Repairing a hydrolocked diesel

BeatMaster

BeatMaster

BeatMaster

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Joined
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North East
During the recent flooding in the North East, I ended up getting caught up in the chaos. I've got an 05 Fabia vRS and hit a knee deep puddle which flooded the engine and resulted in hydrolocking it. The car is currently in been inspected and 99% sure it will be written off, as uneconomical to repair (apparently £7k worth of damage) :mad:

The engine wouldn't turn over and simply clicked when attempting to start the car. The interior was fine and no water got in through the doors apart from wet feet and clothes on the drivers side. The car was in and out the water within the space of 5 minutes as I pushed it out and got towed to my girlfriend's.

The dilemma I face is whether to buy the car back or not. The bodywork is in really good nick, tyres are all next to new, brand new discs and pads all around, alloys are in really good condition and no other problems I'm aware of prior to the incident. My main concerns other than the engine are:
a) turbo
b) electrics (wiring loom, alternator etc)
c) CAT

I could get a reconditioned engine from AW Engineering (anyone heard of?) for £1500 and have it fitted for about ~£400 (12 hours labour) but is it worth it? :o

Thoughts and opinions welcome :)

Thanks in advance :)

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Claim on the insurance, purchase salvage, repair, sell, with an engine for £1500 you might well turn a profit. Although it will show up as CAT D (maybe C, doubtful tho), on HPI.
 
BigglesPiP said:
Claim on the insurance, purchase salvage, repair, sell, with an engine for £1500 you might well turn a profit. Although it will show up as CAT D (maybe C, doubtful tho), on HPI.
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Sorry missed out the fact I'm in the process of claiming, should have word tomorrow on figures. What are the chances of the other parts described above also need fixing, especially the wiring loom. I'm planning on keeping the car for at least the next 3 years.
 
Cat is probably damaged, especially if it was hot, turbo maybe. Electrics should be fine, it's no worse than a normal big puddle for them.
 
Sorry to hear about the car mate - sounds to me like it'll be written off.

OT, but how badly did Amble get hit with the floods? I'm from Morpeth and we were pretty much stuck - no way in or out and the A1 northbound was blocked off. :eek:
 
There's no telling the damage the engine has sustained until you start taking things apart. Part of the reason it will be written off will be due to the uncertainity of the work involved. If it were me, I'd budget for a worst case scenario and if you get lucky and can salvage some parts thats a bonus.

The chances are the engine has had it - due to the high compression ratios diesels run water will bend the conrods and possibly damage the pistons. The turbo will have had water in it, so that is quite possibly dead too. The Cat on a diesel is not important, you'll notice no difference in running unless there is physical damage to the honeycomb inside. The wiring shouldn't be a problem - cars that sit in water for days tend to suffer, but it was pulled straight out it should be OK.
 
Certainly get over any hope of salvaging the engine right now. Even iff all the internals are still the correct shape, all the bearings in the bottom end will be shot.
 
All depends how cheaply they want to flog it back to you. Budget on a new engine and see how far under book it'll see you after it's been repaired. If you are comfortable with that percentage then go for it, if not it's a buyers market atm and you're a cash buyer :)
 
You must have been unlucky.:(

Ive driven cars though fords with water right over the bonnet with out doing that:D
 
Zip said:
You must have been unlucky.:(

Ive driven cars though fords with water right over the bonnet with out doing that:D
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I did that in my old 530i when I got lost once, I swear the depth guage was wrong! I realised it might not go too well when i had the water touching the bottom of the windscreen!

Once i had a good bow wave infront it seemed to work a bit better, i just figured it was best to keep going! Made it through with no damage.

I came to the same ford the other day in my prelude, and turned back :p
 
Cheers for the advice everyone :) Insurance rang and I'd have to pay 37% of the market value for the car which I est. ~£2k which is becoming too expensive and risky :(

Will see what they offer money wise...
 
Dogbreath said:
Bending valves is not the issue, bending the crank and con-rods and breaking pistons is the main problem.
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exactly

the whole process of internal combustion works on the process of compression.

You compress the air fuel mixture and then ignite it

Problem is, water doesnt compress so when water gets into the cylinder, it will attempt to compress it, and thats when you turn your fabia VRS into a fred flintstone car :D

as pistons , conrods etc.. start bending and breaking. And thats before we discuss what can happen to the block ...
 
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ste_bla said:
But if hes going for a recon engine that wouldnt matter would it?
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It might, most engine reconditioners want and engine back in exchange that is reconditionable (is that a word?). If it's scrap they will apply a surcharge.

My comment was really regarding whether it was just valves that would be bent, which is a relatively minor amount of damage and usually repairable.
 
Dogbreath said:
It might, most engine reconditioners want and engine back in exchange that is reconditionable (is that a word?). If it's scrap they will apply a surcharge.

My comment was really regarding whether it was just valves that would be bent, which is a relatively minor amount of damage and usually repairable.
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you cant really tell till you start taking the head off and have a look inside

as its a game of chance what happens when water gets in.
 
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