What happens when your CAI sucks up water???

What happens to an engine that takes in water? I've heard about people with cold air intakes going through deep pudles and sucking up water instead of air and blowing their motors. Exactly what gets damaged and how?

water does not compress like air... if enough gets in the cylinder it will break the piston when it comes to the top of the compression stroke. i haven't seen this on a car before but i have seen a jet ski engine with its heads off that took in water... lets just say normally the pistons should have been domed and after the water got in they were dished

Picture a full 2-liter of water on the ground with its lid on, and pretend that's your combustion chamber. Run over it with a car and it's gotta go somewhere because water doesn't compress, air does. It would rupture, just like your engine block would.

its called hydrolocked isnt it.

its called hydrolocked isnt it.
Yes
We have a hydrolocked car at the shop. Waiting for all the insurance BS before we open it, sure sounds like its got broken rod.

What if it's only for a short period of time, like a few seconds. Afterwards, the car ran kinda boggy for about 5-10 minutes, then started clearing up. Now it runs okay, but gets bad fuel economy and the oil temp rises quicker than usual. Also, my compression is down in 3 out of 4 cylinders.

if you search around they make a bypass that is made to stop water and all that other muck from getting into your engine it costs like 50 bucks you can find them cheaper maybe on ebay i think and then you dont have to worry about it. http://www.tuneshops.com/per-Auto~Performance-Greddy-AEM~Bypass~Valve-1-1-1-fit~most~vehicle-1.cfm

AEM makes a bypass /check valve deally bob for like 50 bucks thats suppost to prevent water from getting in.

What if it's only for a short period of time, like a few seconds. Afterwards, the car ran kinda boggy for about 5-10 minutes, then started clearing up. Now it runs okay, but gets bad fuel economy and the oil temp rises quicker than usual. Also, my compression is down in 3 out of 4 cylinders.
well i do not know specifically what would happen but i would imagein the added pressure could warp a piston which would guve the rings a bad seel which would reduce compression and allow combustion flame to come in contact with oil which would generate a higher oip temp. also it could weakin the seel of your head gaskit but unless you see the normal symptoms of that (grey frothy oil) i wouldnt worry about the gaskit. as for the bad feul economy your guess is as good as mine, perhaps the poor comperssion forces u to use more gas to go the same speed? a lot of this is my own speculation so if anyone has any corrections, correct me.

Ive driven with my CAI through rain and puddles without my bypass valve on, and its been fine. You would have to go through some really deep puddles to get hydrolocked, to the point where the water is over your filter. The AEM bypass valve will do a good job at preventing water going into your motor.

Thanks for the help. I appreciate the good advice and information.

You probably subjected your engine internals to alot higher pressure then they were designed for, and who knows how they will fail. If you got low compression it could be a number of things, but it does explain your poor fuel economy. Your engine is now working less efficiently and needs more fuel to produce the same power.

Has a wet and dry compression test been performed on the engine? any difference?

Ive driven with my CAI through rain and puddles without my bypass valve on, and its been fine. You would have to go through some really deep puddles to get hydrolocked, to the point where the water is over your filter. The AEM bypass valve will do a good job at preventing water going into your motor.


so if your driving in the rain and your filter is soaked wouldnt it just bring in lots of moisture? and that would be ok as long as its not bringing in water past the filter right??

scott u dont have splash guards?.... or did u go through a really deep pudle??

if your car turns off because your you have gotten a small amout of water in your engine, it might be fixable. try removing the spark plugs, and cranking the engine. this will allow the water to come out of the spark plug holes. i had a friend blow holes in his block because of hydrolock ^ ^

if your car turns off because your you have gotten a small amout of water in your engine, it might be fixable. try removing the spark plugs, and cranking the engine. this will allow the water to come out of the spark plug holes. i had a friend blow holes in his block because of hydrolock ^ ^

LOL, or he could just take off his head...... and before his block would rupture, before his bearings would snap, his head gaskets would crack, so be sure to check those.

