# 2.5 hydrolock



## cracKness (Feb 20, 2007)

Short story: 

Torrential downpour, water about 3-4 inches above door line (stock 15 in steelies,h&r springs, Koni yellows), water in intake = engine hydrolocked. Do I have options past "replace your engine?" 

Thanks.


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## thygreyt (Jun 7, 2009)

texted.

here is the thread i told you about

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4977652-Possible-Hydrolock


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

Pull the plugs and crank it over. Drape some towels because its going to be a geyser. Do this on the spot, don't wait. Any damage to the motor is not my fault, proceed at own risk.


FYI everyone else is telling you "it doesn't take that much water" but it actually takes about a teaspoon of water to hydrolock an engine if it gets in the right place.


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

That totaly blows man, my buddy with a pretty nice low milage Mk4 Gti just did the same thing to his engine the last time we had that bad storm in PA. He drove through some water thinking it wasnt that deep and it ended up coming up to the top of his bumper. CAI sucked it right up and the car shut off, never to start again. Insurance is now replacing his entire motor with a better used one but hes selling the car after that. Never mess around with water on the road, especially when you got a CAI. Id say youre better off looking for a used motor cause I dont think theres too much else you can do.


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## cracKness (Feb 20, 2007)

Yeah, im a bit depressed about it but what's done is done. Not sure if insurance is going to do anything for me, but at this point im not sure if they'll dislike me trying to fix it (pumping out the water, etc) before they take a look at it if they even pay for any of it. Did find out after getting home last night that there was a national flood advisory for coral springs, so that might help.

Ill keep you guys updated.

Btw tay272: did your friend have his stock airbox on when insurance people went to take a look at it? Im just shy of 60k miles, and still have full cover.


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## splatmatic (Sep 23, 2008)

I drowned my rabbit a month ago when I went over a blind crest and drove through a 5" inch puddle. As other say, take the spark plugs out and crank it over. The process will take awhile to get it running.. But my car is still running like a champ, 2,000mls later


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## GTi R Enigma (Aug 16, 2011)

My buddy did thesame thing with his Honda. His insurance payed for repairs. He picked up a new engine from an Integra and did a swap. Little money out of his pocket. Only paid deductible. Just let it be and maybe you can swap..lol if your manual that is.

Also if you try to fix it your self you run the risk of damaging the engine more. Bending valves or pistons. If you haven't already. You won't know until you pull the block apart. If you think you fixed it without examining the internals you could throw a rod or something worse later.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk


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## kevin splits (Aug 23, 2010)

If insurance does nothing for you pull plugs and crank.


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

Lol the definitive insurance scam to get your timing chain fixed, submerge 2.5 cold air intake in a bucket of water and hit the gas. no more timing chain problem :laugh:


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## cracKness (Feb 20, 2007)

Timing chain? My rabbit ran like a top :/

I would like some advice regarding cai or stock airbox...


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

Im pretty sure he took the CAI off his engine and put the stock airbox back on before they came to look at it. Not positive on that tho but I can ask him and see.


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## cracKness (Feb 20, 2007)

I figured as much... luckily a bud that's like a brother recommended a shop he and his father have frequented for years, and they're taking care of it for me. My ins. co apparently has a ton of claims because they can't get someone to even call me about it till Tuesday...

Yesterday when I went to take a look at it (Spent all of Saturday as a groomsman for another bud's wedding), found water in the car, so it's going to be more than just engine problems. Not sure how bad though, had it towed today there doesn't see to be a battery drain so maybe my electrical components are somewhat safe. Stinks like a mofo though...


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

Damn man, **** just keeps piling up for you. Hopefully nothing on the interior is damaged and its just alittle wet. Best of luck brother:thumbup:.


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

That car's interior is ****ed. It needs to be cleaned with an extractor and dryed out with the ozone purifier machine. Water damage is no joke, during Katrina there was a HUUUUUGE problem with new cars flooding the states (being sold as brand new) that people didn't realize had water damage until thousands of miles later.

The electrical components will be fine, as they're not mounted anywhere where water can't drain off of them. Its not like this thing sat under water for weeks. Its just a quick dip right?

You can easily check if you just use an ammeter to check for parasitic drains at the battery. Keep in mind your interior lights will draw some amperage if they're on! :laugh: If anything is shorting out it will be pretty obvious checking the fuses and battery draw.


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## cracKness (Feb 20, 2007)

tay272 said:


> Damn man, **** just keeps piling up for you. Hopefully nothing on the interior is damaged and its just alittle wet. Best of luck brother:thumbup:.


I know  but there's nothing else I can do for now, just wait and see what's the deal. Thanks for the kind words :thumbup:

Tchilds: That's what I'm afraid of :/ I don't think seats got wet (rails probably did), but the Airbag wiring has been a bitch with these cars and I'm dead certain this won't help. I think either way I'm screwed whether it's totaled or fixed, cuz i know it'll never be or run the same. 

Life goes on. At least one small good thing came of this: I got to drive a friend's 20th Anniversary GTI. Either it's severely underrated in the power dept. or I'm a really bad judge of power - either way, I was impressed...


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## cracKness (Feb 20, 2007)

An Update:

Got a call from the adjuster - they're replacing my engine with one of the same model year, with less miles (supposedly 46k), and doing a full detail inside. Everything else apparently checked out fine.

I'm gonna see if what all comes with the replacement engine, and all the details to make sure everything's legit (make sure it's an 07 for ecu purposes, etc), and hopefully see if I can get a clutch change while the engine is out of the car to save some money. Anything else you guys can recommend I look for/at/get taken care of while the engine is out? 

And yeah, I'm guilty of searching the forum for eurojet headers... :laugh: I'm trying to keep a positive outlook, and hopefully this is a good sign...


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## KAKASHIxRABBIT (Sep 20, 2010)

I have my CAI coming in next week. Should i be running it threw winter? I live in chicago so in can be pretty rough out here?

Thanks!


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

Glad to hear that your getting everything taken care of crackness. Kakashi, I wouldnt worry too much about the winter time with your CAI. Ive had one on my car since I bought and went through 2 winters with no problems so far. Just make sure if your plowing through some hefty snow that whenever you stop, clear out any snow that might be in your lower grille so that its still getting decent airflow. This will also help keep any water from getting to it if that snow melts and then sits inside the grille.


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## KAKASHIxRABBIT (Sep 20, 2010)

thanks man!:beer: im at stock height too, so it shouldn't be too troublesome.


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

No prob, still gotta watch out for deep puddles and stuff if the roads are slushy but just avoid them as much as possible and youll be fine. You should also clean your filter or buy a new one after every winter.


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## cracKness (Feb 20, 2007)

Yeah, everything turned out better than I expected. I ran my CAI for 3-4 years (since the Late Night Tuning CAI was released for those that remember that fly by night company lol) in south florida without issue. That night there was a flash flood warning for my area by the NWS and cars with stock everything were getting stuck, so I'm pretty confident that regardless of CAI or not, I would've gotten stuck.

Now, because I'm paranoid, I've shortened it up a little and am just going with a short ram intake setup. But your mileage will vary.


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