Last Sunday I was wheeling my 97 4runner in some water and hit a sudden deep spot. Water was up to over the hood on the side with the air intake. The engine didn't stall but I was stuck for awhile before I was pulled out.

Now I have some knocking at low Rpm. From what I've read I probably have a bent rod. The question is what now? The engine has 180,000. I live in an apartment so working on the engine myself is not really feasible plus I've never gone beyond changing a starter or alternator. I dont know much about engines. How much am I looking at for a repair or engine rebuild if I need it. Anybody know A good rebuilder in Southern Ca. Thanks in advance for any advice. Ray

And Yeah Yeah I know, my 4runner is not a boat, it wont float

 

Hey that Looks like Gangus in the Samuri! Um if no one posts up good help in So Cal here try TTORA (Only post in the newb section so you don;t have a flame-a-thon over there).

Did you turn off your engine once it fell into the hole or keep it running and it finally stalled. That might help us figure out if you hydrolocked it....

 

One of my friends did a similar thing in his 91 toyota pickup and stalled the engine. He ended up getting towed back. He bent two rods and rebuilt the engine but it still had problems.

I wouldn't recommend rebuilding the engine in an apartment complex parking lot. This same friend did this and they got pist at him.

 

Well here is what I want to know. If you trn the engine off before hydrolocking you in *theory* won't bed a rod - but yop'd have to know to do that first....

And I second wormhole's advice of NOT doing that in a parking lot... The neighbors will be none to happy. It is a BIG job

 

Ugh, that's right where the intake is...not good. I take my runner to yotamasters in Corona, they are good guys. You might want to look into getting a used engine instead of rebuilding. Cal Mini Truck Dismantlers could probably help you out with that.

Definately dont work on your truck in the parking lot...I had to have yotamasters replace my CVs because I was threatened with eviction 2 minutes after I got the tire off...

 

From how deep you went and from what you said, the least you did was compress a rod, the knock is most likely the rod bearing being loose on the crank. If you continue driving it this way, there's a real good chance of breaking the rod.

Look into getting one of the japanese imported engines, that's what I did when I hydrolocked mine.....

 

I may not know much but I try to give advice where I can .

 

Did you change the oil yet? See if there is water in it.

 

You screwed the pooch, engine is done. Rebuild totally or a new engine. A snorkel is uber important!

 

I used to live in New Orleans and I managed a shop down there for a good while... heres some basics to check;

drain the oil, if its milky, it has water in it... either way pour the oil from the drain container into another as it passes thru a few paper towels (to act like a filter) if there is anything glittery in the oil its likely to be a bearing due to lack of lubrication (the milky oil)...

Also take the oil filter off and cut it in half with snips or anything that wont create metal shavings then stretch out the filter medium and look for the same, usually it will look like brass glitter... if its in the oil, it will be in the filter, but the filter gets larger pieces...

The other test to perform is a basic compression test, if the rod is bent the compression will be less in that cylinder. A tester can be bought at most auto parts places for cheap or a shop can perform a leak down (must pressurize the cylinder) and compression test which is much more accurate.

Working at an apartment complex is a big pain... if you feel confident a cheap route is to get a big storage space or finding a shop that has some extra space...

Good luck... hope this helps

 

Might try filing an insurance claim on it. I have a friend locally here that drove her car into a flooded street (lots of rain this year in OKC) and hydrolocked it and her insurance co is putting in a new engine for her. Maybe they will cover you off-road, talk to your agent first though.

 

highly doubt it since he looked like he drove into a lake on purpose

difference being a lake and a flooded street.

 

you people live in some tough apartment complexes. i have a garage now but before this i would work on my brakes, take off entire axles, and other assorted big jobs like that in the parking lot and thered be someone right next to me doing the same on his car/truck. right now there is a guy outside my window in the parking lot with the head off his engine trying to make it run. heh

 

David you live in my kind of apartment complex. lol

 

Intent is what matters. If you have Comp/Coll, call your insurance company. You were intentionally driving around in a lake, that's ok, you unintentionally dumped the front end into the lake. You can't intentionally hurt your truck, but sometimes things happen while off-roading. As far as I know, there are no contracts out there that do not cover off-roading.

My Uncle rolled his Taco off-roading, and his insurance company paid to fix it, and they didn't even surcharge him for an accident, said it was a Comprehensive claim.

 

Insurance is also to protect the lien holder if the owner does something stupid, so often the policies will cover you for doing stupid things. Anyway what's he got to lose from asking?

 

nothin to lose from asking, but some companies definitely exclude off roading.

 

Advice for a non floating 4 runner.....stay out of the water???

I would ask my insurance, but yeah, there are definitely one that exclude any off highway use.

 

First thing AAA asked me when I reported rolling my baja bug was "Were you offroading?"

I said no...I was just heading down to the river and it happened to be on a dirt road

 

Yeah there does seem to be a difference between the terms off-road and dirt-road in some legal ways. I run a lot of 4x4 trails in Colorado and they are technically county roads and are actually maintained (like maybe once in the spring)