engine prob after rain

[seths99cobra]

i was driving down a two lane road tonight and the road had standing water all the way across it for about 100ft and i had no where to go so i trucked it and i got threw it and then the car started spitting and spuddering real bad and shut off. car cranked right up but idled bad and when i revd it it sounded horrible then died again. i pulled the intake tub off on the side of the road and it had some water in it. i managed to get a scan tool on it and it said misfire in cyl 8. i let it run for a little while then it started running a little better and i drove it around to see if it worked it out of the system for a little while. while on my way back home it started making a slite ticking noise. do you guys think i collapsed the plug? and the ticking noise could it be a valve tapping as the result? what do i need to do to check it or to fix it? thanks for the inputs.

 

[2BADSTANGS]

Do you have an aftermarket cold air intake on your Cobra?

 

[COBRA90GT]

Time to start pulling sparkplugs. DO NOT START THE ENGINE UP AGAIN IN THE MEANTIME


You want to allow the water in the engine to "dry up." Do not start the engine. Drain the oil and inspect it for small metallic parts...

If the engine inhaled a significant amount of water, you will need to evacuate any trapped water (because water does NOT compress - it will only lead to parts breakage).

Pull all the sparkplugs (also disconnect the fuel pump, or its fuse to ensure no fuel), crank the engine over, and check to see if any water comes out of the sparkplug holes. Have a buddy help.

It can get pretty labor intensive if you have to pull the intake and use a shop vac to suction out any trapped water, but it's better than destroying your engine. Unfortunately, that "new ticking" sound you heard is probably a clue that means it's time to start saving up money for a possible rebuild down the road...

G'luck.



Not flaming, but hindsight being 20/20 (and for others out there):

It would have been wise to not start the engine back up after it died on you. Have it towed home where you can work on it or to a shop if the engine dies or shuts off due to hydrolocking.

 

[cobranator]

Do you have an aftermarket cold air intake on your Cobra?

That's the first thing I thought of as well......if he has one and I think he does he sucked in some water and hydrolocked the engine, not good at all.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say he has a JLT cold air intake in the fender.

 

[seths99cobra]

yeah i have a jlt cai. i checked the oil and there was no water in the oil. but i am gonna drain it here in a bit to be certin and safe. i pulled all the plugs and they all looked fine and they were all sparking. but the ticking noise dont happen all the time it comes and goes. pullin the intake out and sucking up water if there is any is no problem can do that in minutes from experience of pulling it off 4 5 times in a week once. but what is the ticking noise anyway?

 

[cobranator]

Without actually listening to the engine it's hard to say what the tick is..or is it a knock?.....Again I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you have bent con rod and or a rod bearing fubared and if so there are no easy or cheap fixes for this. More than likely you're looking at an engine rebuild.

 

[seths99cobra]

i just changed the oil and no water or metal shavings in it. but the noise can only be heard in the car with a low rev and holding the rev or while drivin in a low gear slowly. more of a ticking or rattle almost sounds like something is loose. i tried listening for it with the hood open and no luck.

 

[lang williams]

cut the oil filter open an inspect the filtering material for any metal that could indicate problems.