I’m am living in Miami Florida and unfortunately yesterday my car was flooded by hurricane Katrina. According to one of my neighbors the water level at one time was about consol level. I woke up at about 6:00am and noticed that the water level lowered to approximately halfway up the tire but below the tailpipe. I don’t know if this was a good idea or not but I tried to start the car to move it out of the water. The first attempt to move the car was unsuccessful. I tried to start it about 3 times and the starter sounded like it was working properly but the car would not roll over and start. I went a second time after the water was completely drained and was able to start the car after about 2 attempts. I let the car run for about 3 minutes trying to dry any water inside the engine and then noticed that there was white smoke coming from the tailpipe. The car is hesitating a lot and shaking so I turned it off. I waited a few more hours to see if the smoking would stop. I successfully started the engine again however there is still smoke coming out and it looks like the longer I leave the car on the thicker the smoke gets. I tried starting the car again a few hours later and I can not get it to start, again the starter seems to be working properly but the car will not turn over. I cant really tell if the smoke is just steam burning off the water or antifreeze im not an expert on what burnt antifreeze smells like and what a normal exhaust smells like. I was wondering if any experts out their have any idea which one it might be. I checked my temperature gauge and it is not going any higher than halfway so from the gauge it looks to be cooling properly. My check engine light did come on but I am not sure if it was because of the hesitation in the car or misfiring or what ?? The engine fan does come on right away as soon as I start the car, also my airbag light was flashing too what does that mean? Is there another way to tell if it is steam or antifreeze other than looking at the oil smelling the tailpipe or looking at spark plugs. I tried all of these things and still not sure. I am going to let it sit overnight, should I try to start it again in the morning ?? (Maybe im in Denial )Please before I take it to a mechanic and get Raped please help me !!!!!!!!!! Any information would be greatly appreciated!!

 

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What would you like me to take a picture of ?

 

Your first mistake was trying to start your car in water, a big no no. You could of hydrolocked your engine. Definantly check your oil, if you see any water in your oil, you need to change it.

 

lol, the car ! ... man that sucks .. I didnt read if you were with the car or not but I would have driven as many states as I would have needed to, to get away from the hurricane

 

Hydrolocked ?? what does that mean can i fix it just by changing the oil or do i need a mechanic ? So i shouldnt try to start my car gain till i change the oil right

 

uhm hydrolock means you have water in your engine, and the engine cannot compress water, it will seize up your motor and damage your connecting rods and all that good stuff inside your engine... if its hydrolocked your motors finished bro. sorry

 

Insurance should cover this...

You should have NEVERRR started the car...having the engine running, is not going to dry the engine out, its going to ruin the engine beyond repair.

-matt

 

Hydrolocked is when a large amount of water gets in the combustion chamber and seizes the motor and/or damages the motor. Water does NOT compress. It WILL bend/snap metal like the connecting rods and destroy engines.

Is your motor hydrolocked? Maybe or maybe not. The main way you hydrolock a motor is when your intake is submersed in water and no air can get in. Since there is no air to pull, the engine sucks in the water. If the intake isn't completely submersed then it won't suck up the water. Now if you have a fenderwell CAI and the water was at mid wheel level, then it is very possible that the engine sucked in water. Another potential source would be the large amount of water that made it's way up the exhaust. If the water made it's way up to console level, then the water would have gone as high in the exhaust. The exhaust manifolds sit below console level so it is very possible the water went all the way the entire exhaust and dumped through the handful of open exhaust valves.

What you should have done was disconnect the battery, removed the ECU, removed all the seats and carpet, and gotten all standing water out of the car and let the car dry out for a solid week. Once the car was dried out you should have removed the spark plugs and then cranked the engine over to push out any potential water in combustion chambers. Electical components can be drenched in water and can still work after they dry. The key is not to use them when they're wet. I imagine the reason your car is running like crap is because you tried to start it when a lot of the engine electrical sensors were still wet and the motor may have been hydrolocked.

