i splashed through a 5in puddle and after the water washed over my 4runner, i lost my power steering for 2 seconds or so. what is causing this? is the water getting into my air intake?

any thoughts are welcome.

 

well the water splashing could have made the belt slip and thus the loss of power steering until the belt was able t oregain tension/traction and start the pump up again.... anytime water is splashed its possible to get it into the intake.. i hydrolocked an engine this way....

 

okay, the belts slipping makes sense.
how would i "hydrolock" my engine?

 

if you get too much water in the cylinders it will force the air out and water or hydrolock the engine... what happens is the cylinders suck in air.. well if they suck in water, they cant compress water like it can compress air and bending a connecting rod normally occurs.... http://www.prepsparkplugs.com/hydrofact.htm

 

I hydrolocked my subaru a few years back in a small flash flood. Water in the engine compartment is bad...