Well i used to 4 wheel and i sucked water in my jeep o about 10 times or so .But it never really hurt it if it does shut down asap!!Pull the plugs kill the coil,and crank it till all the water is out then hit it with some starting fluid.It should start up if not you could have really hurt the motor.I never hurt my jeeps motor so u might get lucky...

Extra Strenth Starter Fluid spray is teh shit. I have a friend who uses it like Wet Nitrous in his engine, his engine has been rebuilt four times in the past 2 years. he runs the shit out of it haha

I forgot to mention that its a 2-cyl, 4 stroke dirt bike engine with no cat, new exaust, and he perfectly tunes his carb. When he races it and uses the starter fluid he tunes his carb to run a bit lean.

hummm, i had a h22 in mah crx, that hydro-locked 3 days after it got put in, broke rod,valves in 4nd cylinder, pic in gallery

Was it a workout turning like most ppl said?

I have an AEM cold air intake without a bypass on it and just a few days ago I drove in an absolute down pour( of course I avoided puddles), when I got home I took off my splach guard to check the filter to see if it got wet. The splash guard were soaked of course but the filter was still bone dry. Im not really sure how people get water in the engine unless they go through deep puddles. I would recommend getting a compression test first before you do anything to try and fix it.

weRd

I was driving through a construction zone that suddenly went deep for a stretch. There was no escape. I still have my splash guards and everything.

I did a compression test and it came out 210, 190, 190, 180. Sounds like new piston rings...

when we're saying water damage do we mean the filter being submerged in water or getting splashed at? i'm thinkin about cai on my splash guardless teg in san francisco. rainy season is pretty bad...but not horrible. usually dun get over about 1inch. is this safe? or should i get a short ram? thanks

I'd say get a splash guard & a 2-piece intake(short/cold) & have no worries. Just don't drive in 1' or more of water.

Damage may occur over time if the engine is sucking moist air from a wet filter, and definately will have problems when completely submerged - HYDRO LOCK

i have a cold air intake and no splash guard, so i think it sucks up little splashes when i drive, its been raining pretty hard in the bay lately. but i havent fallen in any puddles yet. engine seems fine so far. with a bypass valve, the engine wuold still be sucking up moist air right?

i have a cold air intake and no splash guard, so i think it sucks up little splashes when i drive, its been raining pretty hard in the bay lately. but i havent fallen in any puddles yet. engine seems fine so far. with a bypass valve, the engine wuold still be sucking up moist air right?

bypass valves only work if the filter is submerged.

doesn't get the little moisture that might come up. the gaurd is ur best bet along w/ the bypass valve...

either that, or jus get the 2 piece like others have said, an use a SRI during the winter/rainy season.

bypass valves only work if the filter is submerged.

doesn't get the little moisture that might come up. the gaurd is ur best bet along w/ the bypass valve...

either that, or jus get the 2 piece like others have said, an use a SRI during the winter/rainy season.

:werd: if the filter is getting wet, make sure to change the oil more frequently to drain the water. Water & oil do not mix well.

my friend had his CAI rigged in his focus and it came loose and was dragging on the ground while it was raining and sucked in some water....but he didn't learn and didn't get a bypass valve and somehow ended up sucking in about 1/2 of water into his engine :banghead:

I live in s. FL and we get a rain every day like clock work during the rainy season. my current civic's orig motor went the way of the hydrolock during a summer down pour. I had the full cai on for like two yrs and was just cautious ab puddles with no problems thought i was ok till that fateful day i wish at this point that i had a bypass valve at the time. But if that were the case i probably wouldnot have my current setup. thats the silver lining of having to buy a new car for transportation during the down time (6mos. in a hyundai.....sucked)



all for cold air

ok so the rain was REALLY bad yesterday, and lots of streets were flooded. i cant seem to find my stock airbox so i had to improvise and took off my cold air intake and put the filter directly onto the throttle body. my filter was really wet and had mud etc on it but tried to clean most of it off. anyways, hot air from in the engine is better than wet air or risk of sucking up water. anybody put a filter up to their throttle body? any problems with that? if prolonged?