Hydrolocked LS3
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 46,295
Likes: 2,596
From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
I am a forensic engineer and investigated a case like this last year for an auto insurance company. It was a Mercedes 5.5 l and the woman drove through a flooded underpass. Three rods were found bent when we tore down the engine. ($30,00 for a new block BTW)!
The insurance covered the repairs as it was "a road hazard" that caused the damage. I don't know what your policy covers but that is what I suggest you argue.
The insurance covered the repairs as it was "a road hazard" that caused the damage. I don't know what your policy covers but that is what I suggest you argue.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 5,362
Likes: 3
From: Delray Beach FL
Update
My insurance adjustor went to see my car at Horsepower Sales of Florida on Friday afternoon. The shop had pulled the plugs and had tried to turn the crank by hand and it was seized up. My insurance adjustor told the shop to send him a quote on a new long block and labor. The adjustor told them to also note on the quote that possible sensors may need to be replaced once the new engine is in. Also, the adjustor told the shop to double-check the driveline, as they have seen damage caused from the abrupt halt of the motor on other similar claims with a hydrolocked motor on a C6. My insurance company is going to cover the damage that I caused. This is nothing that GM or Callaway should be blamed for. I tried to go through a puddle that was too deep for my C6. A lesson has been learned...no more 6" deep puddles at any speed in the C6. Once the figures are agreed upon by the insurance company, the shop and I will figure out how we want to proceed in the repairs. We may look at putting a stroker in. All depends on the costs involved.
As for the edit to my first post, yes, I did remove about taking it to the dealer. When this first happened, I was mad
and wanted to blame someone other than myself. Once I cooled down and accepted my responsibility for my actions, I removed that line from my original post. It was after I cooled off that I realized that it was not something that GM did that caused the motor to seize. Their design is fine. If it wasn't, the C6 wouldn't be on the road. I am taking full responsibility for what has happened to the motor of my car. I am lucky to have an insurance company as great as the one I have. My policy will cover the damages and I will have my Corvette back in the next couple of weeks. Until then, I have fired up my C4 and will be driving it until the C6 comes home. Now to get the C4 running a little better...with the lack of driving, the TPS has gone bad, so I will replace that this weekend.
As for the edit to my first post, yes, I did remove about taking it to the dealer. When this first happened, I was mad
and wanted to blame someone other than myself. Once I cooled down and accepted my responsibility for my actions, I removed that line from my original post. It was after I cooled off that I realized that it was not something that GM did that caused the motor to seize. Their design is fine. If it wasn't, the C6 wouldn't be on the road. I am taking full responsibility for what has happened to the motor of my car. I am lucky to have an insurance company as great as the one I have. My policy will cover the damages and I will have my Corvette back in the next couple of weeks. Until then, I have fired up my C4 and will be driving it until the C6 comes home. Now to get the C4 running a little better...with the lack of driving, the TPS has gone bad, so I will replace that this weekend.
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 11,733
Likes: 15
From: SC
My insurance adjustor went to see my car at Horsepower Sales of Florida on Friday afternoon. The shop had pulled the plugs and had tried to turn the crank by hand and it was seized up. My insurance adjustor told the shop to send him a quote on a new long block and labor. The adjustor told them to also note on the quote that possible sensors may need to be replaced once the new engine is in. Also, the adjustor told the shop to double-check the driveline, as they have seen damage caused from the abrupt halt of the motor on other similar claims with a hydrolocked motor on a C6. My insurance company is going to cover the damage that I caused. This is nothing that GM or Callaway should be blamed for. I tried to go through a puddle that was too deep for my C6. A lesson has been learned...no more 6" deep puddles at any speed in the C6. Once the figures are agreed upon by the insurance company, the shop and I will figure out how we want to proceed in the repairs. We may look at putting a stroker in. All depends on the costs involved.
As for the edit to my first post, yes, I did remove about taking it to the dealer. When this first happened, I was mad and wanted to blame someone other than myself. Once I cooled down and accepted my responsibility for my actions, I removed that line from my original post. It was after I cooled off that I realized that it was not something that GM did that caused the motor to seize. Their design is fine. If it wasn't, the C6 wouldn't be on the road. I am taking full responsibility for what has happened to the motor of my car. I am lucky to have an insurance company as great as the one I have. My policy will cover the damages and I will have my Corvette back in the next couple of weeks. Until then, I have fired up my C4 and will be driving it until the C6 comes home. Now to get the C4 running a little better...with the lack of driving, the TPS has gone bad, so I will replace that this weekend.
