How to restart a flooded car to avoid water hammer

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

1. Gasoline motorbike

-The first principle to always rememberOnce the water stops the car, you must 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 through the window or sunroof to get out. You can turn on the switch to start the power lock for the window, but before that, you need to turn off the air conditioner so that the fan does not work, 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 car. 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 engine

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 it is a bit more "annoying" as it requires more engine oil 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 drain 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 holes.

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

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 definitely mix with water in the oil. At this point, 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.