hydro lock info....

[DBrown]

ok, I just had a fun weekend helping a friend with this problem, so I thought I would share some info.

when doing deep water travels or just hitting an unexpected deep water hole.......if the truck shuts down in the middle of the run or imiediatly after, don't try to crank the motor right back up. what happens is water is sucked in threw the intake causing the combustion chaber to fill.....point being water does not compress. it will do many things like crack the block, bend rods, bend valves......get it?

if your truck does do this first check the air filter and box. if filter is soaked and box is full. dig deeper. such as is there evidence of water in the TB or intake? check the oil......is it over full or is there water in it? if yes to any of these questions, get ready because you are going to be here for a minute. pull all the plugs and check to see the condition...wet? dry? if wet while ALL the plugs are out of the motor crank the motor over and watch for water to spit out everywhere. if this happens you have just been hydro locked.......if you catch this in time you might drive your rig off the trail with no damage......if you sit and crank the crap out of you motor like an idiot you will probably have to call a tow truck and go junk yarding the next day to find another power plant.

problems you might have after cleaning out the motor might include water filled exhaust causing to much back pressure and a no start condition. basicly if you want to try this theory go clog your tail pipe and try to start your truck. it cant push air out so it will not start and you will foul the plugs trying.

I spent about 18 hrs bring a 99 ZR2 back to life this sat. so I figured I would give some tips while it was all fresh in my head. if y'all have any questions or comments bring them on because my friend had searched several forums looking for info before I got to his house the next moring and he lives an hour away. he learned alot while we basicly cut our hands all to hell removing his plugs several times trying to get it to start.

here is how to fix it if any one needs a basic list:

pull intake

clean and dry intake

install new air filter

change oil with cheap oil and filter (I recomend a brand like supertech $.98 a qt and under $2 for filter)

pull pluges

crank motor over without coil wire hooked up(water is going to spit every where just keep cranking untill none is comming out. there will still be a minimal amount in the chamber but not enough to hurt anything. you might want to squirt a little oil in there to lub the rings and chamber but not always nessary)

reinstall new plugs(use cheap plugs first, they will probably be fouled but might fire right off making the job faster)
when cranking water is going to start to pour out of the tail pipe....it is normal and it might take a minute for the motor to start to hit a lick

once it starts to fire if it hits but just dosen't start you should pull the plugs and inspect, are they soaked? if so dry them off and go again.

once you get the motor running, keep it running untill the motor can idle on its own. just don't bang it off the rev limiter ok?

while it is running watch the temp guage like a hawk!!!!if you craked the heads or the block you will have a larg increase in temp maybe even a quick spike so if this happens SHUT IT DOWN! you don't want to do any more damage then has already been done.

once it hits normal operating temp and stays for a while, give it some throttle while you have a friend watch the tail pipe. have him let you know when the pipe quits spitting water on short bursts of the throttle. this will let you know that your exhaust has emptied most of the slime that was in the water that you had in there.

now just play the waiting game watch the temp guage and wait for the exhaust to stop steaming and check all fluids.

now while the motor is hot change the oil. the cheap oil will grab all the old nasty oil along with the water you had in there so when you put the normal oil you were running in the first place it will be nice and fresh.

now that you have cursed you truck into eternal damnation go wheel it some more and just remember........all the other holes are ok to play in but the one you just went threw is not.

[ranger5.0]

Sounds like you have a little resentment from this weekend.

[DBrown]

not too bad, but this weekend was my first weekend unemployed and I was planning on going to play golf......but the guy I was going to play golf with was the friend I was helping so it's cool. we had alot of laughs while we were fighting the all day battle. the thing that sucked was it was 67* outside and it would have been a good day to hit some balls.