Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Hydrolocked my engine with dealer plates still on...

66K views 196 replies 63 participants last post by  little_Jeep 
#1 ·
So here's my story. I was out playing around in puddles...really nothing big at all. On my way out I made one final run, a little water splashed on the hook and the engine died. I still have the dealer plates on her and they towed me, after my friends got me out of the water, to the dealership. I've read some of the threads and seen some people say that it was covered by Jeep for the repairs. I have a video of my final death run and it shows I was not exceeding the limits of "the most capable offroad vehicle". She's a stock JK Rubi and can climb anything I point her at...water seems to be an issue. I would love to hear any thoughts on this, what it could be, best wat to prevent it (what is the best snorkel?) and if anyone has had this happen and had it covered by warranty I'd really love to hear from you so I can have a little ammo when I go in to fight them.
 
#85 ·
I to, would like a snorkel. But I also want to retain the stock airbox and filter. I always regretted the day that I stepped from stock to a snorkel on my TJ. I went with Volant because they included an enclosed airbox of their own, I just was never satisfied with the cone filter. I also hated how the darn thing always seemed to be in the way. If I wanted a light bar or a rack, forget it, wouldn't fit anymore. I am trying to come up with my own solution to this problem, but it's tough.
 
#89 ·
ok, I watched the video a couple of times. It looks like the first puddle was the culprit (IMO). It looks like you hit it way too fast. So have you or the dealership had a chance to look into it? I would be really surprised if you actually did a large amount of internal damage. Like others mentioned, if it truly was "hydroLOCKED", you wouldn't even be able to try to crank it over. It is possible that you have a wet air filter that is choking out the air flow or that you got some sort of electrical component wet that shorted out. Possibly in or around your coil pack.

So have you heard anything from the dealership? Did you open up your air box to take a look inside?
 
#91 ·
ok, I watched the video a couple of times. It looks like the first puddle was the culprit (IMO). It looks like you hit it way too fast. So have you or the dealership had a chance to look into it? I would be really surprised if you actually did a large amount of internal damage. Like others mentioned, if it truly was "hydroLOCKED", you wouldn't even be able to try to crank it over. It is possible that you have a wet air filter that is choking out the air flow or that you got some sort of electrical component wet that shorted out. Possibly in or around your coil pack.

So have you heard anything from the dealership? Did you open up your air box to take a look inside?
Without knowing what damage was found, this is hard to say. It only takes a small amount of water to cause a rod, valve, or other internal part to bend. It doesn't need to break to cause the death of an engine. A little water can cause the piston to get ****eyed in the cylinder, causing a scar in the wall. Once this happens, the death of the engine is just a matter of time. Of course, the OP would be happy if his engine isn't damaged.....
 
#93 ·
I would have never shown that video to the service manager at a Jeep dealership.
 
#95 ·
We were discussing this issue on another forum and wonder if the airbox placement on the JK is just enough forward from where the airbox is on a TJ that it causes a problem. Now keep in mind, none of us own a JK, so we are using a photo of the JK engine compartment for the basis of our discussion. Where is the opening in the JK airbox?
 
#99 ·
Reading this thread I'm thinking I was lucky on the day that my avatar pic was taken!
(and by the way that was at the Jeep Owners playground on the rocks and road tour)
 
#100 ·
I was just on Jeep's website again, the promo video that they play when you click on the "capability" link shows several Jeeps throwing the exact same amount of water, if not more, over, and over again...
Might be a little ammo if someone were to screencap it, or link to it.

Not sure how long this link it going to be good, but here it is..

http://www.jeep.com/en/jeep_capabilities/trail_rated/

Please explain to me what part of that is as slow as possible, but as fast as neccesary? I call BS.
 
#101 ·
i just watched the vid, idk that seems like the jk should be fine, i got a 4cyl yj and i blast through water up to my bumper at easily twice that fast and have never had issues
 
#109 ·
Like I said, I'm watching this discussion on another forum as well. It does seem that I have heard more about Jeepers with hydro locked engines since the JK's have been out than I ever did in the past. The fact than a TJ or YJ owner did this or that, isn't an issue. We are talking about JK's. Why are so many JK's being hydro locked? It could be new inexperienced off-road drivers, it could be the differences in air box location and design, or it could be a combination of issues. One item discussed on the other forum is that the JK engine is not a Jeep engine. It is a mini van engine placed in a Jeep. I don't know much about the JK's. but I know that if I am trail guiding a group, I want to know more about these JK's and the hydro lock issue before doing a water crossing.
 
