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hydrolocked Topaz Blue E39 540i :(

9K views 24 replies 15 participants last post by  doru 
#1 ·
So I got caught in a flash flood yesterday in Northern VA. There was no way to turn around as I was already going up the hill and the water was moving in fast. I was 10 feet from dry pavement when the engine stalled. Spent the next 2 hrs in the car waiting for the FD/rescue.

I checked on the car this morning - after the water receded somewhat - air filter is wet and there is water in the airbox. I got the car flat bedded to my house and now I'm guessing that I should probably not attempt to start the engine. The interior got flooded somewhat when I opened the door so the car is probably going to be totaled by insurance.

Is there anything I could do to confirm that the engine is in fact hydrolocked? Remove the spark plugs and check for water in the cylinders? What are my options as far as dealing with the insurance? Buy the car back and repair it? I was intent on keeping it indefinitely as it was a great car - '01 540i sport 85k miles - I'm the 2nd owner for the last 7 years and the car was in perfect condition inside out. I see blue book running between 10-12k but used 540's with similar age/mileage are advertised for 14-16k. My other worry is that the insurance adjuster will most likely want to try to start the engine. Should I prevent him from doing this?

:dunno:
 
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#5 ·
Seems like you received good advice to just test the engine.

If you need to know how to test it, this thread may help:
- How to test an engine for blown head gasket, cracked heads, a warped block, cam seizures, contaminated bearings, coolant hydrolock, or piston, ring, or valve damage (1) (2)

NOTE: I realize the hydrolock in that thread is 'coolant hydrolock'; but I would suspect the result to be the same with pond water.

In addition, the CAI guys talk about avoiding hydrolock all the time (although, again, I would suspect the way they avoid it is to raise the location of air intake ... which you can't do after the fact).

Nonetheless, their experience may be of use to you:
- Which is better, stock or aftermarket cold air intake (1) (2) & a home-made CAI (1) & the general consensus on the effectiveness of an aftermarket CAI versus the stock BMW CAI (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) and of the K&N oiled air filter over the stock air filter (1) & how to reduce the risk of hydro lock (1) (2).
 
#6 ·
We did this few times last summer. ;)

Engine is as above, the interior procedure is as outlined below.

2x cheap 25 pound bags of rice
2x cheap pillowcases
1x small ceramic heater with thermostat
1x cheap box fan
1 pack of 10" zipties

1. Pull both front seats and the rear bench seat and set them in an air-conditioned building to dry Be sure to treat the leather liberally with something like Lexol so it doesn't dry out.

2. Pour the rice into the pillowcases and zip-tie them shut. Then place them where the rear bench used to reside.

3. Set the thermostat to 80-85 degrees on the heater and place it in the car where it can heat the air inside without overheating any one part.

4. Place the box fan on low and set it in the car to supplement moving the heated air around.

5. Close the car carefully and leave it for 24 hours at a time for 4-6 days. (possibly longer depending on how long it soaked before starting the procedure.)

If it was freshwater chances are very good you'll have little to no side effects from the car getting wet later down the road, if it was saltwater ignore the above and take the check and walk away. ;)

Also a little water in the floorboards is one thing if your car floated or had water flowign through it it's a lost cause.



 
#7 ·
Thanks. The car only got less than an inch of water inside when the door was opened. Water surges were moving car up and down for the few hours - and it was fresh water. I'll see what the insurance guy says... I think it may be a good excuse to get into something newer. Just no idea what to get at this point. :dunno:
 
#8 ·
I feel your pain. I hydro-locked an immaculate 2000 7-series. BMW's do not do well in water, puddles, etc.

If the engine stalled, you likely threw a rod. Go under the car with a wrench and see if you can turn over the engine manually. If you hear metal, call insurance. They might offer you more than you expect....

Good Luck!
 
#9 ·
Ouch! I feel for ya. Sorry, I have no input to offer... just a couple pics of my e39 a couple days ago :) No, I didn't even attempt to drive across.. I just wanted to snap a few pics.
 

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#24 · (Edited)
Is this off Gas House Pike? It got considerably worse after a day or so.

BTW, I wouldn't bother with hydrolocked engine. You will get higher offer from your insurance company than you'd think, since used car prices are so high right now. There's is an article about negotiating with your adjuster on edmunds.com. You might want to read that.
 
