Car went through deep water?

Question

Recently my car went through some pretty deep water.I would say about knee deep maybe a little higher. As soon as I went over it, as usual, the car died out. It couldn't start of course and my guess was because all the electrical instruments were wet. Anyways, I went to pick it up this morning, and it started but rather with ugly sounds. I had to hit the gas pedal a bit and a friend saw that white smoke was coming out. Well, I got it back home and it turns on no more smoke either, but the motor or something seems to be make a loud clicking sound. I have no idea what the problem is. The car does move but it doesn't accelerate fast, or it's probably because I tried not too. Before the car was also shaking but that seem to stopped. Any suggestions?

Fluids such as oil, gas, power steering, etc.?

Answer 1

"As soon as I went over it, as usual, the car died out" is the problem that needs immediate attention. If the car sat in this water overnight, it needs to be serviced from bearings repacked to fluids changed.

Answer 2

I don't have enough information but I will make a few guesses. I believe the ignition system got wet causing it to die and not start. While it was running through the deep water, it probably splashed some water up into the air intake and got some in the engine hence the white smoke when it started. Going through water that deep, you probably got some water into the transmission which will cause shuttering when trying to move. If you have a distributor ignition, moisture in the dist. cap will cause rough running. The clicking sound could be the hydraulic lifters possibly because the oil system got water in it and is not lubricating properly. And it could be a bent push rod or connecting rod.
This is all a guess because I don't know what kind of car, transmission, ignition system, etc. But for any kind of vehicle, don't drive it any more until you get the transmission and engine oils serviced and change all filters. If it's a rear wheel drive, service the rear differential also. And don't drive through water if you can't see the road.

Answer 3

Hydrolock:

In automotive terminology, a hydrolock (short for hydraulic lock) is the immobilization of an engine's pistons by a liquid (usually water, hence the prefix "hydro-"). Hydrolocking occurs when liquid fills a cylinder on the intake stroke and, due to the incompressibility of a liquid, makes the compression stroke impossible. This, in turn, prevents the entire engine from turning, and can cause significant engine damage if one attempts to forcibly turn over or start the engine. Typically, connecting rods will be bent, making the engine uneconomical to repair.

It is relatively common when driving through floods, either where the water is above the level of the air intake or the vehicle's speed is excessive, creating a tall bow wave.

Hydrolocking is often a concern when consumers modify their engines with aftermarket intake systems (e.g. Cold air intake). A cold air intake typically locates the filter near the bottom of the engine compartment to gain access to colder air, which can also increase its chances of ingesting water should it be submerged.

Another reason for it to occur is in the event of the head gasket cracking or "blowing", which causes the radiator coolant to mix inside the combustion chamber.

Answer 4

want u should have done is drain all fluids because water got in everything,but maybe to late. what can do is have the motor oil drain and fulled then have an oil flush added run for 5 minutes and drain and change the filter to put new oil in.the air filter is wet ,so that will need to be change,a fuel injector cleaner with and intake cleaner

Answer 5

ive seen this happen before, your engine ingested some water when you tried to go boating. the water was sucked in with the air and it semi hydro locked the motor.
you may have caused some damage so take it to a dealer. excuse me, have it towed to a dealer. DO NOT TRY TO START. tell the service writer exactly what happened.
with any luck you didnt damage any internaly engine componets.
fluids dont compress like fuel and air mixture.

Answer 6

why the heck were you going through knee deep water, and also you should drain all fluids because they most likely have become diluted with water. Also you should deffinanty the entire car serviced if problems continue.

Answer 7

seems such as you got some water into the gadget. verify your air filter out and be certain it quite is dry. bypass away the hood of your automobile open for awhile and enable any last water evaporate. If it quite is nonetheless working tough, have a mechanic verify something of the gadget for you.

Answer 8

Sounds like you hydro locked the engine.... Water can not be compressed like air, so when it gets drawn it the engine it dose all kinds of damage ( bends con rods, cracks pistons, ect...) Sounds to me like your looking at an engine rebuild.... Sorry to say.

Answer 9

Have all fluids drained and replaced A.S.A.P.