. ;-)

[rapidvxr]

i`d park it somewhere where you know its gonna flood right over the roof and get it written off (if your covered for that) my dad hydrauliced a mercruiser v8 and that damaged nearly everything ( twisted crank , bent rods , bent push rods , cracked head , think it even cracked a liner) , before you try to start it take the turbo pipe off closest to the engine inlet manifold and stand back as turbo`s make great water pumps

[BenB]

A little update! - Well she lives!!

Started eventually (Always takes a while after the fuel lines have been off hey!?)

But it belches out grey smoke unfortunately, which 3 different garages tell me, means I've got a bent conrod, so unburnt fuel is going through.

I've got three options -
• tell the insurance who'll write it off - that seems pointless, my premium will go through the roof too! I'm guessing at least £500 more a year for the next 5 years! So that will seriously cost me in the long-run!

• Fit a second-hand engine - they cost about £1200 on ebay

• Repair the engine. This makes the most sense - if I'm removing the engine anyway to fit another, why not repair and refit the same engine?

I phoned around, only one place local to me is willing to repair an engine (I hate the throw-away mentality where garages just tell me I need a new engine!) He reckons £350-£400 for the labour, plus the parts. He's struggling to source pattern part conrods - they are £106 each from Volvo (Will get a quote from FRF!)

Plus new shells, tons of seals and gaskets, also makes sense to fit a new clutch while I'm at it, cambelt too, why the hell not!

So if only one conrod is bent, It'll probably cost me:

Conrod £100
Shells x4 £100
oil, filters, reguular service parts £100
head gasket, headset, bolt etc, £100
rocker gasket, rear main seal, sump gasket etc £50?
Labour £400

So about £850

Then while I'm at it:
cambelt kit £100
clutch kit £100

So just over a grand. That's if I remove the engine myself!

Alternatively a second-hand engine that won't need splitting, if it costs less than £800 would be just as good.
One guy just quoted me £400 to remove and refit the engine. Getting a cambelt an clutch fitted for £400 doesn't sound too bad I guess!

Either way I'd end up with a car with new cambelt and clutch!

[mikealder]

I would go with the replacement engine as you don't know what stress the current one has been subjected to if it has bent a rod(s) there could be more damage as the block is weaker, if you can get an engine that is known to be decent just pay to get that swapped out - Mike