Engine flooding?

[Carfreak18]

Wow I have a great group of friends, alright he was driving his moms saturn,idk what model or year but its a little older, anyway he thought he could make it through a flooded street,which was high enough to just start gettin their feet wet,that night we went down their because it wouldnt start and we chaged the air filter and took out the plugs and I looked inside the cylinders and I could see some like black looking sludge,possibly the oil and some water?...anyway did the engine flood,btw the car still does not start.

[MagicRat]

Going through deep water can cause all kinds of expensive trouble. It's obvoiusly best to stay out of the deep water.

The worst that can happen is if the engine sucked up some water through the air intake when running. This causes the cylinder to hydraulic lock and can damage the engine internally, by possibly bending a connector rod, or related damage. Check the engine oil Does it look milky, like a milk shake or can you see water in the oil? If yes, it will need an oil and filter change BEFORE you try to start it.

If you changed the air filter, was the old one sopping wet?

I have dried-out engines flooded in this matter by pulling all the plugs and spinning the engine over, so all the water gets driven out. However, I do not recommend you do this because you may exacerbate existing damage.

If the engine actually will spin over with the starter motor and there is no water in the oil, you probably did not flood the engine, you just got something electrical wet.

If you are lucky, its just the plug wires. If not so lucky, you soaked down some electrical component, like the ECM for the fuel injection. Realistically a mechanic should be able to identify the damaged component.

IMO if it does not start after a few days of drying out, take it to a mechanic,........ and stay out of those expensive puddles!!