Hydrolocked motor; need help. NOW WITH VIDEO (post #16)

[Exploder'02]

Hydrolocked motor; need help.

Hello guys!

2002 Ford Explorer SPORT (so 2nd gen Explorer chassis)
4.0l V6 4x4

Went through a sloppy mud hole, and stalled out the motor. Tried to restart the motor, and it wouldn't crank. So me and my buddies pulled it out and removed all the spark plugs like you're supposed to do, and tried to start it up. It turned over for a second and spewed out water, but stopped cranking. Then, we tried to stick a wrench on the harmonic balancer and crank the motor, but still wouldn't budge.

So my question to you guys is:
Is there a safety mechanism preventing turnover when the motor takes on water that I should know about before I write this off as total engine failure?

And if there is such a device, how do we reset it?

Thank you.

 

[FIND]

I'm sorry, but there is no such device.

 

[jremington59]

The oil should have been drained as soon as possible. Sounds like she's seized up.

 

[boominXplorer]

Time for new engine, its gone

 

[MountainSplorer]

You probably have more then water in there and sand and mud in your engine isn't good at all, you coated your entire intake system with it as well, if it won't move, then your done, def new engine time. Any reason why you went through a hole so high of water with out a snorkel?

 

[99SportX]

You weren't able to turn it by hand even with the plugs out? That sounds expensive...

 

[Sedition]

Surviving Hydrolock

I have hydrolocked my motor before so I can probably help you out. Firstly I will ask you some questions:

Did you try moving the crank in both directions, clockwise and anticlockwise?

Do you have the SOHC v6 motor?

Think back to when you pulled the plugs out then hit the starter. At any time while cranking did you hear a plastic snapping, cracking or crunching sound? (This is what happened to my motor)

How long did the engine crank for before it stopped?

Did the cranking slowly get tight and then stop or was it more abbrupt?

Have you got your truck home yet to work on it?

 

[Exploder'02]

You probably have more then water in there and sand and mud in your engine isn't good at all, you coated your entire intake system with it as well, if it won't move, then your done, def new engine time. Any reason why you went through a hole so high of water with out a snorkel?

I had been thru much much deeper water (over the hood) before with no problems. This time, my luck ran out I guess.

I have hydrolocked my motor before so I can probably help you out. Firstly I will ask you some questions:

Did you try moving the crank in both directions, clockwise and anticlockwise?

Do you have the SOHC v6 motor?

Think back to when you pulled the plugs out then hit the starter. At any time while cranking did you hear a plastic snapping, cracking or crunching sound? (This is what happened to my motor)

How long did the engine crank for before it stopped?

Did the cranking slowly get tight and then stop or was it more abbrupt?

Have you got your truck home yet to work on it?

We only cranked it clockwise.

Yep, SOHC.

It cranked for what was probably less than one full turn over. Heard no sound of crunching. It stopped very abruptly.

The truck is parked at a buddy's shop right now.

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

That sounds like a bent rod to me. The cylinder that tried to compress the water bent it's rod. When you pulled the plugs, it allowed the cylinder to move far enough until the bent rod hit the side of the block, again seizing the motor.

 

[Sedition]

It does sound like a bent rod although, I would try turning the crank the other way just incase it's timing chain guide related. This will hopefully clear the timing chain guide debris if any from in between timing chains and sprockets.

I will ask you this one last question, this will most likely confirm a bent rod: When you first tried to start your truck immediately after hydrolock, how long did you hold the key in the "start position" for, and how many times?

 

[MountainSplorer]

I had been thru much much deeper water (over the hood) before with no problems. This time, my luck ran out I guess.



We only cranked it clockwise.

Yep, SOHC.

It cranked for what was probably less than one full turn over. Heard no sound of crunching. It stopped very abruptly.

The truck is parked at a buddy's shop right now.

Well that sucks I guess it will just be an expensive repair. Look into a snorkel if you offload that much a300 dollar accessory can save u thousands in a new engine next time. Hope you can find a good used SOHC for it. Keep us posted.

 

[buckwill]

from another member,, told me to definetly NOT to turn motor backwards,, it causes SOHC cam to skip timing,, both guys told me they did it and had to pull motor,, one to change buncha valves,, other to retime hains,,,, if it wont turn one way, it most likely wont do much good to turn it backwards,,,, nothing larg can get into timing chains from mudhole dive,

 

[Sedition]

nothing larg can get into timing chains from mudhole dive,

Nothing large except the timing chain guides themselves.

 

[Sedition]

I would drop the lower oil pan.

 

[FIND]

I'd have to agree on the bent rod. If it were the guides, it would have lugged down heavily as it was stopping instead of stopping abruptly like he described. Drop the pan to verify, but, I'm fairly certain you are going to be motor shopping. For the future, snorkles are cheap and easy to make, and give your truck a little extra credibility when others see it at the mudhole. Good luck with it and let us all know how your truck turns out.

 

[Exploder'02]

It does sound like a bent rod although, I would try turning the crank the other way just incase it's timing chain guide related. This will hopefully clear the timing chain guide debris if any from in between timing chains and sprockets.

I will ask you this one last question, this will most likely confirm a bent rod: When you first tried to start your truck immediately after hydrolock, how long did you hold the key in the "start position" for, and how many times?

Fortunately, my buddy was actually filming when it all happened. He just uploaded the footage.

Here is a video of the exact instant the motor took on water. I probably tried to crank it several times after it took water.

http://s423.photobucket.com/albums/...on=view&current=video-2012-04-21-12-58-56.mp4

 

[Bruces expo]

Ouch , Your Poor Motor never Stood a chance To That Big Of A Puddle , Good Luck With The Fix , and Keep It Posted On Here !

 

[Exploder'02]

Whats crazy is that I've been through water well over the hood, and never had any problems. This water never went above the bumper. I guess it was just how it splashed into the intake

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

Also being heavy on the throttle helps to suck it in. The stock air box is notorious for sucking water.

 

[2000StreetRod]

going fast instead of slow

The water was not very deep and if you were going slowly you would not have damaged the engine but may have gotten stuck in the mud.