Hydrolocked....Damnit

[JuniorD]

Unfortunately, I was driving in a rainstorm in north NJ two weeks ago and my CAI sucked in enough water to hydro lock my engine. Saw nothing but white smoke coming out of my exhaust, and pressed the gas pedal noticed I wasn't going nowhere and then ultimately my car shut off. It cranks and everything but obviously wont start. My engine was soon to go anyways as I had previous issues with it before (spark plug blew up, yes it detonated no lie, in one of my cylinders and burned the coil)

My question is, I used this car mostly to drive and not in need of a something fast, should I just buy a longblock and swap out parts from the new one to the old one? or am I gonna need a entirely A3 swap?
I would go with the k24 but it seems to just require too many parts to buy and I don't want to spend money if I'm not building it.

Thanks guys.

[RHCP0801]

almost everything from the k20a3 swaps over to the k24. Cranking it was a bad idea because you probably bent the valves doing so if they weren't already. If you had it towed home, changed the plugs and drained the oil you might have been able to salvage it

[JuniorD]

Sorry I forgot to mention I cranked it after I changed the plugs...I drained the oil days later and nothing. My question then is it worth me getting the k24 long block than? I mean I understand kpro and Crv mount and header clearance issue...does everything else go on to the long block. I began reading the swap DIY on this site. Just want to make sure

[bchaney]

Did you drive into some water pooling on the road? I've driven in some pretty heavy rain and never had an issue.

I would grab a k24, you're gonna have to swap accessories regardless of which longblock you pick up... mite as well get the 2.4

[superchargedk20]

Did you drive into some water pooling on the road? I've driven in some pretty heavy rain and never had an issue.

I would grab a k24, you're gonna have to swap accessories regardless of which longblock you pick up... mite as well get the 2.4

same. it was just pouring here yesterday in CT. And i have a CAI. Ive never had a problem. I still dont get how people hydro in the rain....

[AKEP]

they dont have wheel wells usually. the tires spray hella water on the intake and it pools in the the manifold till it spills over. kaboom.

[superchargedk20]

they dont have wheel wells usually. the tires spray hella water on the intake and it pools in the the manifold till it spills over. kaboom.

I had a 98 eclipse with a CAI and no wheel well. Thing was completely in the open and it still never hydrolocked

[JuniorD]

Exactly. My wheel well was chewed up pretty good exposing my CAI. The part I was in was horrible, I tried just letting it roll with the engine off but no luck. Do any of you guys reccomend places, sites, junk yards, etc that will sell long blocks? I'm not looking to spend crazy money for the long block though, but if necessary, I will.

[mitchlikesbikes]

people on here who do swaps usually sell them dirt cheap. but the first place i would look is car-part.com. and check the classifieds here frequently, you never know when you might come across a good deal

[Blah1219]

<< This guy right here has the k24 swap parts that you would need.

[AKEP]

I had a 98 eclipse with a CAI and no wheel well. Thing was completely in the open and it still never hydrolocked

i guess it would depend on how bad the rain was or soemthing. my boys 35r LS hydrolocked just like this (it was raining pretty bad, real heavy). rsx dudes sometimes remove the wheel well instead of cutting it for the injen CAI. so god knows. once you start moving those plastic panels around you change the flow characteristics of everything behind the bumper. as we all know, a proper CAI wont suck up enough water to hydrolock unless you drive into a creek.

[Calvinep3]

I sucked up water not so long ago. I drove into a pool of water. My reaction was "@^%%@*&!^%#!*" but there were cars behind me so I couldn't brake. I just threw in the clutch. When I went over it my car got very sluggish then shut off. Got out, unhooked the CAI, waited like 5mins then cranked it. It turned on but there was white smoke everywhere!! Changed my oil, spark plugs, put back my stock air box, now it runs like a champ again. The oil looked like it had water and the spark plug tips had bent. Hope you have good luck with it bro and that its not that bad of a repair.

[USAF EP3]

Before you junk the motor try to to see if it will start again.

