flood damage, water in cylinders Topic is solved

850family · Post by **850family** » 10 Aug 2005, 21:01

Embarrassed to even post this... Against my wife's advice, I drove thru standing water after a heavy rain storm and stalled our '96 850. After drying for two days, the car won't crank. Upon inspection, it appears I ingested a significant amount of water into the air intake forward of the radiator. I'm not a mechanic (obviously, not enough common sense!). Can anyone give me advice on the repair procedure and a ballpark estimate of cost? I'm fairly confident that water has entered the cylinders vice the distributor due to the physical location of each and the sound when I attempt to crank the motor (just a dull thud). Again, be gentle with the criticism, I know I'm a knucklehead! Thanks in advance for your input.

Post by **kelvin6** » 11 Aug 2005, 02:03

I don't want to be the one to say this, but you probably blew the motor. Damage like this isn't cheap to fix, it usually requires extensive engine work, or to even lower the cost, replace the motor (best to get one from another wrecked 850).

This can also serve as a warning for anyone who has a cold air intake installed, because those are (if installed correctly) especially proned to sucking up water, when puddles are present (there are some devices that can counteract this).

I would suggest replacing the motor and maybe some of the intake components for this type of damage (preferably from a junked/wrecked 850).

turbotim2 · Post by **turbotim2** » 11 Aug 2005, 11:33

I wouldn't give it up on it entirely yet. What I would do is definitely do NOT try to start again until you have drained the oil out of it. I would open the oil drain into a catch pan of course and let it drain for a day or so. The rings on the pistons are not completely water tight and will allow any water in the cylinders to drain out into the base, and thus out with the oil. You may want to try hand cranking the engine by putting a wrench on the crankshaft bolt and turning it carefully. Once that is done you may be able to tell if the water is all out by giving it a crank with the starter but don't allow the engine to actually fire up if it is free. I would then refill with oil and new filter and run the engine for 20 minutes or so, and then change it again just to be sure. If the cylinders are fluid locked you can easily bend rods and other more difficult to replace parts. Its worth a try?!

Jot · Post by **Jot** » 11 Aug 2005, 11:51

Check your airfilter for water first. If soaking wet then I would worry. Did the the car just die or did the engine stop with a bang?

turbotim2 · Post by **turbotim2** » 11 Aug 2005, 12:00

Good points, Jot. Just thought of something else too, you may be having a problem with the starter if that was submerged. They don't like water all that much. One easy technique with starters is to rap on it with a hammer (kind of gently) and then try to start again. Just a thought and a $0 check.

850Family · Post by **850Family** » 11 Aug 2005, 20:29

Thanks for the input. Sent it to the dealer today, along with all the advice. As to how it shut down... No bang, just a couple of chugs and then a swat from my wife.

Jot · Post by **Jot** » 12 Aug 2005, 08:49

It doesn't have water in the cylinders for if it did the engine would have had stopped with a bang.

850Family · Post by **850Family** » 14 Aug 2005, 07:35

The air filter was soaked and the engine is toast. My insurance company just totaled the vehicle. The adjuster gave me the option of replacing the engine with a used motor (not rebuilt) with 100K miles, or totaling it. The cost for the dealer to put in the used motor was about $3,500-4,000 while a new motor was going to run $5,000-5,500. I guess the threshold was around $4,500 in repairs, so he gave us the option. It was a '96 850 Turbo Wagon with 120K miles. The adjuster valued the vehicle at $8,100 (adjusted upward for 3 month old tires, and a 2 week old a/c evaporator). Anyway, thanks for all the info. By the way, the adjuster expected to get only about $1,500 from the salvage company.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 18 Aug 2005, 09:32

Jot wrote:It doesn't have water in the cylinders for if it did the engine would have had stopped with a bang.

Are you sure the engine is "toast"? I agree with Jot. You would know if the engine ingested a lot of water.

Still, I would disable fuel pump and ignition. Remove spark plugs. Then, engine should crank with ease. After it cranks, I would have a mechanic do an engine compression test to determine extent of damage.

I still believe all that is wrong is a new head gasket, a fresh oil change, trans flush, and possibly new spark plugs and distributor.

TheDr!ll · Post by **TheDr!ll** » 18 Aug 2005, 12:29

You will probably find that the engine has hydrauliced and at least got a bent con rod, if the intercooler is as full of water as he says.

Ive seen some similar sights when removing cylinder heads and the pistons dont come to the same height any more.