Water + engine = bad

[nightbreed]

OK, so it's a no brainer that you don't get water into the engine...but what can I say, I'm not too bright. Basically, I drove my 3.0 diesel 4-Runner through some floodwater...I think if I'd have been going slower I might have been ok. But I wasn't. Some water obviously got into the engine, and when my revs dropped the engine conked out.

I pushed it out of the flooding, and left it a little while...I tried it, and it started, but was running rough...really rough. Juddering heavily when idle, struggling to maintain idle revs and kicking lots of smoke out. Since it was 7pm on new year's eve, I thought I'd walk the 2 miles home and leave it. Since then, I got my local garage to pick it up and have a look...they basically said it's probably not gonna be worth putting the money in to fix it. I'm not really mechanically minded enough to try and do anything with it myself, and since it's been a money pit since I bought it I'm tempted to cut my losses. One or two mates think I should get a second opinion on it...they said if it starts, it can't be that bad. Does anyone have any similar opinion on it?

[markjd]

Usually if enough water gets into the engine it stops turning as it can't be compressed if that has happened it could of bent the con rods. It could just be that water has got in the fuel though lots of possibilities but worth getting second opinion on big decision like that.

[shokenore]

If they have tried turning it over without first getting the water out of the engine then they have probably fubarred it.

If they can not give you a better diagnosis than it will be expensive, and they can not give a better explanation, then in my opinion get it home by trailer, then depending on you or your mates' levels of competency, get the injectors out stick a small hose with a syringe on the end down the injector holes and see if you can suck out any water, then see if you can turn the engine over by using a socket on the crank.
If it turns over freely by hand stick the injectors back in and crank it over and see if it starts.

If it does not turn over easily by hand, then you may well have bent a conrod=expensive.

[DLowe]

I did similar in my TD5 disco - didn't get into the engine, just mixed with the fuel due to a split pipe.....

probably would have been ok if some "helpful" volunteer at the pay n play site hadnt have tried "cleaning" my ecu with thinners and it going bang.

if the engine spins over you might be lucky - check the cap on bottom of the fuel filter see if its full of water

[muddle]

That was nothing to do with water, its just one of landrovers traits.

[aspland]

I did the same got water in my surf 3.0 and i did a compression test on it after getting it going and it smoking a lot found that piston 4 was lower then the rest so ordered my parts up cost £300 to fix and 2 days working on it with my dad i replaced the bent piston/conrod put new rings all round and new shells and new mean bearings new head gasket and bolts and some other bits as well and it seems ok now

[nightbreed]

Cheers for the advice guys...I'll call the garage tomorrow and see how sure he is that something is seriously wrong. Either way, I think the plan will be to fix it and turn it into a full time off roader.