Change all the plugs (taking in water WILL foul them out), change your oil, and try to crank the car. Also try to spray some choke/throttle body cleaner into the throttle body to help it start up.

If it doesn't crank or it ultimately ceases because the rods are bent (yes you can bend rods through hydrolocking, remember water doesn't like compression compared to air and gasoline), then you will need a new engine.

This story reminds me about 6 months ago when down here in FL we practically had a monsson and I forded a flooded section of road that was about 9 inches deep. The EP took it like a champ, lol. Then again I'm boosted so my intake is up in the engine bay. Talk about water-to-air cooling rofl.

[JuniorD]

Before you junk the motor try to to see if it will start again.

Change all the plugs (taking in water WILL foul them out), change your oil, and try to crank the car. Also try to spray some choke/throttle body cleaner into the throttle body to help it start up.

If it doesn't crank or it ultimately ceases because the rods are bent (yes you can bend rods through hydrolocking, remember water doesn't like compression compared to air and gasoline), then you will need a new engine.

This story reminds me about 6 months ago when down here in FL we practically had a monsson and I forded a flooded section of road that was about 9 inches deep. The EP took it like a champ, lol. Then again I'm boosted so my intake is up in the engine bay. Talk about water-to-air cooling rofl.

Lmao....I'm going to try it again change the plugs etc. I'm hoping everything goes good. But maybe it's a sign to swap I guess. I'll update ASAP. Thanks fellas.

[AKEP]

might as well do a compression check while your in there. just to know. not related to hydrolock.

[StimulisRK]

i guess it would depend on how bad the rain was or soemthing. my boys 35r LS hydrolocked just like this (it was raining pretty bad, real heavy). rsx dudes sometimes remove the wheel well instead of cutting it for the injen CAI. so god knows. once you start moving those plastic panels around you change the flow characteristics of everything behind the bumper. as we all know, a proper CAI wont suck up enough water to hydrolock unless you drive into a creek.

What makes it a proper CAI? Stories like this terrify me. My EP came with a Injen on it, and I constantly go back and forth on whether or not to leave it, or find a stock airbox

[AKEP]

ones that hide the intake opening in the bumper, without cutting wheel wells and stuff. helps if the opening is horizontal also. if its pointing straight down all it takes it to put the tip in water (thats still like 6-9 inches from the ground) and its like a straw, sucking up water.

[gtolio]

For the actual performance gains you get from a CAI vs. a SRI, it's just not worth the risk, IMO. A couple horsepower gained at peak with stories like this? No thanks.

[AKEP]

if you drive a compact car into 12 inches of water, you probably shouldn't be driving it anyway.

[gtolio]

if you drive a compact car into 12 inches of water, you probably shouldn't be driving it anyway.

True, but the gains from a cold air are really no better than other setups. If you want to get actual power from an intake, throw a velocity stack on it.

[mikewbd]

almost everything from the k20a3 swaps over to the k24. Cranking it was a bad idea because you probably bent the valves doing so if they weren't already. If you had it towed home, changed the plugs and drained the oil you might have been able to salvage it

how exactly does it cause the vales to bend? i thought bending valves was usually a timing thing.

[JuniorD]

if you drive a compact car into 12 inches of water, you probably shouldn't be driving it anyway.

My intentions wasn't to find a foot of water and drive through it. It was either stay there and try to push it myself or get hit my SUV's flying through the puddle.
That portion of the highway gets flooded, but I didn't know that. The CAI isn't worth it in my opinion as you can see. Not worth paranoia you get everytime you go through a rainstorm.
Lesson learned.

[USAF EP3]

Just go boost, that way when it rains your air-to-air intercooler is now a water-to-air one lol.

The reason why he mentioned you could bend valves is the same reason I said in a previos post: liquid water doesn't take compression well and will act like shoving a brick inside your engine.

[Blah1219]

if you drive a compact car into 12 inches of water, you probably shouldn't be driving it anyway.

So you're saying that my car can't ford through 48 inches of water. Shit I'm fucked!