#10 ·
Another thing you can do is pull the seats and put a small room dehumidifier in the car. Something like this -

http://www.amazon.com/Frigidaire-FA...29O6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315680774&sr=8-1

I wouldn't bother with that till you check out the motor. Pull the plugs, use a dowel and stick it in. If you have water, well, you have trouble. Get something to suck as much out as you can - a brake bleeder setup works. Or a cheap fluid transfer pump. You don't want water sitting in there and rust rings forming.

depends how intent you are about keeping it. It CAN be saved, but it probably won't be financially worth it.

S
 
#12 ·
A dehumidifier will work but. . .

If it's anything like the Nashville floods were or the outlying areas of Katrina, dehumidifiers will be a hot commodity for a couple hundred miles in all directions for a month or so due to people tying to dry out salvageable flooded homes, and UPS will not deliver to large parts of the previously flooded area until the roads and bridges are proven OK. (usually a few weeks after the flood water recedes at earliest)

I found that most people could scrounge a spare fan, and many already had a heater that they weren't using at the time. Rice is a pain to cook properly with active boil water orders in most flooded areas so there is not really a run on it where as anything typically sold commercially as a desiccant well be gone as soon as it hit the shelves at home depot/lowes/walmart. :)
 
#11 · (Edited)
If the engine quit while running - that could be 'cause the electrical system got wet somehow. First drain the oil... and replace with some cheap stuff... then turn the engine over with the plugs out. If nothing spits out the plug holes (like water) then put them back in and try to see if it will run. Get it hot and if it will drive, run it 10-20 miles to vaporize and water in the oil system... change oil again to the good stuff. Then go to work on the "pretty things". I have run inboard boat engines for years and have filled 'em up with water several times. As long as you don't let the water sit in the engine for too long, nothing will be wrong. If there IS water in the cylinders, I just keep spinning it with the starter until it stops spitting much out - 2-3 minutes will be enough. Clean up everything that got wet, maybe putting down towels first would be bright. If they are REAL wet, you can stick a compressor hose inside and blow the cylinders dry enough. Get some new clean cheap spark plugs (not the expensive platinum type) with a long insulator - they don't have to be the right type for your engine as you will only use them to get it started and hot. Just cheap $1.00 plugs with long white insulators. They are on sale this weekend at O'Rillies, I just saw them.

My .02
 
#13 ·
What they said, and if there was water in the cylinders before you put the plugs in, and try and start her I'd give 2 small squirts of motor oil in each cylinder. Helps the rings seal / provides compression. GL
 
#14 ·
Typically, the first rule of testing for a hydrolocked engine is to:
1. pull the plugs
2. add a teaspoon of oil to the combusion chambers
3. change the oil
4. manually turn over the engine

If you don't feel obvious restrictions, I'd start replacing the spark plugs and manually cranking it more (this is how you get strong!) to cycle the oil on the rings to help with any oxidation/rusting that may have taken place.

If you have any metal shavings on the drain plug or in the extracted oil, then the engine is probably toast. I'm no expert, but this alone seems to total an e39.

If you have time and passion for the car, go to Harbor Freight and pick up a compression tester and leakdown tester. Borrow an air compressor. Perform compression test on cold engine and look for consistency across all cylinders. Perform leakdown test and look for <10% leak. This will SUCK without the starter assist.

If you pass, you're ready to move on to the ignition system and starter. Your brakes will likely have surface rust, so ride the brakes a bit to clean them off if you decide to drive it.

Electrical gremlins can be very frustrating to diagnose and repair. Keep that in mind if you want the car back.
 
#15 ·
Update:
I pulled the plugs and checked to see if there was any water in the cylinders. Found a trace amount in 2 - perhaps 3 cylinders. I sprayed some WD40 in each and manually cranked the engine. It would only turn 3/4 of turn - definite resistance at both ends. At this point I think I'm not going to bother buying back the car from the insurance. A shame, as the rest of the car was in outstanding condition. :cry:
 
#19 ·
Sanity check... have you removed the spark plugs before manually turning it? Can you try spinning it backwards to see if you can get two full rotations out of it?

I received your PM's and I'll be replying shortly here.
 
#20 ·
A friend of mine bought a 540 e39 from a salvage auction and it wasn't labeled as a flood car, so he fixed all the little problems and tried to start the car, Starter was frozen so we tried to push start it. We pushed it down his driveway and as soon as he popped the clutch BAAM!! A rod shot out the side of the block!! rod stayed in the motor but knocked out a 6 inch chunk out of the block! Amazing how strong water is under compression...
 
#23 ·
Next up, have you changed the oil yet? Is it worth your time to drain it and filter it through something like a pantyhose in search of metal debris?

Putting oil in the combustion chambers may make it easier to spin the engine. While it will smoke like crazy for a long time after starting (hopefully!), it may help getting it manually turned.
 
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