I have not been on this site for a while but i need some help please. Today the South Jersey/Philadelphia area was hit hard with a lot of rain and my car was stuck on the road for over two hours. My car will not start at all. I tried to jump it but it will not work. Yes, my injen cold air intake filter was wet but i was lucky that no water came into my car. My car is low to the ground (infiniti i35) and my undercarriage or plastic underneath my car was loose while it was stuck. Has anyone ever had a flooded car issue where your car will not start. My battery and starter is fine but the tow truck guy said that maybe water hit the alternator. But i thought if my alternator was bad wouldn't it drain my battery life. Do you think i should panic or just let the car dry itself out overnight? thanks

 

My black i35 sitting on some volk gts phantom wheels.

 

Why did ypu leave your car in water?!??! You could have drove right through that after taking off that useless intake.

 

Forgot to mention my car turned off right when the water hit my car.

 

I hope your Injen intake didn't suck up water.

 

I would remove the spark plugs and crank the engine over to make sure that if anything water got sucked in, it can force it out. And ditch the cai and get a short ram.

 

Are you located in Jersey or PA? My g/f is visiting her mom in Lords Valley, Pa and is going to Tannersville, Pa tomorrow, and she said it's been raining 2 days solid there. I just want to make sure she isn't going to drive into a flood area tomorrow.

 

dry the car out,don'tdo anything until it dries for at least 3 days.

 

Thanks guys for your input it is greatly appreciated. I want to wait it out till the car dries up but people that i know say if the car won't start tomorrow then you know something is wrong. Also, in South Jersey we are supposed to get more more rain for the next two days.

 

Sorry to hear about your situation. Hopefully everything will be ok with the car.

 

Well you mayhave alreadywrecked it by trying to start it, but just in case you didn't, let it dry out.

Tow it, push it, whatever, but let it dry out.

 

90 percent chance theirs water in the cylkinders because of that intake... like they said let everything dry out i would do it for a week just to be safe...take out all your spark plugs also to dry out the water in the cylinders(if their is any) if you did suck up alot of water you hydrolocked the motor ...hopefully u didnt bend any rods or anything so when u take the spark plugs out crank the car to see if water shoots out the holes(i seen it happen lol)

 

How low down do the Injens go? If water didn't get into his passenger cabin... Surely the intake would be higher than the floor, or is it a real, all-the-way-down-the-fender-kissing-the-ground type deal?

 

1. Get the car moved to higher ground.
2. Remove the Ingen intake and convert to a shortram (just get a ricer filter for the time being) Save for the filter you have all of the parts.
3. Clean your Mass air sensor. It likely has water/water residue on it or it could be shorted out.
4. Remove your IM and get those plugs out NOW to keep your cylinder sleeves from rusting.
5. Remove the Fuel Pump relay and pump out whatever water is in there and crank over your engine. Use some old towels draped over each cylinder head to keep the spray from going everywhere.
6. Spray the spark plug electrodes and cylinders with some WD40, not too much 1 or two sprays should be fine.
7. Change your oil. When water gets into the cylinders it will drain into the oil making life very crappy for your rod bearings.
8. Get everything back together and hope it starts also hope none of your rods are bent.

 

They extend as far down as the bottom of your radiator. Fording 6" of water will make them suck up water.

 

wow, this is one case where being on stock springs helped alot !

 

ok, i tried to start the car and still it would not turn on. The intake is above the plastic

covering on the bottom of my car just say an inch. I checked if any water went inside

my engine by checking the dipstick and it is not milky just brown. I would do the

spark plug but i do not know how. Let's just say i pay people to do my labor. I really

did not think its my alternator cause my battery is not drained at all. Maybe i should

give it a few days to dry out but its too bad that it will rain until Tuesday.

 

DAM!! I had no idea it was that bad...we were driving through Reading, PA Saturday and it was raining hard...but didn't see any flooding. Let that thing dry out and perhaps it will start later AND as stated before get rid of Injen Intake.....get short ram.

 

Thanks for the input its been very helpful. I did talk to several mechanics and they think that if water went in the engine that its a total loss. no water went inside my car it was just below the door sill. I really do not want to sell my i35 its an 02 with 72,000.

 

damn bro, srry to hear... hopefully you wouldve been here more often so you wouldve gottn the word on that intake before now, but im sure u know what to do with that intake now... i hope its nothing major

 

Insurance won't cover anything?

 

You've answered your own question. It's nice to know your limits. Sounds like you've reached them. It's time to stop guessing, and start paying. Someone that can actually work on the car should take it from here. Short and sweet? You're just going to make things worse.

Maybe you can get a local, skilled Max owner to help you out?

 

You probably hydrolocked your motor by trying to crank it once it shut off.

