Big Puddle= Big problem

[DaRkCotTon]

I was driving to pick up my friend today in Edgewater. I got there and was driving back the road i came, but it was blocked off because there was like 2 feet of water O_O. So the police were redirecting traffic into this parking lot which leads to the road to get out. But, the parking lot was also flooded. i was really worried because of the CAI i have but i decided that nothing would happen if i drove slowly so i did, and all was good. Until i reached the end of the parking lot. The water was atleast 2 feet deep, i had no idea. For one all the cars were going without a problem, so i went too, slowly mind you. then bam my car shut off. i tried to turn it on once and when i didn't turn on i stopped. i got scared because i thought that water went in through the CAI. so a police car comes behind me and pushes my car with his into a clear parking lot. I called the tow truck company and they came to pick me up. all was good and i was thinking of taking out the cai to dry it out and stuff. then we get to my house and when the car was off the flatbed, the dude tells me that the oil was leaking. and i looked onto the flat bed and there was a small pool of oil there. Im really worried and i have no idea what to do.

[macklum]

Dont try and start the engine what ever you do you could have hydolocked the engine ( water in the cylinders ) take out the plugs , and see if there is water in the cylinders . If there is you may have bent the connecting rods .
That is the worst case senerio .

[rob142sti]

just a guess but when water meets hot metal (oil pan) its a bad combo...

was washing my ktm one day after a hard run and cracked the block with the water from the hose.. not cool

[ariana]

wow, that really sucks.:'( I hope you didn't hydrolock your engine.

[Talbot]

I feel your fear a little bit. It was raining really hard here one night and I was out on the road when it started to flood all of a sudden. I went through a parking lot because it had the shallowest water, but when I went through my car started smoking like a mofo so I was like oh shiiiit.

So, I had to wait there a good 30 minutes to an hour one night to wait for the water to go down, luckily nothing happened to my car.

[DaRkCotTon]

the mechanic just called and said that i did hydrolock the engine. apparently the connectors were broken and if that happened you have to redo the whole engine. he gave me a quote of $3000 to fix it. great...

[dread]

sorry to hear that, where in jersey are u. I just got a mazdaspeed cai and I waited to install it because of the storm. Next time disconnect the cai and run the car without a filter, but I can't believe cops had you drive through 2 feet of water.

[Rotus8]

Give your car insurance broker a call. This might be covered.

[DaRkCotTon]

sorry to hear that, where in jersey are u. I just got a mazdaspeed cai and I waited to install it because of the storm. Next time disconnect the cai and run the car without a filter, but I can't believe cops had you drive through 2 feet of water.
i live in north bergen county. the storm around where i live got pretty bad and water was everywhere. and yea i couldn't understand why they didn't just make traffic turn around and put up detour signs.


Give your car insurance broker a call. This might be covered.

i was planning to tomorrow. the mechanic said that they should cover it no problem, but would my insurance rate go up b/c of this? i should ask them when i call.

[wishingfora ms3]

wow im sorry to hear that. i was in north bergen area today and i used to live there. it was pretty bad out there with all the flooding. and the roads suck to begin with so i can imagine alot of roads washed away with the passing storm. good luck with the car and i hope it does go through insurance.

[dread]

don't let the insurance know you had an intake installed.

[njprotege5love]

hey, I feel for you, and jealous you'll still be up and running :) I'm in Hudson county too and found my protege5 today pretty much drowned. I was hoping to get some idea of how bad my car might be. Basically, it was in standing sewage water for about 24 hours, with the water line up about 6". I wanted to go out to rescue my car, but I was flooded in myself.

here's some pics:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/251/461867452_4d9e1f8b99.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/232/462080724_cf088536b1.jpg

I tried to start her thinking I'd be able to pull her out, but she just turned over for a couple of times. The insurance company is going to take her away tomorrow, but I am hoping for a miracle before she's actually towed away. Anyone think I have any hope at all at reviving her? Or maybe consoling me? If you're really good, I will donate her organs to deserving causes :)

Thanks...
very very sad protege owner :(

[MadOzodi]

Damn guys, sorry to hear about your cars.

:'(

[Japaneezy]

Thats why you need to pop in a AEM cold air intake water bypass valve. For about 40 dollars, it could save you thousands in the long run.

[Rotus8]

Thats why you need to pop in a AEM cold air intake water bypass valve. For about 40 dollars, it could save you thousands in the long run.
Very nice, but "The AEM Air Bypass Valve is C.A.R.B. exempt on AEM Cold Air induction systems only and is NOT for use on forced induction vehicles."

[Japaneezy]

Very nice, but "The AEM Air Bypass Valve is C.A.R.B. exempt on AEM Cold Air induction systems only and is NOT for use on forced induction vehicles."
i don't have any carb bs where i live. put it in anyways, you can take it out before you go for smog check or something. The AEM one might be damaged in a forced induction car, but if you get the generic ebay one that is just a open filter spacer, I doubt it will make a difference if you use it in a forced induction vehicle or not besides you sucking in a little warmer air every now and then. all it really is another air filter anyways.

[TheMAN]

sorry to hear what happened, but I hate to say another "we told you so"
this was a big storm, you should've stayed home and not go anywhere if it's not important

besides that, the major thing is, when you're driving a lowered car and/or with a CAI, you *got* to pay attention to where you're driving... all the "I fucked up my front lip", or "I dented my oil pan", or "my engine blew up" threads keep showing up on here because of stupidity... I've seen this same shit over and over through the years due to lack of diligence

so basically IMO, CAIs are over hyped crap that doesn't give too much gains and adds more limits to where you can drive and in what conditions


good luck with the insurance, hope it covers your engine due to an aftermarket part... wouldn't have happened as easily if you had a stock intake

[dread]

Cai's are worth it on a ms3.

[PlatinumMSP]

i say that you remove the cai, put the stock intake back on, somehow suck the water out of the cylinder and take it over to mazda and pretend you have no clue what happend, you were just driving in the rain, i know its not very honest but for a new engine for free... well thats worth it in my opinion

[Kosh]

i say that you remove the cai, put the stock intake back on, somehow suck the water out of the cylinder and take it over to mazda and pretend you have no clue what happend, you were just driving in the rain, i know its not very honest but for a new engine for free... well thats worth it in my opinion

That may work if you didn't get the CAI installed at the dealer. But that is a good idea to put the stock airbox back on before you get anything done.

But that really really sucks and I'm sorry to hear about your trouble. You could look for a new engine on ebay or from a totaled mazdaspeed 3 or mazdaspeed 6. I would be pissed at the police for telling you to drive your car through 2' of water anyway. Only way to avoid getting water in there would have been to floor it, shut the car off while rolling and pray you have the momentum to get through before getting stuck.

[Hikaru9]

You could look for a new engine on ebay or from a totaled mazdaspeed 3 or mazdaspeed 6.

I don't think the threadstarter owns an MS3. -_-a