4runnerguy3321

I am sure that most people on here are like me and love taking there toyota trucks off road. And I'm sure many people enjoy going through water in their toyota. Well I took what I thought to be a puddle at around 60 mph. Well it turned out to be a lake, and needless to say large amounts of water were forced under my hood at high velocities. My truck has never let me down before and this was the fist time it had ever got stuck in all my years of playing off road. But there was no way I was gonna drive out of three feet of water after an impact like that. It was very late at night, I couldn't see very well, so I had it towed to my house. The next day I looked in my intake box and much to my dissapointment saw it completley full of muddy water. I have herd of many engines being ruined by water and thought that without a doubt my engine would be close behind. I talked to every car person and mechanic I could find to try and get help, but kept on hearing that my engine would be toast. Every single person I talked to said there was nothing I could do for it. But I really didn't want to buy a new engine and I refused to give up. I started by taking out the spark plugs. Knowing that the starter would not beable to move the pistions with all the pressure of the water in the engine, I had a friend help me to push the car while in gear to try and expell as much water as I could. Much to my surprise, a huge amount of water was shot out at an extreamly high velocity covering the wall of my garage. I pushed it back and forth until I felt that all the water that could be shot out was out. Then I started to simply use the starter on the car and still more water left my engine. I then took and air compresser and blew out each cylinder for a very long time. I did this for a few days trying to air it out the best I possibly could. I then got new spark plugs and tried to turn it over....no luck. I kept airing it out and tried agian. Somewhere inbetween all this I did a compresion check to make sure it was still capable of turning over. This time my engine started then quickly died. But it gave my hope to keep trying. I tried again...and again...and agian until it started again. I had to keep the rpms up so it would not die. I then noticed water comming out the back of my exhaust and relized that my cat and my muffler must be full of water. I tried letting the heat of the exhaust evaporate it but that would have taken weeks. So I got it so it was barley running at idol, put my beast in 4wd, found the steepest hill I could find, parked on it, and reved it hoping to get rid of the excess water. My idea worked! After about 5 minutes on the hill, a small river had flown out of my exhaust. After that she was back to her old self. I've been driving it for over a year now and I have not had any problems with the engine at all. I was glad I saved the money and saved my engine. I really hope my story is able to help someone else making the mistake of getting rid of their engine or car. GOOD LUCK!!!

yotaluver

thanks for the info man

Lone4runner

gives people hope. no other side effects since then though huh?

4runnerguy3321

Nope..none at all. MPG still over 20. performance good. Spark plugs good. Everything is as should be.

jimbo74

in the case of a hydrolock, it might be saveable and usually is if you immediately pull the plugs and get all the water out...

if you try to start it, a rod will bend and a month later the engine will blow up


trust me, i know

jimbo74

not much water at all... if you think about its internal displacement the cylinders will flood with water well below a gallon of liquid

AZBlackTacoma

AWESOME. Thanks for the info!

4runnerguy3321

I agree with you, and that is true to some extent. You do run the risk of bending a rod or blowing a seal, if you try to start it. However, that is not always the case. In my situation I did try to start the engine, not knowing that it had water in it yet. It turned over briefly then died. I tried to start it a few more times, I assumed it wouldn't start because the exhaust was under water or perhaps the roter was wet(Which has given me problems before). I didn't even take the plugs out till almost two days later. But I got it running and over a year later everything is still working perfectly. But you do make a good point.

leebee

the key to this is to drain the water as soon as possible. taking the plugs out and cracking the oil pan drain bolt a bit will help drain the water out of the bottom end. snug up the bolt when oil starts to drain out. with the plugs out, crank it over and stand back!

a friend submerged his jeep earlier this summer and we did the above. it ran rough for a while but it eventually settled down and he was able to drive it home. he did another complete fluid change monday, he just had all the fluids changed the day before we went out. all synthetics, $$$!

lee

gummi

... I know this has been done a number of times on my truck, just remove the plugs and start it, then put them back in and it's all good. Never happened to me so far.

However for those who have Diesel engines, usually sucking water will kill those engines, because of higher pressures and heat.

shazaam

Did someone say hydrolock?






And the inside took in plenty of water as well. all my electronics ... tv's. navigation, amps, speakers, subs ..... all had ot be replaced. 8 hours at the detail shop still didn't get the smell out .. so I redid the leather interior.




and yes we just pulled the plugs and she started right up. No adverse effects to this day, and this was about 3 yrs ago.

ero36ch

the same thing happened to my 4runner in Key Largo. It was my first time mudding after installing a lift kit, new tires, and a diff breather. We drove through what looked like a small puddle but the truck tipped over, engine underwater, and turned off. Took me 6 hours to get the engine running right.

romneymarshall

I've been looking for a thread to help troubleshoot my 4runner woes, this one comes pretty close. I'm new to the fix'it game and would be super grateful if anyone could lend a suggestion.
My story... I drove half way thru a puddle when it got way deeper than a remembered (close to three feet) and the engine shuts off, and just clicks when I tried to start it up again. I called a buddy to pull me out, we get it home, I take the plugs out, and have been reading repair manuals and forums ever since, while running out trying everything I've "learned", and that's where I am now...
I only know that..
1, It clicks when I try and start it.
2, I've tried manual turning over the engine with a socket, I'm not sure if I'm doing it right so I don't tug too hard, but that won't budge. and,
3. It's cold at night and only warm-ish during the day so maybe the water is all iced up.

If anyone is still on this post and can help or show me a forum that can, that'd be lovely.

Thanks for reading

Syrus54

I hope this thread isnt too old for this, but I had some water splash into my Intake as well. 1992 Toyota Pickup, V6 4x4....

Air Filter was Soaked, but I couldnt call a tow truck, so I just turned the Starter until the Water found its way out of the Cylinders... I Got the truck home, dried the Filter, checked the Wires, everything appears fine, except....

It idles between 200 and 500rpm.... it used to idle at 1500-2000.

When DRIVING, it seems fine, idles properly and everything, but when Sitting Still, it idles very low, (which reminds me of a Muscle car with a thumper-cam) and sometimes drops too low, and kills the engine after high-RPM throttle-useage...

Anyone have any ideas? Dirty water got into Distributor cap, mabey? Mass Air Flow Sensor damaged by the water, mabey? Anything?......