I think my engine is flooded

[vlad_the_impaler]

I had stupidity this evening to drive my car through this pooring rain.
After passing some very big and obviously deep puddle engine stopped and displayed some warning lights "check engine" and "service required"...
Tried to start it again few times but it was worthless... tomorrow have to arrange some tow truck to pick up the car and most likely take it to the dealer...
Stupid water shield of the CAI is useless I think... don't know if I restart battery will it delete error messages and at least I hope I can start the engine?

[PYLee]

i'd suggest taking off the CAI before seeing dealership , they'll just void your warranty if they see the CAI there cause clearly , it's the cause of your problem.

The hydroshield can only do minimal protection , it'll definitely take some water in if the whole intake is immerse into the puddle of water.

This is what i read online last time about hydrolocking(Water into engine) problems.

Water does not compress well so the engine would stall. When you are going slow at low rpm, you usually don't damage the engine. Just take the spark plugs out, then crank the car for few times. The water will be thrown out by the piston. Do this for about 3 -5 minutes to get much water out of the engine as possible. Also the throttle body may rust so you want to do this while you press the accelerator 1/4 way down. Reinstall the spark plug and car would start afterward. White smoke would puff out of exhaust for some time, but it should start. Once you got it started and warm up the engine, you might want to change the oil to get rest of the water out of the engine.The worst thing that could happen is when water gets into cylinder while you are driving at high speed. Water would not compress well. So the piston would dead stop and rotation force would be enough to break crankshaft into pieces.

I'm not 100% sure if that'll work , best is to get a professional to have a look at it , maybe get gabriel(exaltd) or someone that does all this.

Hope it'll all work out for you

[LaNcE]

sorry to say this to you. my misses' typer hydrolocked two weeks ago. it was using an aem cold air intake. we need to replace the engine now as apparantly is effed. what i suggest is go to borrow a mates car or TOW. THE CAR NOW DO THE CHANGE OIL SPARK PLUGS NOW! before it starts creating small water packets that becomes rust then it will be all over mate. i suppose you can go kmart to go get oil and just drain your filter. the quicker you do it the better chances you have on saving the engine.

[exaltd]

Yup. Couldn't have put it better myself Lee.

It may not be a gone case, but it's highly likely that you have flooded the engine to a certain degree.

[LaNcE]

Yup. Couldn't have put it better myself Lee.

It may not be a gone case, but it's highly likely that you have flooded the engine to a certain degree.

i sure hope so.. i dont want anyone else facing the bill im going to have soon. =(

[AJjnr86]

Jose, can u not claim thru insurance?

[PYLee]

Jose, can u not claim thru insurance?

the problem was causd by an aftermarket intake , so if they were to lodge an insurance claim and they investigate it , it would void their insurance policy aswell cause an open pod filter intake is illegal in certain states (i think VIC is)

[SAM-24A]

Hey Vlad, sorry to hear about your unfortunate incident with water intake.

Other members here have already stated = Hydro-Lock (Hydraulically Locked-Up)

However "I DO-NOT" believe so !!

Yes !, your engine may have induced a slight amount of water, but the fact you were still able to crank over the engine,
Vlad's words = Tried to start it again few times but it was worthless.
is sufficient evidence to state the your engine has not induced enough water to cause any type of Lock-Up or Detrimental Internal Damage at all.

I doubt very much that your engine is full of water and hence your problem.

I suspect the worst that has occurred is your MAF Sensor (Mass Air Flow) has en-counted a sudden saturation of water and recorded an error to the ECU to shut down operation.

MAF Description & Operation.
Mass airflow sensors have no moving parts, and so use electrical current to measure airflow.
The sensing element, which is usually platinum wire (hot wire) or nickel foil grid (hot film),
is heated electrically to keep it a certain number of degrees hotter than the incoming air.
In the case of Hot Film MAFs, the grid is heated to 75 degrees C. above incoming ambient air temperature.
In the case of Hot Wire sensors, the wire is heated to 100 degrees C. above ambient temperature.
As air flows past the sensing element, it cools the element and increases the current needed to keep the element hot.
Because the cooling effect varies directly with the temperature, density and humidity of the incoming air, the amount of current needed to keep the element hot is directly proportional to the air "mass" entering the engine.


In this case I would:
1) Dis-connect the Battery.
2) Remove and Inspect the MAF Sensor for Moisture and/or Water.
(lightly blow-dry with a Hair-Dryer to dry-out the unit)
3) Dry-Out all the inside of your Cold Air Intake Piping
4) Remove the Pod Filter and Dry-Out completely. (do-not refit for now)
5) Re-Install the dried MAF Sensor.
6) Re-Connect Battery.
7) Try to Re-Start your Engine.

If your engine won’t start, then I will assume you have fried the Hot Wires in the MAF Sensor and killed it beyond repair.
It will require Replacement.

Remove all your Aftermarket Cold Air Intake.
Spray water or wet the internals of and Re-Install the Factory Air Snorkel and Air Box.
Deliver your car to a Mitsu Dealership and say you accidentally drove into a huge water puddle at speed, and your car stopped running.

They will connect the MUT (Mitsubishi Utility Tool) which will diagnose are report a MAF failure.

Hopefully they wont catch-on and replace with a new MAF Sensor, Good Luck.

Uncle Sam.

[vlad_the_impaler]

Thanks everyone for replays and sugestions.

My car was just towed to my place.

@Sam: I hope your predictions are most proper and for that more desirable for me... I initally wanted to reset the battery and return stock intake and tried after that

Although I don't know when I'm gonna do that 'cos it still raining...

PS. DO NOT DRIVE in heavy rain with installed CAI!!! NEVER EVER!!!

[ofey]

Let me point out that the hydroshield doesn't allow you to drive through puddles. Only RAIN. I drove home through driving rain yesterday and a VERY wet Eastern Freeway and the car is still fine. You have to accept the risks of a CAI.

As for your problem, Sam has given very good advice.

First REMOVE your entire CAI. Bring it back to stock ASAP. Use a hairdryer to dry out your MAF sensor and I would suggest doing an oil change and replacing your spark plugs.