Car water damage? Any ideas?

Question

Northern Ireland had seriously heavy rain on Sat and it hasnt really relented since. I ended up driving it it on Saturday when it was really lashing. I didnt drive it yesterday, when I went out this morning the engine made worrying sounds when I turned the ignition on so I decided not to chance it. Its been raining solidly all day, when I try to turn it on, she wont start at all

Any ideas what the damage could be? Is it just a case of waiting until she dries out a bit?

Answer 1

Could be just damp

or

As you've tried to start it you may have ingested water into the cylinders which could have damaged the engine.

Answer 2

let it dry out.

Answer 3

i no that rain was terrible!! listen, if you drove into water then your engine has sucked it up like a vacuum cleaner!! when an engine ingests water, it cant be compressed so the engine bends the connecting rods (scrap engine), it would probably  save time and money just to get a new engine rather than buying con rods and rebuilding the engine!! take the air filter out an see if its wet this is proof it has sucked in water! drying it out wont help this! let me know how you get on

Answer 4

When the engine gets wet it stops the electrics functioning properly. So let it dry out and should work. Happened to me when I steam cleaned the engine bay.,.,

Answer 5

It could be you've got enough water in there to bollix up the ignition.  Yes, letting it sit to dry out ought to get things going again.  If you can't wait that long, you can try spraying down all the electric bits under the hood with a liberal dose of WD-40.  Even pull the plug wires and give a shot inside the wire boots, and inside the distributor cap too.

I know it sounds corny, but it's worked for me in the past.  The WD does stand for Water Displacement after all.  Give it a go; if it doesn't work you're only ought a couple pounds and now your ignition wires are all nice and slick.

Answer 6

As said  RE/ within the Engine check the oil, Is there water in the sump? If so, drop the oil.

Answer 7

no damage...its just wet/damp....open the bonnet when its sunny...remove 1 spark plug lead at a time and spray with wd40 water repellent...also spray the coil/plugs/dissy etc...in fact eveything umder the bonnet.

Answer 8

Time for good old WD-40......    Spray liberally on the spark plug wires and distributor housing.    If it's easy to do pop the distributor top and spray liberally with the WD-40.    This will dry out the wires and distributor by displacing the water.

WD-40 is sold in the states as a lubricating spray.   For which it truly sucks since it will evaporate pretty quickly.   It smells like kerosene.  The original name actually came from this  WD is Water Displacing and the 40 was for formula 40.......

It will free up some stuck rusty nuts and bolts and quiet some squeaks but not for long.  In a pinch it's a good bug and tar remover or label remover like Goo Gone.

I used to carry a can with me all the time.  Had a 1968 Firebird that was a moisture grabber and I'd wash the engine at the car wash.  If it got wet in the car wash or from driving through a big puddle the old can of WD-40 always saved my butt.

Good luck

RoyG

KC