How to restart a flooded car to avoid water hammer

The skills below will help drivers escape from water-hammered cars safely.

1. Gasoline motorbike

-The first principle to always rememberOnce the water stops the car, you should not restart it, not even once.Trying to restart the engine will bend the piston and break the connecting rod, at which point the vehicle will be in a "beyond repair" situation.

- Before getting out of the car, you need to check the water level outside to make sure it does not flood over the edge of the door,If the water level is too high, you can climb out of the window or sunroof to get out. You can turn on the switch to start the power window lock, but first turn off the air conditioner so the fan does not run, because it can cut into the water and break the fan blades.

- Open the hood and remove the two battery terminals to avoid short circuit when water enters the car.At this point, the important thing you need to do is remove all the spark plugs of the vehicle. Although different manufacturers have different engine designs, spark plugs are always a part that must be designed to be easily replaced.

On some vehicles, you will need to remove the plastic engine cover before you can access the spark plugs. Remember, the engine will be very hot at this point, so you will need to wear gloves to avoid burns.

2. Diesel motorbikes

Diesel engines do not use spark plugs to ignite, but the piston forces the mixture of oil and air to burn in the cylinder. Therefore, if a diesel engine is water-locked, the steps to handle it are similar to those of a gasoline engine, but are a bit more "annoying" as more engine oil is needed to deal with the situation.

-First you need to push the car to a dry place, remove the oil cap in the engine compartment to create a vent.Then, open the oil drain screw under the car to let the water flow out with the oil.

- Refill the engine with oil and flush a second time to clean out any remaining water.Similar to gasoline engines, but instead of removing the spark plugs, you will remove all the oil injectors (nozzles) before starting the engine, the water remaining on the top of the cylinder will drain out through the injector hole.

-Finally, you just need toFill with new oil, install injector and restartThe engine is able to continue on the road.

Note

For gasoline motorbikes, if you can start the engine, you must move to the nearest garage to change all the engine oil, because when water gets into the cylinder, it will certainly mix with water in the oil. At this time, the oil will lose its lubrication and increase friction in the engine.

SAfter the trip, you need to bring the car to the dealer to check the entire engine and electrical system to ensure that the moisture from flooding will not cause future damage.