"Hydro-Lock":Anybody know what this guy's talking about

HI Allan,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolock

Taken from above link on Wikipedia :

Hydrolock
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In automotive terminology, as to reciprocating piston internal combustion engines, a hydrolock (short for hydraulic lock) is the immobilization of an engine's pistons by a liquid (usually water, hence the prefix "hydro-"). Hydrolocking occurs when any liquid is present in the engine's cylinder on the intake stroke and, due to the incompressibility of the liquid, makes the compression stroke impossible. This, in turn, prevents the entire engine from turning, and can cause significant engine damage if one attempts to forcibly turn over or start the engine. Typically, connecting rods will be bent, making the engine uneconomical to repair.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Military MultiFuel Engines Especially Susceptable
* 2 Causes
* 3 Treatment
* 4 Steam Engines
* 5 SeaFoam
* 6 External links

[edit] Military MultiFuel Engines Especially Susceptable

Military MultiFuel fuel-injected engines operate on very high compression ratios: thus making it possible to run on jet fuel and peanut oil. Water in the fuel supply, if not properly removed by the fuel filter, or if the fuel filter is not drained, can hydrolock an engine. The cranking power of the military multifuel engine is so strong that cracking the cylinderhead or even the engine block is mor than likely - it is virtually certain.

[edit] Causes

It is relatively common when driving through floods, either where the water is above the level of the air intake or the vehicle's speed is excessive, creating a tall bow wave.

Another reason for it to occur is in the event of the head gasket cracking or "blowing", which causes the radiator coolant to mix inside the combustion chamber.

[edit] Treatment

Regardless of the cause, treatment is the same. Removal of the spark plugs will allow access to the combustion chamber. By inserting an irrigation syringe fitted with a flexible plastic tube on the end, you can suck out the liquid that infiltrated the combustion chamber. Once all the fluid is removed, the chamber should be sprayed with a liberal coating of a water displacing lubricant such as WD-40, and allowed to sit until the remaining water has evaporated. Once the water or coolant has been removed, inspect the combustion chamber for rust. The best option would be to remove the head, but a borescope or small flashlight and mirror will also work. Light surface rust will be normal, but if you see any heavy corrosion, it should be gently removed, and vacuumed out of the chamber. After inspection, pour a tablespoon of assembly lube (such as Marvel Mystery Oil) or clean engine oil into each combustion chamber. Attach a socket to the crankshaft, and slowly rotate the engine through a few revolutions. (Make sure that you turn the engine in the proper direction, see a service manual for proper rotation direction.) If you hear any clanking, or harsh scraping, you should bring the engine to a competent mechanic. After verifying that the remaining systems are free of water (electrical, fuel delivery, air intake, distributor, etc.), re-install the spark plugs and wires, and attempt to start the engine.

[edit] Steam Engines

A hydraulic lock can also occur in the cylinder of a steam locomotive and is both damaging and dangerous, because a broken connecting rod can puncture the firebox or cause a derailment. Steam locomotive cylinders are always fitted with cylinder drain cocks which can be opened by the driver to release condensed steam.

[edit] SeaFoam

Some people have stated they think Seafoam can Hydro lock their motors. Used correctly this cannot happen. When drawn through an intake vacuum hose into the intake, and dispersed with air amongst all the cylinders, there will not be enough liquid in any one cylinder to cause enough incompressibility. For example, a Ford 4.6 liter V8 can hold (up to) 575 milliliters of fluid in each cylinder. 1/3 of a 16 ounce bottle of Seafoam is 158 milliliters.

[edit] External links

* Hydrolock description

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolock"
Categories: Engine technology

kind regards Aamir

 

Hmmmm reading that - I think stay away - unless you want a nice Ornament especially if someone has tried to force things a little.

Such a pity looked like a nice car - will this be a barn find in 50 years time? or will someone mechanically minded grab a bargain?

 

Red flag count:

#1 is The Hook

#2 is the "I dunno nuthin'" ploy

#3 I'm not up on CA law... is this legal?

