Expert: Sean Halliday - 9/22/2006

Question

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Followup To

Question -
I have a 93 integra 1.8 DOHC with a cold air intake. i was driving to chipotle and they had a ton of water in the parking lot. when i hit the water, i heard the water get sucked up like a vacuum. the car immediately died. towed it back to my garage. i took out the plugs and turned the engine over watching water spray like a fountain all over the garage. replaced the plugs, igniter, changed the oil, took off the intake, used the compressor to blow out the cylinders from the plug opening, and i added a isopropel water remover to the gas tank and a little bit in the engine. the car still won't start. what the hell is going on with it? what needs to be done?

Answer -
First off check for spark.Remove the plugs again and see if you still have water in the cylinders,i would leave the plugs out overnight and let the engine dry out,,basically it will have to dry out itself or just help it with the airline,,,blow any water off the electrics and anywhere it got into.You may have to remove the intake but if you wait it will eventually dry out.You can buy a carb cleaner which will dry any water it comes in contact with so spray some in the intake.DO NOT START  the car until this stuff drys out.As the carb cleaner increases the octane way over 200 which will damage your engine.So if you gotta spark then patience and drying and it will run.

It's not started in about a week. that's how long it's been. should i be getting 12v off of the distributor cap leads to the wires?i have full power in the distributor but i can't get a spark, i might not be doing it right. but i can't see it being difficult to get the plug to arc. is it necessary to remove the intake manifold in this situation? i've been reading and people keep talking about a hydrolock, but what i can get from what I've read is that the engine is seized up. and my engine is turning over so what are they talking about?

Answer
If you have no spark thats why it wont run.Also jack up the car and run any water out of the exhaust.Im pretty sure its well dried out but check it anyway.As for the distributor,water may have fried it so check the low and high output ratings,(you will need the manual as all cars are different),thats on the terminals,,,posts,,,,I think your best bet is to try a different distributor because i am pretty sure the water has shorted it beyond reuse,,,,they are very sensitive to oil and water,,,You dont really have to take off the manifold as you have already done so .Its just plain and simple electrics shorted out because it got wet,I believe hydro lock is too much compression because of water in the cylinders but thats when the head gasket blows but not in this situation as you have ran all the water out when you turned the engine over(spark plugs removed ).So try a different cap and distributor see what happens.....a used one from the scrap yard perhaps ?...it will always come in handy,, anyway if it doesnt work,get back to me and lemme know what you find,,