Regardless, I hope you have full coverage on the car because in my mind, the car was a total loss the second it got flooded. The interior will be trashed from water damage and the odor of storm and sewage water stuck in the foam and fabric will never leave.

 

Okay well it doesnt sound too good but is there anyway of telling if my car is hydolocked or not ??? I checked the oil and their is no sign of water or antifreeze mixed in with the oil. the oil Level is also good. I checked the antifreeze level and it also has not budged from where it was before the hurricane. I opened up the radiator looking for discoloration or any sings of fluids mixing in. None what so ever. In your expert opinion what should i do now besides go screw myself?

Let car sit ?
try to start in morning ?
Anything else i should do ?
how do i know if my engine is hydrolocked?

 

Water is in your intake...BAD! That smoke you saw could very well have something to do with water being sucked into your engine.

Read this quote below again. The part about taking out your spark plugs and cranking the engine sounds like a good idea.

 

Okay, i am going to wait it out a few days and then try to crank the engine without the spark plugs. I guess what your trying to say is that pistions will push the water out through the openings where the spark plugs used to be right? Im not a mechanic so forgive me if that sounded dumb. Wont the oil come flying out of the holes too? Any special hints or strategies that i should know before i try to do this? And by crank you mean turn the key in the ignition and try to start the car right (sorry had to ask just want to be sure). I wish i knew about all of this before it happened because my car is my only means of transportation . Has anyone else out there ever done this to their car, what was the result ? Thanks for all your help everyone this is an extremly rough time!

 

like posted above, i hope you have full coverage, if the water was up to the dash board then the interior is ruined, and alot of the electrical parts will now work right , if they do work they will prolly just die on you.

good luck man

 

It may be deemed an Act of God and his insurance won't cover it and he will be hooped!

 

Yeah I think that is what may happen to me. This is why i am not giving up so quickly and unlike everyone else i dont have a million dollars in the bank to go buy another car. so please any info on troubleshooting water damge besides "call the insurance" would be greatly appreciated.

 

Sorry to hear that...

 

In most cases like this the insurance will cover the damage to the car. But that is only if you carry full coverage. It would look bad for the insurance company to leave so many people screwed without a vehicle because you're not the only one this has happened to. If they pay out, it's not going to go against you, so your rates won't go up. And from what it sounds like, your car has suffered a fair amount of damage. Talk to insurance, if they pay, they will likely total the car. Take the money and run. If the water was up to the console, it's not much better than if the car had been completely submerged. Hate to be negative, I'm just trying to be honest.

 

Do you have full coverage? If you do, I would definitely go that route. Not only do you have to deal with water in the engine but the electronics that got ruined and who knows how many electrical problems you will have now, not to mention the seats and carpet being ruined. You'd be lucky just to have to replace a couple fuses. Sounds like the water was really high, you are lucky that it still runs and there may be hope. If you have an auto tranny I'd check to see if water was in there. It probobly seeped in through the dip stick. There should be a water line that was left on and in your car to tell how high the water actually got. I hope you have full coverage, floods are usually covered I think.

 

its not about how much money you have in the bank, this is the reason why we all pay insurance and why insurance companies have so much money.



it is about the type of insurance and wether you have full coverage.

 

Yeah, it sucks that your Max got ruined. I live in North Miami Beach and we were supposed to get all that rain, instead we got the eye with a lot of wind, but not a lot of rain.

 

For all of my intelligent and down to earth responses, thanks for all your support! I towed the car to Nissan today and I am waiting what they have to say. I will follow up Monday in case anyone is curious. I am not going to call the insurance yet until i get a price.

 

I think you popped your headgasket trying to start the car. Rather than it hydrolocking, the pressure buildup of trying to compress water in the cylinder just blew it out.

You need to go through insurance on this. Water damaged cars are never 100% like they were before the damage.

 

just go through insurance,

even if you get the car running, everyday you are gona post threads about something not working or why do you have a cell.

Trust me if it was flooded up to the dash like your neighbor said it is not worth the trouble.

 

what part of miami u in mane....lemme kno ill hook u up wit a mechanic.