#103 ·
I can not believe that your jeep died doing that. It didn't even look close to being too fast to me. I've seen way worse entries, in way deeper water. I agree, the jeep commercials show a bigger splash. Good luck getting it fixed.
 
#104 ·
I was thinking I was not going too fast either. I am dealing with the insurance agency right now and discussing a Hemi swap. I'm also talking to a local shop that can do it to get a price quote. AEV is wanting 23K after I ship it to them. I can't quite justify that. I am going to go to the dealer once more with some of the videos they show and present my case one more time. After that I guess the only thing I can do, besides contact the main offices is to help out other people to avoid this exact thing from happening to them.
 
#105 ·
You could try another dealer too. A second opinion on what's wrong with it is not a bad idea.
 
#106 ·
Same thing happened to my friends Rubicon. This is what he did. Cleaned everything up then took it to a Jeep dealership after it rained and said he hit a puddle while driving. It ended up going through his car insurance and not the fault of Jeep or any warranty issue. His car insurance paid for a NEW engine without any questions and he only had to pay the deductible.
Is there another Jeep dealership in town?
 
#108 ·
I am lost by this line of thinking. If warranty doesn't cover it, warranty doesn't cover it... Dealer doesn't make the rules. Getting a second opinion on the damage is never a bad idea. However, if you are going to file an insurance claim, you can be fairly confident that the insurance company is not going to pay to replace/rebuild an engine until they know that is what is needed. The REAL question is, do you feel confident with this dealer's ability to correctly fix your Jeep as you are going to have to live with it and this dealer once the repairs are done.
 
#110 ·
wonder if something like this would of prevented this

Northridge4x4 Jeep Parts: Air Filters & Intake Systems

Just need a material that will let air through but prevent splashes from soaking the intake. Might not be a bad idea to wrap something like this over the intake opening where the water would most likely splash in.
 
#112 ·
Im gonna put a cheesecloth over my intake!
Now you guys are thinking....... Here is a question for all JK owners or others who feel that JK's may have a problem with design / location of the airbox.

**IF** this appears to be an airbox design/location issue, is there a cheap / easy modification (short of snorkel) that can be done to make JK less hydro-lock prone?
 
#116 ·
Oh i agree... I would do my best to check everything out for signs of damage, maybe even drop the pan and see...

at the least, draining the oil will let you know if water actually got in the engine or not, right?

If the inside of the air box is dry and there is no signs of sand/mud remnants, then you have a pretty decent indication that water didn't get in through the intake.

I bet we are just going to find out that this was an electrical issue.
 
#125 ·
Oh i agree... I would do my best to check everything out for signs of damage, maybe even drop the pan and see...

at the least, draining the oil will let you know if water actually got in the engine or not, right?

If the inside of the air box is dry and there is no signs of sand/mud remnants, then you have a pretty decent indication that water didn't get in through the intake.

I bet we are just going to find out that this was an electrical issue.
I get the feeling that the OP didn't look for or didn't know what to look for as far as signs of water ingestion. I could be wrong, but I suspect this to be the situation. I'm like you, I would love to have been able to take a look see under the hood of this Jeek. It sucks that it happened, but hopefully, this will all lead to helping other Jeepers prevent damaging their engine.
 
#133 ·
Kind of makes you wonder why there's so much leeway on modified vehicles and warranty repairs...
I see your point and understand why the dealer does what they do and with this engine, I can definitely see them getting busted when you lay it out the way you did.
I would really like to hear more info on the vehicle in question....
 
#134 ·
The leeway on modified vehicles is much much harder to get busted on. First off the dealership would not warranty a non factory part so they are not going to be replacing extended sway bar links that are worn, or after market control arms ect.... They may repair some broken axles, worn bearings, anything else that is not modded as long as the failure "could appear to be a defect in materials or worksmanship of the factory part". The mfg has no way to know what vehicles are modified because they are not on the ground 100% of the time, if the dealership decided to omit this info the mfg will never know.
 
#135 ·
#137 ·
SO did the OP get it fixed?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top