As for the edit to my first post, yes, I did remove about taking it to the dealer. When this first happened, I was mad
and wanted to blame someone other than myself. Once I cooled down and accepted my responsibility for my actions, I removed that line from my original post. It was after I cooled off that I realized that it was not something that GM did that caused the motor to seize. Their design is fine. If it wasn't, the C6 wouldn't be on the road. I am taking full responsibility for what has happened to the motor of my car. I am lucky to have an insurance company as great as the one I have. My policy will cover the damages and I will have my Corvette back in the next couple of weeks. Until then, I have fired up my C4 and will be driving it until the C6 comes home. Now to get the C4 running a little better...with the lack of driving, the TPS has gone bad, so I will replace that this weekend.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
Likes: 29
From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
Bummer. I was hoping for you that it would run once more. Good note to all of us...no deep puddles. Recently we had a good rain going here and thanks to a pileup on the freeway, I got off that. I knew a road around things which I started to take till I saw this raging flow of water at a turn...no way was I going through that and from what happened to you, I would having the same problems you are. Again, sorry for all the trouble.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,030
Likes: 2,510
From: ...tearing up the highways, one state at a time™®©
My insurance adjustor went to see my car at Horsepower Sales of Florida on Friday afternoon. The shop had pulled the plugs and had tried to turn the crank by hand and it was seized up. My insurance adjustor told the shop to send him a quote on a new long block and labor. The adjustor told them to also note on the quote that possible sensors may need to be replaced once the new engine is in. Also, the adjustor told the shop to double-check the driveline, as they have seen damage caused from the abrupt halt of the motor on other similar claims with a hydrolocked motor on a C6. My insurance company is going to cover the damage that I caused. This is nothing that GM or Callaway should be blamed for. I tried to go through a puddle that was too deep for my C6. A lesson has been learned...no more 6" deep puddles at any speed in the C6. Once the figures are agreed upon by the insurance company, the shop and I will figure out how we want to proceed in the repairs. We may look at putting a stroker in. All depends on the costs involved.
As for the edit to my first post, yes, I did remove about taking it to the dealer. When this first happened, I was mad and wanted to blame someone other than myself. Once I cooled down and accepted my responsibility for my actions, I removed that line from my original post. It was after I cooled off that I realized that it was not something that GM did that caused the motor to seize. Their design is fine. If it wasn't, the C6 wouldn't be on the road. I am taking full responsibility for what has happened to the motor of my car. I am lucky to have an insurance company as great as the one I have. My policy will cover the damages and I will have my Corvette back in the next couple of weeks. Until then, I have fired up my C4 and will be driving it until the C6 comes home. Now to get the C4 running a little better...with the lack of driving, the TPS has gone bad, so I will replace that this weekend.
As for the edit to my first post, yes, I did remove about taking it to the dealer. When this first happened, I was mad
and wanted to blame someone other than myself. Once I cooled down and accepted my responsibility for my actions, I removed that line from my original post. It was after I cooled off that I realized that it was not something that GM did that caused the motor to seize. Their design is fine. If it wasn't, the C6 wouldn't be on the road. I am taking full responsibility for what has happened to the motor of my car. I am lucky to have an insurance company as great as the one I have. My policy will cover the damages and I will have my Corvette back in the next couple of weeks. Until then, I have fired up my C4 and will be driving it until the C6 comes home. Now to get the C4 running a little better...with the lack of driving, the TPS has gone bad, so I will replace that this weekend.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,030
Likes: 2,510
From: ...tearing up the highways, one state at a time™®©
Considering that GM writes the owners manual for a factory stock car(no CAI), your arguement and the GM owners manual basically back up the fact that there is no correlation between hydrolock and a CAI. There is no evidence that the CAI has anything to do with it.
End of the day its most likely the driver's fault...plain and simple. If you hydrolock with a CAI you have done it without one too.
End of the day its most likely the driver's fault...plain and simple. If you hydrolock with a CAI you have done it without one too.
Advanced
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
From: Sunny Isles Beach FL
sick dude, similar thing happened to my 00 Camaro SS, i had an ATI procharger and the intake on those things is very low to the ground, so on a rainy night i was pulling into a parking lot which had a puddle of maybe 6 inches and that the engine stalled. I put the finishing blow on it by trying to start it while it was locked, this bent some of my rods and didnt allow the engine to crank anymore, also the starter broke off the engine block along with a piece of it. So i had to get whole new ls1. 
Im waiting for my c6 so i can put the blower on that instead since the intake is in a better place.
Im waiting for my c6 so i can put the blower on that instead since the intake is in a better place.
