What happens when your CAI sucks up water???

[scott21]

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?

[Miataracer]

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

[Ricochet]

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.

[YOUNGSTER]

its called hydrolocked isnt it.

[BullShifter]

Originally Posted by YOUNGSTER

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.

[scott21]

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.

[imprtsyco]

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~Pe...~vehicle-1.cfm

[JakeDrummer]

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

[cvcc_wagon]

Originally Posted by scott21

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.

[superbluecivicsi]

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.

[scott21]

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

[GundamExpo]

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?

[got v-tec?]

Originally Posted by superbluecivicsi

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??

[Oblivian]

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

[cuba3377]

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 ^ ^