hydrolock
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Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 34
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From: Las Vegas Nevada
hydrolock
will a hydrolocked motor cause the starter to blow apart? I blew the nosecone off one and replaced it thinking it had gone bad and the new one did the same think thats when I found out I had two leaking injectors and were filling up my cylinders with fuel.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,131
Likes: 117
From: San Antonio Texas
Don't burn it down!
If it's a manual car, you can burp the cylinders clear of the gas. Take out the plugs and put it in 6th gear. You can then push the car forward pretty easily (or even turn the rear wheel by hand if it's off the ground; I've done it) and the engine will push the gas out of the cylinders without the danger of getting gas into a running starter motor and catching the car on fire. After you push the gas out of the filled cylinders and let it air out a while, you can spray some WD40 in the cylinders,and spin it over with the starter to lube them up a little. It might still be a good idea to pull the primary wire connector off the coil and pull the fuel pump fuse before spinning it with the starter just to be careful not to light any left over fumes.
Jon with "Fuel Injection Connection" can get you set with a GOOD set of injectors for your car. He hangs out here on the forum and is a great guy to deal with.
Jon with "Fuel Injection Connection" can get you set with a GOOD set of injectors for your car. He hangs out here on the forum and is a great guy to deal with.
Last edited by Klondike; Jan 12, 2009 at 11:16 PM. Reason: Safety tip fuse pull
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,753
Likes: 15
From: backwoods upstate ny
"hydraulic lock" on street engines has been known to damage starter motors, flywheel ring gears, and much worse (bent con rods, broken pistons,more).
pull all spark plugs and allow the engine to sit long enough for all raw gasoline to evaporate (do NOT crank the engine to clear the cylinders as gasoline may be blown out with potential for ignition/explosion)...squirt a small amount of engine oil into each cylinder and check compression with a test gauge...small problem now could require complete engine replacement shortly if driven.
a manual trans car with no mufflers can be put in "high" gear and rolled backwards about 10 feet (need four healthy guys) to clear hydraulic lock...don't try this with mufflers on unless you want to see what "steel pumpkins" look like if you fire up the engine anytime soon
pull all spark plugs and allow the engine to sit long enough for all raw gasoline to evaporate (do NOT crank the engine to clear the cylinders as gasoline may be blown out with potential for ignition/explosion)...squirt a small amount of engine oil into each cylinder and check compression with a test gauge...small problem now could require complete engine replacement shortly if driven.
a manual trans car with no mufflers can be put in "high" gear and rolled backwards about 10 feet (need four healthy guys) to clear hydraulic lock...don't try this with mufflers on unless you want to see what "steel pumpkins" look like if you fire up the engine anytime soon
Last edited by redrose; Jan 13, 2009 at 12:14 PM.
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Joined: Jul 2008
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I can attest to the danger of explosion. Many moons ago when I was much younger I was working on a 1992 Galant. I decided the throttle body needed to be cleaned. Two cans of TB cleaner later I decided the engine was hydrolocked. I pullled all the plugs and tried to crank the motor. To my sorta surprise since I half expected it to happen a giant flame ball flew from the front of the car and singed the hood liner. I proceeded to extinguish the flames with a garden hose while all my neighbors came running to see why my sister was screaming. It was a great laugh for all involved and afterwards nobody would let me work on their car anymore. The End
