Well, I think I hydrolocked my 3vze......

Me and a buddy were going down a trail and most of the mud puddles were hardly even mud and they were all about 3 inches deep. I checked every puddle except this last one..... I drove up to it and figured it couldnt be too bad cause it was on a mountain. This was the first(and last) time ive never checked a puddle before going through. I couldve easily gone around it but for some reason went through. I went way too fast for how deep it actually was, i hit the puddle water came over my hood and i noticed that most of the water came up right around my intake......

Halfway through the puddle my truck completely died, just cut off. I feared the worst. I tried to start it a few times after it died but all it would do was make a constant clicking(starter?) Then after a while literally everything died on the truck, all electricity went completely out for some reason. So it was stuck in park..... My friends tacoma somehow managed to pull it out of mud up to the doors while in park. We jumped it and the electricity came back, except now it didnt make the clicking, it would just make one click and sounded liek the engine was locked up. Or maybe just the starter died?

Once i got it out of the mud i took the intake off and the air filter was really wet but i didnt notice much water actually in the intake. Could water have killed the AFM which would cause it not to start?

I had to leave it there overnight, the next day we came back and i pulled a spark plug out and tried to turn it over, no water came out. This confused me, if it was hydrolocked would water shoot out the hole? Or do you have to take all the spark plugs out? We eventually got it towed out of the woods behind my friends taco and then onto a tow truck Its sitting in the shop right now but they havent told me anything about it.....

Im assuming its hydrolocked and done, which sucks because it only had 147k on it and i did the head gasket a few thousand miles ago....... Any advice on what to do with it? My plan, if its hydrolocked, is to sell it for whatever i can get then eventually save up for a 5speed tacoma.....

Ill post some pictures eventually

 

The puddle, it wasnt even super deep although it was up to my doors, i just went too fast......




Towing me a mile out of the mountains....

 

Did the engine actually turn over. It would only shoot stuff out if the cylinder was moving up.

 

Im not sure, i want to say no it didnt though, it would just make one click whenever i turned the keys..... im almost wondering if the starter died and its hydrolocked too. The starter had been acting a little weird for a about a week earlier, itd hesitate a little.

 

see if you can clear the cylinders of any water, then have a buddy pull you up to around 35mph in neutral, then pop the trans in drive.. it'll start that way.

 

How would i clear the cylinders if it doesnt turn over?

 

Pull plugs, crank the engine over by hand?
Maybe swap the starter, or check all the grounds too

 

It's probably not hydrolocked. It's takes quite a bit more water sucked in, in a shorter period of time, than most people realize to hydrolock an engine. Meaning, it's a lot harder to do than you might think. Pretty sure the air filter won't even allow for enough water to get through fast enough. The engine would sputter out for lack of fire first. Maybe if you were WOT with the intake fully submerged, but even then I kinda doubt it. Of course, if you let it sit there slowly filling the intake up with water for long enough BEFORE starting/running it, or trying to...

The VAFM is probably still full of water causing a short circuit, and/or the vane is stuck/jammed closed.

Being full of water and mud doesn't do a starter any good either. It may need tore apart and/or overhauled too.

Might also check the distributor while you're at it. Water can get in there if the seal under the cap isn't in great shape. Not a good thing...

 

Poor 4Runner...

Like mentioned above. Pull the plugs and dry them. Turn the motor over by hand. Pull the intake and vafm, check for water. check the distributor, check the starter.

Also, Change the oil. you should find something relatively close to this:

 

put a socket on the crank pulley and turn the motor over by hand...youll find out if theres a mechanical problem.


I hydrolocked a passat once. In third gear in five inches of water, flooded road...was enjoying the wall of water the tires were throwing and started losing power... So I hit the clutch and dropped to second (i know) and it just died fast.

Bent a con rod in BOTH directions..filled 3 of the 6 cal full of water.

had to replace the rod...it kissed the very bottom of the cylinder wall below the last ring line so I re-ringed and it was all good.



it can happen easier than you think....

 

Pull the plugs and whack the starter with a hammer if it still isn't turning over.. did that to my 22RE after this happened. Haven't had a starter problem since


I hit that "puddle" full bore to make it that far in. And I stopped dead about 5ft from the end. Almost made it. It splashed alot of water around. I also had to pull my carpet out since I had about 3" of water in the cab.
And mud hippy is right. a distributor full of water/mud will make it back fire and pop like one SOB for awhile.. sounded cool all the rest of the day haha

 

Thanks everyone, im going to look at it today. Also, it doesnt turn over, just makes one 'click'

 

Talked to the shop today, they said its locked up bad. They said they couldnt even turn it over, they didnt pull the plugs though. Said they checked the starter too.

Idk what to do, sell it for whatever i can get i guess.......
Still might pull the spark plugs and see if i can get any water to come out

 

a hydrolocked 4runner probably goes for like 1500 bucks. i vote do what you can.

 

3.4 Swap!

 

Got some water out of the cylinders, pulled the plugs and had my friend pull me but we could only get to around 15mph where we were. I think if we got faster more would come out, not much came out this time

 

can you turn the engine over by hand with the plugs out?

 

last toyota I saw suck water in the intake broke two rods and smashed the pistons into pieces , oh and it wouldn't turn over after the first time he tried.Oh it was a brand new truck.if you think you drown the engine you need to pull the plugs Before you crank it,Water doesn't compress and metal breaks long before it will. looks like time for a new engine to me. sorry

 

Looking at those pictures I am amazed that you could manage to get water in the intake in something so shallow( a feat to accomplish?) most of the times water over the hood is just going to mean wet distrib click click click click and that is very normal.

I have had my rig pointed down of a river bank, front in over the headlights and managed to turn it off before anything bad happened.

I really want to know the end result of this If you managed to get water in to the engine like that you must very talented

 

Haha im also wondering how i managed to kill a yota in that small of a puddle. In the middle of it was a pretty deep hole which pretty much submerged my intake but only for a second. I could only get water to come out of one of the cylinders so far, but im home for a week now and my truck is at college so theres not much to do. Im hoping i can get $1500 or so for it then get a civic and save up for another yota eventually.