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 13,099
Likes: 672
From: Bristol, Tennessee
St. Jude Donor '09
BTW, Occam, I think Jim Hall stopped selling his C5 license place replacement CAI due to lawsuits - I might be wrong on that but I seem to recall him stating that on his website.
Our TRIC was pulled from the market 9 years ago after the first hydrolock incident that took a friend's C5 motor out. We took care of him and replaced every TRIC intake with a conversion kit to turn them into underhood systems, rather than bottom breathers. This customer is still a customer of ours and came by our home in Wisconsin a couple years ago to purchase another system.
It is beyond me why any company would continue to sell an intake that sucks water during rain. I was confident after a year of driving through the rain that our intake would never cause a problem. I was wrong.
One last question. Why would anyone buy an intake that is a bottom feeder after all the reports on this forum for years. I have also personally seen about 4 or 5 motors broken from these types of intake systems.
Jim Hall
__________________
"World Class Performance for your Corvette"
Intake Design and Engineering since 1999
Halltech Systems, LLC
423-915-6056
For service email:
orders@halltechsystems.com
www.halltechsystems.com
"World Class Performance for your Corvette"
Intake Design and Engineering since 1999
Halltech Systems, LLC
423-915-6056
For service email:
orders@halltechsystems.com
www.halltechsystems.com
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,030
Likes: 0
From: The Villages Florida
QuikZilver - I am very happy to see your thinking is so clear on what happened and why. Of course you wanted to deny that you screwed up, but after a bit of cooling off you got your mind straight. There are way too many that would still have tried to "blame" the wrong folks. Many others, however, stated that GM didn't do it and that ins fraud is indeed a serious thing. Bottom line - you are doing the right thing and being a man about it. BZ!!
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,639
Likes: 8
From: Madison Wisconsin
St. Jude Donor '08
Sorry to hear about your hydrolock issue. I hope the damage is minimum. However, your loss will make many think twice about aftermarket air intake mods. I reverted back to the stock LS3 intake, it's actually a well designed intake. Good luck and I hope you are back in your vette soon.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,639
Likes: 8
From: Madison Wisconsin
St. Jude Donor '08
My insurance adjustor went to see my car at Horsepower Sales of Florida on Friday afternoon. The shop had pulled the plugs and had tried to turn the crank by hand and it was seized up. My insurance adjustor told the shop to send him a quote on a new long block and labor. The adjustor told them to also note on the quote that possible sensors may need to be replaced once the new engine is in. Also, the adjustor told the shop to double-check the driveline, as they have seen damage caused from the abrupt halt of the motor on other similar claims with a hydrolocked motor on a C6. My insurance company is going to cover the damage that I caused. This is nothing that GM or Callaway should be blamed for. I tried to go through a puddle that was too deep for my C6. A lesson has been learned...no more 6" deep puddles at any speed in the C6. Once the figures are agreed upon by the insurance company, the shop and I will figure out how we want to proceed in the repairs. We may look at putting a stroker in. All depends on the costs involved.
As for the edit to my first post, yes, I did remove about taking it to the dealer. When this first happened, I was mad and wanted to blame someone other than myself. Once I cooled down and accepted my responsibility for my actions, I removed that line from my original post. It was after I cooled off that I realized that it was not something that GM did that caused the motor to seize. Their design is fine. If it wasn't, the C6 wouldn't be on the road. I am taking full responsibility for what has happened to the motor of my car. I am lucky to have an insurance company as great as the one I have. My policy will cover the damages and I will have my Corvette back in the next couple of weeks. Until then, I have fired up my C4 and will be driving it until the C6 comes home. Now to get the C4 running a little better...with the lack of driving, the TPS has gone bad, so I will replace that this weekend.
As for the edit to my first post, yes, I did remove about taking it to the dealer. When this first happened, I was mad
and wanted to blame someone other than myself. Once I cooled down and accepted my responsibility for my actions, I removed that line from my original post. It was after I cooled off that I realized that it was not something that GM did that caused the motor to seize. Their design is fine. If it wasn't, the C6 wouldn't be on the road. I am taking full responsibility for what has happened to the motor of my car. I am lucky to have an insurance company as great as the one I have. My policy will cover the damages and I will have my Corvette back in the next couple of weeks. Until then, I have fired up my C4 and will be driving it until the C6 comes home. Now to get the C4 running a little better...with the lack of driving, the TPS has gone bad, so I will replace that this weekend.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 5,362
Likes: 3
From: Delray Beach FL
Thank you everyone for your feedback.