When you hit water and you suck up enough to shut off the motor, at that point you should remove the soaked filter/plugs and start cranking to get the water out. By cranking without doing that you did more damage than good. Sorry to hear that happened to ya but lesson learned I guess.

 

where in Pa you located maby i can stop by and check it out with you.if its not that bad maby we can just pull the plugs and crank it over and see what happens its only about a hours work.

 

1st litmus test: take off the intake where it is connected to the throttle body and see if there is any water in there.

2nd one: I hate it when people don't clarify this, when you say the car will not turn on, does the engine actually turn over but not start or do you just hear a click and nothing happens?

As for the oil it won't turn milky until it's been mixed with the water. Otherwise it just sinks down below the oil until it gets picked up and sent through your lubrication system.

 

BTW the rod bending usually happens due to the momentum of the engine turning when it ingests the water and locks up a cylinder. Rarely does a starter motor have enough torque to bend a rod.

So typically unless you are talking about something with a stroker kit and a gear reduction starter you will rarely cause more damage to an engine by trying to turn it over.

I do speak from experience on this. I have gotten multiple Sea-Doos un-hydrolocked in the past and quite a few jeeps that were driven at maximum speed through water crossings and got hydroed because of it.

I'll tell you one thing, the first time you see water shoot out of a cylinder it'll surprise you. If it doesn't hit the hood it'll go a fair distance.

 

cjandura-i live in south jersey but i work in center city
Froggmann-i sent you a pm.

 

I don't have full coverage on my car. I only have liability insurance cause i put less than 3,000 miles/yr on my car.

 

Damn, how can you put less than 3000 miles a year on your car? That's what I put on in about 5 to 6 weeks...

 

BTW this is what I PMed him, if anyone wants to give him a hand with this I'm sure he could use it.

Each time I have had to get a jeep running (I drive a Bronco) I have gotten it running with good results. THe oil should black or brown like a dark maple syrup. If it's brown and milky like a thin milkshake or iced coffee then you have water contamination. You will need to complete 2-3 oil changes in order to get the water out.


Now given there is oil in the crankcase usually means you have hydrolocked the engine. THis will get expensive real quick so it's going to be best if you or a mechanically knowledgeable friend AND you work on rescuing your engine.

1st thing to do is get that oil out of the crankcase. perform an oil change. Use cheap *** oil and filter because this is going to be replaced pretty quickly.

After that is done, pull off your IM and start pulling out your spark plugs. A simple $30 socket kit should get you through this. Once you have the IM off, start pulling the spark plugs out. You'll likely find oil in the two cylinders toward the back on your right side. don't be alarmed it's just a bad valve cover design.

BTW a quick top in all of this: get a large piece of cardboard, draw a top view of your engine on it. When you remove a piece like a bolt or coil pack place it on the cardboard where you took it off of the engine. That will help you during reassembly.

Once the plugs are out of the engine, pull the relay for the fuel injection. This will help in not setting your garage on fire. Turn the engine over, you will see water shoot out of the cylinders. If someone is nearby watch them jump and laugh at them. Continue doing this until you no longer see water shooting out. Spray some WD40 into the cylinders and turn the car over again. this should get most of the water out.

Re-install the plugs and put the IM back on. BTW yes the gasket is reusable. Oh and don't over-torque the plugs, they should go in till they hit bottom then only go an 1/8th to a 1/4 turn. You only want them snug. Once you have everything together plug the fuel pump relay back in and try to start the car. It may take a little bit but it should fire. Once it does, give it a few low revs (2000 RPM should be fine) to clear any water that is in the exhaust. When the car idles you shouldn't feel any abnormal flutter, if you do and it persists you do have a bent rod. If you don't you just saved yourself about 600 bucks.

Once the car is up to temp shut her down and change the oil. Use more cheap oil and filter and drive around normally for a few days checking the oil after you drive the car for a bit. If it ends up milky you will need another oil change. If it looks like normal oil then go and put the good stuff in.

BTW also check your transmission fluid, it should look like cherry syrup, if it looks like strawberry milk you need to change it out too.

 

thanks, more than willing to pay top $ for help. i just do not want to get ripped off at the shop.

 

I suspect the OP commutes to work via NJ Patco everyday to Philly because paying for parking in center city can get really really pricey.

I'm the same way, but I live and work in Philly (commute via bike), thus barley reaching 3K per year in the Maxima.

 

I just tried to start my car and my lights flickered and the car made a clicking sound like it did not have enough power to turn on. I am getting the car checked tomorrow and i hope i just need a new alternator.

 

Excellent write up froggmann!

 

Like I said I've had to get a few yahoos back on the road again after they have drowned their engine at the local mud hole. It still shocks me how few people will actually get their hands dirty now a days.