'95 JettaIII GL engine lock

[rison146]

alright so i tried to drive my jetta through a puddle and i believe i hydrolocked the engine. the car stopped right in the middle of the puddle. i removed the air filter and the whole thing was wet. there was a mucky residue running up to the throttle body. i'm not sure what it is.i have tried to turn the ignition and i get a single click, then nothing. i removed the plugs, two were wet, and tried to turn the engine manually, i couldn't budge it. i'm not sure where to narrow the problem down to. i am getting desperate and about to attempt an entire engine replacement. any ideas before i rip the engine out. thanx in advance.

[stuzman]

Originally Posted by rison146

alright so i tried to drive my jetta through a puddle and i believe i hydrolocked the engine. the car stopped right in the middle of the puddle. i removed the air filter and the whole thing was wet. there was a mucky residue running up to the throttle body. i'm not sure what it is.i have tried to turn the ignition and i get a single click, then nothing. i removed the plugs, two were wet, and tried to turn the engine manually, i couldn't budge it. i'm not sure where to narrow the problem down to. i am getting desperate and about to attempt an entire engine replacement. any ideas before i rip the engine out. thanx in advance.

I'm curious rison, How deep was this puddle? It does sound like you got some water sucked down into the engine. If you've pulled all the plugs and can't budge the engine, then it sounds like the bearings are probably seized. Since water doesn't compress, you may have bent a rod or two also.

[Doug Tatham]

What you've said sounds really strange. You may have damaged the engine due to sudden cooling when you hit the puddle, but I've never heard of such a thing happening. I'd keep the plugs out. Drain your oil and check it for water. Put in fresh oil. Then try to rotate the engine using a large wrench on the crankshaft. You may also try with the starter, but if you shorted something out this won't tell you much. What do you mean by you tried to turn it manually? Next thing to try would be to pull the head and see what condition the top of the pistons are in. Be prepared to shell out $30 to $50 for a new head gasket if you do this.