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sucked up water

socalhatch

Don't panic it's organic
Location
92782
Car(s)
2017 Golf R
hey any help appreciated

A few days ago Southern California had a gnarly rain storm and I happened to hit a huge puddle . The car kept driving no noticeable difference drove probably 15 miles after I hit the puddle ...

Well got closer to my destination and tried to get on it a bit only to get a flashing cel and loud misfire.. Limped it into the garage and started ripping the front end apart, water Droplets in my intake, forge dv, and dv pipe.. How ever there was about 32 oz of water in all my intercooler piping and intercooler..

I pulled the plugs and coil packs everything was dry and looked good. So I took off my catch can and rear and front pcv and all sensors that had gotten wet.. Should I take my throttle body off and clean that as well ?
 

GIACUser

Master Wallet Mechanic
Location
USA
Car(s)
MK 6 GolfR
If the cylinders were dry, (you turned it over and evacuated moisture) you are probably ok.
Whew.... that could have been bad.
 

socalhatch

Don't panic it's organic
Location
92782
Car(s)
2017 Golf R
Yeah i hope everything works alright once I get everything dry. The car never shut off or changed the way it drove only when i tried to boost. Would start up and drive just fine can't believe it didn't lock up
 

socalhatch

Don't panic it's organic
Location
92782
Car(s)
2017 Golf R
Yeah i hope everything works alright once I get everything dry. The car never shut off or changed the way it drove only when i tried to boost. Would start up and drive just fine can't believe it didn't lock up
 

nkresho

suck, squish, bang, blow
Location
Pittsburgh
Car(s)
2022 Q3
I hydrolocked my focus a few years ago. You'll know if it happens. It's like running into a brick wall. I snapped a rod.

Glad you were able to dodge the bullet.
 

bhmkv

Auto Body Appraiser
Location
CT
Car(s)
07 CW GTI
Hope everything turns out ok. If not this is a covered comp loss with insurance companies.
 

Das Gespenst

Go Kart Champion
Location
Glen Ellyn
Hope everything turns out ok. If not this is a covered comp loss with insurance companies.

That's good to know!

@socalhatch- As stated above you would definitely know if it was bad! The CEL was most likely from the dissplacment of water in the IC. Get everything nice and dry and void of water and you should be fine.
 

socalhatch

Don't panic it's organic
Location
92782
Car(s)
2017 Golf R
That's good to know!

@socalhatch- As stated above you would definitely know if it was bad! The CEL was most likely from the dissplacment of water in the IC. Get everything nice and dry and void of water and you should be fine.

That's what I'm hoping for ! Throwing everything back together in the morning so we'll see how it goes !
 

socalhatch

Don't panic it's organic
Location
92782
Car(s)
2017 Golf R
Let us know how it goes today!

Oh boy I don't think it's good : \....

So I had the whole boost system completely taken apart, rear pcv front pcv and catch can, and all boost piping and intercooler completely off along with intake and forge dv.. Well it was very hard for the car to start today maybe cause my battery is weak but idk..

So it starts up and it sounds like cold / dry valve tick for a few seconds then goes away then I let the car get up to temp and rev it a bit... I'm not sure if my injectors have always sounded this crazy or not but I think I have a slight knock in the engine now ....

Let it idle for about 10 min and decided to take it out and right away in first it just sounds like a knock pretty bad.. But yet not sure if it's my injectors or not .. Did get a flashing cel on the very first start up then nothing no solid light or any thing.. But it was very hard to start the car.

Question is should I try and drive it at least once ? Or take my engine apart or just part out the car lol.... Ugh fuck
 

nkresho

suck, squish, bang, blow
Location
Pittsburgh
Car(s)
2022 Q3
If you bent a valve you'd have a vibration rather than a sound (ticking), in my experience. The flashing CEL, though, is likely the knock sensor picking up a ping or detonation.

I'd let it idle for a while, until it warms up to operating temp. Let the gauge get to the middle. This should ensure that all the water has evaporated.

I, personally, would drive it. If you bent a valve you're screwed either way. Just make sure you're prepared to get a tow if you bust something.
 

GIACUser

Master Wallet Mechanic
Location
USA
Car(s)
MK 6 GolfR
Oh boy I don't think it's good : \....

So I had the whole boost system completely taken apart, rear pcv front pcv and catch can, and all boost piping and intercooler completely off along with intake and forge dv.. Well it was very hard for the car to start today maybe cause my battery is weak but idk..

So it starts up and it sounds like cold / dry valve tick for a few seconds then goes away then I let the car get up to temp and rev it a bit... I'm not sure if my injectors have always sounded this crazy or not but I think I have a slight knock in the engine now ....

Let it idle for about 10 min and decided to take it out and right away in first it just sounds like a knock pretty bad.. But yet not sure if it's my injectors or not .. Did get a flashing cel on the very first start up then nothing no solid light or any thing.. But it was very hard to start the car.

Question is should I try and drive it at least once ? Or take my engine apart or just part out the car lol.... Ugh fuck

Like me, you know when something is wrong with your car. Hydrocking a car it isn't alway like hitting a brick wall. Sometimes you get just enough water in the cylinder to bend a rod without breaking it. If you suspect this may have happened it will be better not to run the motor at all to avoid an even more costly problem if the rod actually breaks. I am not saying you have a bent rod because it is impossible for me to know but your detailed description and amount of water involved certainly makes it a possibility. You probably need to have a look.
 

nkresho

suck, squish, bang, blow
Location
Pittsburgh
Car(s)
2022 Q3
Mine drove for about a week, every day, before letting loose. I had a funky vibration in the clutch pedal before it did. But it drove fine. It was like a tick tick tick, each crank rotation, varying with RPM. Like tapping the backside of the pedal with a wooden dowel rod. The initial damage did feel impactful, in my case though. It stopped the engine dead in it's tracks. The engine seized momentarily, due to the water pressure in the cylinder. But it started later on (after pulling the plugs and running the starter with no spark or fuel for a while, and later ran OK for a few days. With a complete stop, at hydrolock, like mine, I'd do a teardown in a heartbeat, to save/reduce the catastrophic damage. But a little water in the intake tract... I'd run it cautiously, and see what it does.

I agree that you will want to check it out. I just can't think of a better way than a teardown. And the cost and time involved is very high.
 

socalhatch

Don't panic it's organic
Location
92782
Car(s)
2017 Golf R
Like me, you know when something is wrong with your car. Hydrocking a car it isn't alway like hitting a brick wall. Sometimes you get just enough water in the cylinder to bend a rod without breaking it. If you suspect this may have happened it will be better not to run the motor at all to avoid an even more costly problem if the rod actually breaks. I am not saying you have a bent rod because it is impossible for me to know but your detailed description and amount of water involved certainly makes it a possibility. You probably need to have a look.

that's what I'm worried about I'm not sure if its just the normal loud injectors and I'm over paranoid now that i found so much water in the plumbing. If i take everything down I'll do rods and pistons to go with it. I ran the car again after the post and let it idle for even longer, it did seem to settle down on the ticking noise and revved to 3k no problem. Really don't want to boost and get misfire's and dead pedal again or even worse.. Maybe log for knock ?
 
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