On the way to work i went though some high water (rain) and the engine stalled . I managed to get the car to a higher ground but could not start it again. (would not turn over). Air filters are wet and i am suspecting water in the engine..

What do i do now? I am going to get it towed into my garage but what is the next step??

Is my MAF, oxygen sensor, engine gone???

I have never experienced anything like that before so i need help..

PS. The inside of the car is not flooded...

 

I just helped a guy out a few months back with his Honda that sucked about 2 gallons of water through his cold air intake setup into his engine.
Here is what I did:
Disconnect battery
Remove all spark plugs (allows water in combustion area to drain)
Remove your Throtttle Body fromt he plenum and use a wet vac to remove any water remaing in the plenum or you can remove the runners to suck up any water left on the plenum and intake manifold,
Hand crank the engine about 2 turns slowly to allow remaining water in the combustion chamber to escape through spark plug hole.
You will already have water mixed in with your oil since you have tried to start your car. I would buy some cheap oil filter and oil and run the car a few minute then change the filter and oil. Keep doing this until you no water is left in the engine by checking the oil dipstick.

 

whats it sound like when the motor tries to turn over? Does the starter engage then not turn, or is there a complete lack of any starter action? water should have no real effect on the electrical system, with that breif amount of time. YOu could drop an entire car into a lake, have it completely submerged and the electrical would still work, at least until the battery went dead or the wires corroded.

Sounds like you hydra-locked the motor. If thats the case, pull the plugs, blow the water out and see what happens. theres a good chance you probably bent a rod or two. if it starts back up, and the motor vibrates all to hell, you've got rod problems..

 

That happened to my old 89 RS. I got stuck in a low lying area and it died there. Well, it kept raining and my car was flooded. I had water in the car. The water was up to the molding on the doors.

Well I towed it home, cleaned out the throttle body with some carb cleaner and the thing fired right up. It had to have been sitting in the water for at least four hours. Not saying it's the ideal thing to do but that's what happened to mine. I had water shooting out of my exhaust. It ran fine for years after that too.

 

Well i have taken the plugs out and tried to turn it - nothing
I tried turning it by hand (both directions) - would not turn
It is jammed up pretty good.

I think the engine is shot. I wonder if my insurance would cover the repairs.


Thanks everyone for help..

 

they'll only cover it if you have full coverage, and if it isn't a certain amount of years old. i tried that on my 1990 iroc-z when i blew my engine... i had full coverage on it, but the cost of an engine rebuild was more than the car was worth. sorry to hear about your car man... but before you get all depressed about your car, how does it sound when you try to crank it up? my friend the other day ran in a puddle and fried his starter... wouldn't even make a noise... just a thought for ya

 

It won't even crank by hand with the plugs out.
I will phone my insurance company right now and see what they say. I do have full coverage..Thanks ***..

 

Good news. The insurance company will replace my engine with a rebuild one that comes with 3 year warranty for free..

This will be exactly same engine..

I can't wait to get my baby back..

Thanks to those that responded..

 

Good news that you’re insurance will replace the engine. Planning on doing anything to the new engine?

 

Glad to see your insurance company is going to step up to the plate for you. You don't here that everyday.

 

Make sure you get THE SAME ENGINE.... roller block, 081 heads NOT swirl-ports, flat-top pistons NOT dished, etc. You don't want to turn in a LB9 core and get back a L03.

 

I talked to them on that and they say that it is going to be exactly same engine.. Don't worry i am still going to take the valve covers off to see the head casting numbers..

As for the mods i am thinking of switching to synthetic oil ( if you can call that a mod ) and that is it for now.

I will let you know when i bring the car home..

 

Why not keep your dead motor? Then if there are any 'problems' with whats on the new motor, you have your old, good parts.

If nothing else, you have a parts engine.

 

I have to send my old engine back. It is part of the deal i guess.

I would be nice to keep it but they would probably take me to court....

 

Don't send it back, until you verify the piston design, casting numbers, etc.

