Hydro lock

Datura99 · #1 07-11-2005, 09:20 AM

The other day on my way home I ended up hydroplaneing through some water in my Honda prelude h22a engine. didn't seem to deep and it was more on the right side of the car my intake filter thing don't know what exactly to call it comes out underneath the front bumper. Anyways after driving through the water all the sudden the battery light came on and the car started to shut down. eventually it cut off. I kept trying to start it giving it gas alot of white smoke is coming out the tail pipe. eventullay the car had a little power and i was apply to pull it into a parking lot. kept trying the car eventully it started working again except now i had a clanking sound and the car was really weak. I sat for a few hours then attempted to slowly drive home after adding some oil to the engine since it was low anyways. car is very weak at this point could only really go about 30 mph eventually the car shook heard a lound clang the clanking noise got a lot louder this time I pulled over at a gas station. All the oil is leaking out of the bottom of my car. Engine still starts up and the car will still move. just now there is a lound clanging noise when the engine runs. got the car towed home. Anyways A friend of mine told me before that the way the last person who owned the car had the cold air intake set up going through the bottom the way it was that I should get a bypass valve something like that don't know whats call ed exaclty to prevent hydro lock. my question is What the hell happend to my car and can it be fixed from what I what i just explained. how much would this possibly cost me to fix if it can. And what kinda damge can hydro lock do to one's car.

jcrx · #2 07-11-2005, 03:21 PM

What happen to you car is, it sucked in water, water doesn't compress in the cylinders, so it made room for itself by punching one of your rods through the block

It is totally fixable, just buy a new motor, and you're on your way.

Greenblurr93 · #3 07-11-2005, 03:26 PM

wow.... did you have a bypass valve on your cold air intake?? and anytime you think you may have gotten water in the engine, i wouldnt try and start it unless you pulled all the spark plugs and blew the water out the top.

Cliff Notes:
You blew your motor by trying to start it after sucking water, buy a new one and put a bypass valve on it so it doesnt happen again.

97integrals · #4 07-11-2005, 04:43 PM

This happened to me when I was young and dumb, same scenario, threw a rod after sucking up water. Anyways I had full coverage and I was able to put the stock intake on and I got my insurance to pay for the Acura dealership to install a new motor. It is always worth a try, anyways good luck.

Datura99 · #5 07-11-2005, 04:55 PM

If an engine is blow wouldn't the car not work at. Cause the car still starts up and goes. It just makes a whole lota noise but it will still move. So in that case is there any hope for repair instead of buy another enige.

Greenblurr93 · #6 07-11-2005, 04:59 PM

prolly not, an engine can run on 3 cylinders... it will run like rectum... but it will run... the only way to find out is to pull the head off and see exactly what broke.

jcrx · #7 07-12-2005, 03:33 PM

Not really. If it shot oil all over, you can probably see the hole without pulling the head. And yes, a car can run on three cylinders.

94PreludeJDM · #8 07-12-2005, 03:47 PM

I've actually heard that putting a bypass valve on the intake does more harm than good. They had a tendancy to break apart and get sucked into the manifold, messing up the engine anyway. Solution to hydrolocking engine...don't drive through puddles, you're not supposed to anyway, you never know how deep they are or what's in them, they teach you that in driver's ed.

Datura99 · #9 07-13-2005, 08:34 AM

yeah I don't know enough about engines to to any work like that myself there are some good shops around here in tampa though so once I get some money i'll be towing it in to a trusted shop to get it looked at. basically whichever way is cheaper is the route I will go. Got one question for you peoples though. If the case comes a far as a replacement engine. around how much for an h22a engine and do you recomend any good places to get one from.

00accord44 · #10 07-13-2005, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94PreludeJDM

I've actually heard that putting a bypass valve on the intake does more harm than good. They had a tendancy to break apart and get sucked into the manifold, messing up the engine anyway. Solution to hydrolocking engine...don't drive through puddles, you're not supposed to anyway, you never know how deep they are or what's in them, they teach you that in driver's ed.

I've never heard that about bypass valves. Is that with ALL bypass valves or just cheap ones? I've seen some sold on the internet that look pretty cheap and flimsy.
As for the hydrolocking, yes its a good idea to avoid puddles completely, but if you can't, do not accelerate through the puddle!!! If possible, just coast through it. At least coast to a shallow area if you can see one. Hitting the gas in the puddle is gonna open the throttle and suck the water right into your intake like a straw

If you absolutely can't make it through the puddle without accelerating, feather the clutch as much as possible so the intake won't suck up the water as hard.

Buying a new H22 is gonna run you about $3000. Where to get it? I dunno, I'm not in tampa area, I live in tallahassee

97integrals · #11 07-13-2005, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 00accord44

I've never heard that about bypass valves. Is that with ALL bypass valves or just cheap ones? I've seen some sold on the internet that look pretty cheap and flimsy.
As for the hydrolocking, yes its a good idea to avoid puddles completely, but if you can't, do not accelerate through the puddle!!! If possible, just coast through it. At least coast to a shallow area if you can see one. Hitting the gas in the puddle is gonna open the throttle and suck the water right into your intake like a straw

If you absolutely can't make it through the puddle without accelerating, feather the clutch as much as possible so the intake won't suck up the water as hard.

Buying a new H22 is gonna run you about $3000. Where to get it? I dunno, I'm not in tampa area, I live in tallahassee

Aem actually had to recall most of there bypass valves because they where breaking in half and the diaphragm was getting sucked into the engine. I had my aem bypass valve split in two but I caught it before it did any damage.

94PreludeJDM · #12 07-13-2005, 06:08 PM

Yep, I heard that was happening too, that's why I didn't get one. And you can get an H22 for way cheaper than $3000, you just have to look around. You can start with www.passwordjdm.com. Their H22's start at $1899, plus shipping. Search the forum too, I know other people have asked the same question and people have posted a bunch others sites the sell engines that I can't think of off the top of my head.

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