#411 I can't wait to hear the directions through the maze of dark alleys, the list of passwords, the approved-clothing list, and the do-not-make eye-contact rules... OK maybe I'm going way too far.





ebay seller deals with radios, laptops, various Mazda parts, used Monte Carlos, etc. They're legit (possible hijacked account aside...) but they obviously don't move in these circles or they would have a full report from a shop, ANY shop, on the poor F-car's maladies.

I submit that it is entirely possible that they lucked into an abused Ferrari, but don't / can't put the $$$$$ into fixing it.

It's probably just a blown motor, not hydrolocked.

To my understanding the Wiki notes are correct. It takes a LOT of liquid right into the intake path to ruin (and ruin it certainly does) a modern motor. Basically, you have to drive the car into the river... or the flood.

If anyone's up for a project car, NOT an investment vehicle, and it's not a flood car, then it sounds like fun.
I would love to tear apart a poor 456, pick up a lightly used motor from a breaker's yard, maybe tweak a few things, and then drive the snot out of it.

Too bad the opening bid is too high... the market hasn't been kind to these Gran Turismo machines in nice shape let alone messed up ones.

- Josh

 

Note the paper on the floor in one of the shots. I suspect that a mechanic placed it there and provided an estimate to fix whatever is actually wrong and the owner has chosen not to invest. Probably wouldn't worry a lot about protecting carpets if the car had been in a flood. Hard to tell from those pics, but I suspect that the car is otherwise in decent shape. It's a stick, so it should have some value as a fixer, but I agree that the minimum bid is way too high, given the uncertainty over the cost to repair. Gotta love the consumer friendly attitude of the seller. A 3 hour window to view the car on one day? Best of luck to him.

 

Looks like a car that would be best priced "by the pound"

 

You do not necessarily have to drive straight into a river or flood to hydro-lock. Many people with cold air intakes on their cars have hydrolocked by driving into a deep puddle while still on the gas, thus sucking the water in_-

 

If the engine is indeed hydro locked, it begs the question how. I'm not totally sure where the air intakes are on this car but i would assumes they aren't anywhere that low. A really deep puddle wouldn't do that sort of damage. More than likely the engine is blown but if it is hydra locked, it's more than likely been in a flood. Anyway, the car is best avoided unless the next owner has the time and resources to install a new engine.

 

I agree with you, but that's mainly because most cold air kits have low mounted snorkels. It doesn't make sense that it would happen like that in this case.

 

Hydrolocking is VERY rare unless:

1) Someone drives through deep standing water.

2) A cold-air intake is installed and placed in a way that scoops water up to surround the filter. This can happen, especially in sports cars with low ground clearance and modifications. The C5 Corvettes had a manfacturer of cold air kits that discontinued them after about two or three cars experienced hydrolocking over three years and several hundred units of production (the kit, that is).

3) THe intake manifold leaks, allowing coolant to enter the combustion chambers. This has been a problem with GM vehicles using the plastic/composite intake. About three years ago, brand new Buicks were sold with two cans of stop-leak poured into the cooling system to "solve" the problem !!!

 

We're talking about a Ferrari 456 here - are "cold air intakes" really a common modification to these cars?

Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but IMHO I would not suspect the average 456 owner to be inclined to such rice-ish-ness.




Anyhow, the ebay auction ended with zero bids and no re-list.
Hopefully the seller will lower the price so that someone will scoop up their dream car (or their good flipping deal) and fix the poor thing.

 

They make them for pretty much any car. Nothing really ricey about them, they are under the hood, pretty much out of sight and they do work on most vehicles. It is possible that it could have had them but i don't think they made a system with an under the bumper scoop like they do for some other cars so it's unlikely that hydra lock is this particular car's issue. It's probably blown up.


BTW is it a normal thing for a car with 34k on the clock have such an engine issue? I wouldn't think so but I don't know for sure.

 

I corresponded with the owner and he has the plugs out and the engine spins over on the starter (according to him). No fluid from the plug holes. I agree that this is probably another engine issue and the hope is to walk away without dealing with the problem. That would be fine if he would contact me with a reasonable price. Once we started down that road the correspondence ended.

Too bad, I would have no problem with an engine rebuild if the purchase price was in line.

 

Thanks for the information.

I wonder how long he'll let it sit in the garage, pissed that it's depreciating even more.