It is near certain that you'll get something like "well, you had a 305, we bought you a 305"; all 305s aren't the same.

 

How can i verify the piston design without taking the heads off???

 

That is the only way to know for sure. Just like if they were replacing your rear end, the only way to know you are getting the same gears is to take off the cover and look.

 

Today i went to the dealership because they said the car will be ready today. The mechanic was still working on the car so i had a chance to see the new engine..

Both valve covers were off and i though i check the head casting#. When i looked at the number i could not believe what i saw.. The engine came with the 187 crappy TBI heads.

I talked to the manager and i told him that i will not be signing any papers..I am thinking that the cam is also from a TBI..

Are the pistons the same for a TPI and TBI??

 

Just look in a spark plug hole and see if they're flat-tops.

That's exactly what I was warning against. Now if your old engine is gone, you can't even get your old heads worked and swap them over. Basically you just got the shaft. That's how those things work.

Talk to the manager and BE SURE your old engine doesn't leave the shop until the new one has the right heads on it, and the right ROLLER cam in it.

Problem is, you created the covered loss yourself, so it's a little like being at-fault in a wreck, and demanding that your insurance company restore your car perfectly. You may find that your policy diesn't give you quite as much say in how your car gets fixed, when the loss is self-inflicted.

Don't let your old engine leave that shop.

Oh, and did I mention; make sure the shop keeps your old engine? That way, worst case, they can jam that rebuilder turd in there, and you can pay the core charge, and at least keep your premium parts, and maybe make one decent engine out of the 2.

 

Hand-cuff your self to the old engine if you have to, untill you get your good parts (or at least the same parts as what you had) on the new engine!!!

 

This happen to my car at one time. But I wasnt driving, it was parked in the driveway. I have the edelbrock elite air cleaner and my firebird has the power bulge hood. The rubber behind that black peice on the power bulge hood was pretty old and crusty, one day it decides to let water drip through onto the flat top air cleaner. Since the original wing nut on the air cleaner didnt fit I had a regular nut on there which allowed a small... SMALL! Space for water to continue to travel down into the engine. When I went to start it all I heard was a "CLANK!" so I was like wtf? pop the hood and see the water.... Pulling the plugs and cranking the engine over, then getting a jump to crank some more took awhile but it got all the water out. Needless to say... fun suprise.. e.e lol its kinda funny to me now because it didnt affect the engine's performance or damange it in anyway. I guess I was just lucky to flush the water out asap. Good luck with your insurance man!

 

Update..

I need to find a web site somewhere where the dealer can crossmatch my old head number 081 with a GM part number..

The manager there said that they don't have the reference material only those part numbers.. He is saying that 081 number is not a part number..

In order for me to get that TBI engine taken out is to have a reference material that would show that it is not a TPI engine..

I also talked to the rebuild engine company and they say that this engine is for a 89 camaro.. I told them it is for a TBI code E and not for LB9 code f..

I must prove that they are wrong or i will end up with the crappy TBI and that is not acceptable.

Please help...

 

maybe you can show them the RPO code in your car that says you have a LB9 and force them to give you the exact same engine? i dunno... just a thought

 

Good idea.

 

Good idea.

 

After spending some time searching the web i finally found this site

http://www.chevy-camaro.com/chevy-ca...s.asp?group=10

This better work.. Could somebody with a TPI or TBI confirm if this info is correct..


This would really help me out..

Thanks

 

First of all the whole Number for the heads you want is: 14101081
The PN for the heads you don't want is :14102187

Make sure they're looking up the whole number and not just part.

Look at this page and you'll see it lists both with thier application:
http://www.cehighperformance.com/new_page_3.htm

 

Man, you saved my life. Thanks for the great tink.. This will do it..

I will update Monday..

Thansk to all

 

This is another site i found that actually list the original Gm part # for heads. Too bad there aren't casting number on there.



http://www.usol.com/~okfoz/89/89technical.htm