Hydrolocked 2004 Lincoln LS V8

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hicksw24

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Ok guys, Im a long time lurker here for small issues when they come up, but this is my first post.

Yesterday we had heavy heavy rain here in Jacksonville, FL and I went down a street that was flooded and got stuck. The street looked clear but obviously it wasnt. I stalled while knee deep in the water. Me not being a mechanic, tried to restart it which I think damaged it more. I tried that once before I got help pushing it to dry ground by some good folks.

Once I got the car to dry ground I tried it again and it wouldnt turn over. Ive ready enough to know that I should try to turn the flywheel? to check to see if its locked. The wheel turned with a little force, so I drained the oil and it was do do brown, water mixed in. I put new oil in and tried to start and it turned over and will stay started, but I hear this loud clicking noise from the engine.

Thats all I knew how to do as my mechanic skills arent very good, so I called to get engine pricing. Lincoln dealership told me 4700, and a private shop told me 24 with a 70k moter and 6 mo warrently on parts and one month on labor.

My question is - is there anything else I can try and is that a fair price? I cant afford the dealer so it would have to be the provate shop, but is that save for an ls engine.

All of your help is much appreciated.
 
Take it to a mechanic to figure out what the clicking noise is. Might not be the engine if you were really in 2-3 feet of water (knee-deep as you put it). It may be accessory bearings or something else. I would try looking at ALL the fluids, not just the engine oil too.

Worse case scenario is the engine and you already know what that costs. Depending upon the insurance you have you might be able to file a claim as well. Say it was a natural disaster and your car got flooded.

In the future, if you really think you got hydrolocked, you should pop the spark plugs out and then spin the engine over. This will suck all the water and everything out of the intake and blow it out without hurting the engine.
 
sbcaprice305 said:
My guess is bent valves.
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I've only been on these forums for a week and I can tell you already that if you have any problem that ever occurs on the LS it's the coils. Flat tire? - Change your coils. Overheating? Change your coils. Want to lower your car? Change the coils first. Effing coils... I'm gonna go out and buy like 40 of them just incase I have any issues I can change the coils first.
 
jjcool00 said:
i've only been on these forums for a week and i can tell you already that if you have any problem that ever occurs on the ls it's the coils. Flat tire? - change your coils. Overheating? Change your coils. Want to lower your car? Change the coils first. Effing coils... I'm gonna go out and buy like 40 of them just in case i have any issues i can change the coils first.
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Epic!!!!!
 
jjcool00 said:
I've only been on these forums for a week and I can tell you already that if you have any problem that ever occurs on the LS it's the coils. Flat tire? - Change your coils. Overheating? Change your coils. Want to lower your car? Change the coils first. Effing coils... I'm gonna go out and buy like 40 of them just incase I have any issues I can change the coils first.
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Do I smell a misquote?
 
Weird this thread turns up, I was randomly browsing YouTube last night and came across how to un-hydrolock a vehicle. Basically what Kumba said, remove the sparks (and coils) and turn the engine over, it will shoot the water out.


But yea not sure what the clicking is, how is it running?

Have you looked inside the spark wells?
 
Hopefully you are able to save the engine. Oil might need to be changed a few more times.

BTW the last time I had a window regulator break, I just changed the coils and vola. Window was fine after that. I keep a 7mm in the trunk lol.
 
Im going to pull the plugs in the morning, hopefully that will help as I really dont have that much to spend on this car. I didnt have full coverage, just liability, so insurance is out :(
 
Andrizzle said:
Weird this thread turns up, I was randomly browsing YouTube last night and came across how to un-hydrolock a vehicle. Basically what Kumba said, remove the sparks (and coils) and turn the engine over, it will shoot the water out.
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Had this happen to a buddy who tried to imitate a submarine in his truck. Luckily he gave up once the truck floated in a "puddle" :)

Basically we popped the plugs, spun it over a few dozen times, then spun it with the starter to pump air through the cylinders, let sit for a few hours to dry, reinstalled the plugs, changed oil, got it running, got it up to operating temperature, then changed the oil again.

Ran fine until he wrecked it 30K-mi later. He never was a bright guy, but good people :)

I would think that by the time the LS sucked water up the airbox, through the filter, and up the snorkel into the intake and down the chamber, that it would die from the vaccum created trying to pull enough water through the air filter to do that. I would look at other things first. If the car was really that deep in the water then it's hard telling what might be the issue. These things are all control by wire so you might have possible water intrusion on every connector below the water line. Might be worth have a code scanner hooked up and see what codes you get.

Plus, if you never popped the plugs but still got the car running then it's not really hydrolocking. It would take days for the water to bleed out of the cylinders enough to where you could spin the engine and you still wouldn't get it running without pulling the plugs and flushing the water out.
 
Ok guys, I pulled the plugs which was really difficult. Had to go buy a few extentions and a small enough wrench to reach that back cover screw, but 4 hours later, its done.

I tried to start and didnt notice water coming out. so I stopped trying. One thin I did notice was that when I peeked inside the spark plug well? the first lil piston or pump wasnt moving like the others. Any thoughts?
 
popped the plugs and dont see the first lil piston moving like the other 7. Could that be the issue? Can I fix it or is that a real mechanics job?

I also didnt see water shoot out once I tried to crank with plugs removed.
 
hicksw24 said:
popped the plugs and dont see the first lil piston moving like the other 7. Could that be the issue? Can I fix it or is that a real mechanics job?

I also didnt see water shoot out once I tried to crank with plugs removed.
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So, you broke a rod. (When my son did this in his truck, it threw the rod through the side of the block. At least the problem was obvious then.)

Lower end engine parts for the 3.9 are hard to get. You'd be better off to look for a whole engine now.
 
I just described the issue to a friends mechanic and he says its my head gasket likely, maybe a bent rod. He says he can fix it for 1300. I afraid of going through that if I need a new engine.
 
hicksw24 said:
I just described the issue to a friends mechanic and he says its my head gasket likely, maybe a bent rod. He says he can fix it for 1300. I afraid of going through that if I need a new engine.
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If the piston is not moving up and down, then the connecting rod between the piston and the crankshaft is broken, no ifs ands or buts. Yes, you may also have head gasket issues, but those won't keep the piston from moving.

If you are certain that the #1 piston is stationary, the engine is shot.
 
If you get lucky you might find a replacement rod out of another blown motor, then hope the piston is not screwed, and hope the cylinder did not get gouged. Installing would be a pain and costly though. Replacing with a low milage motor w warranty is the way to go.
 
If he busted the rod then I guess he did hydrolock the motor. That's usually what happens, the rods get bent or busted.

For future reference, when you can't tell how deep a puddle is, open your door as you drive through it. If the water starts to come up to the side skirts of the door, back up. It's too deep.
 
Geez, thank for all of your comments.

Does anyone have suggestions on where to find a good motor for a good price?
2004 Lincoln LSE V8
 
My first suggestion would be to create a post on here. There are a lot of times people will sustain damage to their vehicles and either part it out or sell the whole car cheap. I can recall off the top of my head one guy hitting a deer recently and offering to part out his car. I don't remember him sustaining any engine damage. Other than that, junkyards, craigslist (I know, I know), ebay, etc.
 
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