I am currently looking at a couple options, as my insurance company has confirmed that they are covering the damage. My insurance company is top notch, as they are paying the shop and have told me and the shop that what I do with the settlement money is up to us, as long as in the end, the car runs.
I am adding a little cash into the pot to make all of this happen. Here is what we are looking at doing:
Stroker 418 LS3 short block from Texas Speed
Cam - still trying to decide what lift....any suggestions? I don't want the car to feel like it has a high lift cam, unless there is a lot of power I would be getting.
Torque Converter
Long tube headers, converters, x-pipe (will be flowing through factory NPP option)
Line loc - necessary to heat up DRs.
Dyno Tune
As for the air intake, for right now, I am keeping the Callaway Honker, but will keep my eye out for a different design...or possibly go back to factory. I was very impressed with the power (SOTP) I got from the Honker. I have learned exactly how deep a puddle I need to stay away from (anything deeper than 1 inch
).
I am currently looking at a couple options, as my insurance company has confirmed that they are covering the damage. My insurance company is top notch, as they are paying the shop and have told me and the shop that what I do with the settlement money is up to us, as long as in the end, the car runs.
I am adding a little cash into the pot to make all of this happen. Here is what we are looking at doing:
Stroker 418 LS3 short block from Texas Speed
Cam - still trying to decide what lift....any suggestions? I don't want the car to feel like it has a high lift cam, unless there is a lot of power I would be getting.
Torque Converter
Long tube headers, converters, x-pipe (will be flowing through factory NPP option)
Line loc - necessary to heat up DRs.
Dyno Tune
As for the air intake, for right now, I am keeping the Callaway Honker, but will keep my eye out for a different design...or possibly go back to factory. I was very impressed with the power (SOTP) I got from the Honker. I have learned exactly how deep a puddle I need to stay away from (anything deeper than 1 inch
).
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 14,950
Likes: 264
From: St. Louis, MO
St. Jude Donor '08
Awesome Neil!
You might want to start a new thread regarding cam selection for a LS3 based 418....the question might get buried here.
I'm interested myself!
You know me, a fan of the biggest cam that fits.... go big or stay home....
You might want to start a new thread regarding cam selection for a LS3 based 418....the question might get buried here.
I'm interested myself!
You know me, a fan of the biggest cam that fits.... go big or stay home....
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,296
Likes: 156
From: Location: Location: kAnSaS
i have seen about 100 hydrolocked cars,,about 50% are ok after you take the plugs out, crank the engine put in a new air filter and oil change. the ones that arent have been pretty damaged, i never took one down but my guess would be bent rod? good luck with your ride. paul
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 25,889
Likes: 7
From: Virginia Beach
CI 3-5-6-7-8 Veteran
Thank you everyone for your feedback.
I am currently looking at a couple options, as my insurance company has confirmed that they are covering the damage. My insurance company is top notch, as they are paying the shop and have told me and the shop that what I do with the settlement money is up to us, as long as in the end, the car runs.
I am adding a little cash into the pot to make all of this happen. Here is what we are looking at doing:
Stroker 418 LS3 short block from Texas Speed
Cam - still trying to decide what lift....any suggestions? I don't want the car to feel like it has a high lift cam, unless there is a lot of power I would be getting.
Torque Converter
Long tube headers, converters, x-pipe (will be flowing through factory NPP option)
Line loc - necessary to heat up DRs.
Dyno Tune
As for the air intake, for right now, I am keeping the Callaway Honker, but will keep my eye out for a different design...or possibly go back to factory. I was very impressed with the power (SOTP) I got from the Honker. I have learned exactly how deep a puddle I need to stay away from (anything deeper than 1 inch).
I am currently looking at a couple options, as my insurance company has confirmed that they are covering the damage. My insurance company is top notch, as they are paying the shop and have told me and the shop that what I do with the settlement money is up to us, as long as in the end, the car runs.
I am adding a little cash into the pot to make all of this happen. Here is what we are looking at doing:
Stroker 418 LS3 short block from Texas Speed
Cam - still trying to decide what lift....any suggestions? I don't want the car to feel like it has a high lift cam, unless there is a lot of power I would be getting.
Torque Converter
Long tube headers, converters, x-pipe (will be flowing through factory NPP option)
Line loc - necessary to heat up DRs.
Dyno Tune
As for the air intake, for right now, I am keeping the Callaway Honker, but will keep my eye out for a different design...or possibly go back to factory. I was very impressed with the power (SOTP) I got from the Honker. I have learned exactly how deep a puddle I need to stay away from (anything deeper than 1 inch
). Will you be keeping the LS3 heads or upgrading those as well?