2003 Ford Fiesta 1.4 TDCi - Flood Damage

2003 Ford Fiesta 1.4 TDCi - Flood Damage

Author
Discussion

Marky Mark88

Original Poster:

694 posts

200 months

Monday 3rd December 2012
quotequote all
Hi all,

My girlfriend recently drove her car through a rather large flood on the way to work a week yesterday. She went through in second gear and the car stopped about halfway through the water which was apparently up to the bottom of the door. Some rather nice gentlemen helped her push the car out and onto a dry area of the road. She had tried to start the car whilst in the flood. By the time i got there the car still wasn't starting, it would turn over slightly and then stop. Eventually the car started, but there was a large amount of smoke coming from the exhaust and from under the bonnet. Also, it was running very flat and there didnt seem to be much power.

After getting the car home, i left it running on the drive for over an hour, after which it was idling normally and there was only a small amount of smoke coming from the top of the engine. I removed the air box and checked the filter, which seemed to be dry. We thought at this point that maybe the car would be ok and just needed to 'dry' out.

Whenever you start the car now, white smoke comes out of the exhaust and also a small amount comes from under the bonnet. It also lacks power and there is a definite rattle coming from the engine. After you leave the car running for 10 to 15 minutes it improves to the point that it almost runs normally, if not slightly more underpowered than before being driven through the flood.

The question is, what is wrong with the car? A small amount of research and speaking to different people suggests it could be anything from a bent con rod to bent valves to problems with the injectors or broken piston rings?

Ideally, we would like to try and fix this ourselves, as her insurance excess is £550 and with Christmas coming up we could do with saving as much money as possible. I have a week off work starting on the 17th December, so time shouldn't be too much of an issue, especially if me and her Dad both have a crack at it.

Cheers for any help anyone can give.

Marky Mark88

Original Poster:

694 posts

200 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
Anyone got any ideas?

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
Where is the air intake on a Fiesta? Surely much higher up than the bottom of the doors, so it's unlikely to have hydrolocked.

Are you sure it's smoke not steam? What does it smell of?

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 4th December 11:10

MC Bodge

21,552 posts

174 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
A compression test on each cylinder would be the first thing I'd do.


rossonza

131 posts

145 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
The white smoke is probably left over water/moisture within the system.
As for performance definitely check compression/possibly replace plugs

if all appears ok id take it for a brisk drive up the motorway, get it nice and hot and go through all the gears.


One other thing to check is, are any dash lights on? could the ECU have gotten wet?
it could be running in a safe mode so would be worth checking that out.

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
rossonza said:
possibly replace plugs
Could be tricky in a diesel. hehe

rossonza

131 posts

145 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
only read fiesta 1.4.............

zcacogp

11,239 posts

243 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
MC Bodge said:
A compression test on each cylinder would be the first thing I'd do.
Yup. Followed by a leakdown test.

Depending upon the results, you'd next be looking to take the head off and see what's what.


Oli.

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
I can't really see how water that shallow could have damaged the top-end? Or indeed damaged the engine at all.

If the internals are damaged, you're going to be looking at more than your insurance excess to fix it anyway (unless you're very handy with a spanner) so I'd just go and take it for a longish drive and see how it behaves.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 4th December 11:21

robinessex

11,046 posts

180 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
Starting a stalled car in a flood is a bit risky. If the end of the exhaus pipe is submerged, then there is the possibility you can suck water into the engine. Even if you drag it out, remove the spark plugs and spin it on the starter, because the exhaust system could be water filled.

Superhoop

4,676 posts

192 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
Marky Mark88 said:
Hi all,

My girlfriend recently drove her car through a rather large flood on the way to work a week yesterday. She went through in second gear and the car stopped about halfway through the water which was apparently up to the bottom of the door. Some rather nice gentlemen helped her push the car out and onto a dry area of the road. She had tried to start the car whilst in the flood. By the time i got there the car still wasn't starting, it would turn over slightly and then stop. Eventually the car started, but there was a large amount of smoke coming from the exhaust and from under the bonnet. Also, it was running very flat and there didnt seem to be much power.

After getting the car home, i left it running on the drive for over an hour, after which it was idling normally and there was only a small amount of smoke coming from the top of the engine. I removed the air box and checked the filter, which seemed to be dry. We thought at this point that maybe the car would be ok and just needed to 'dry' out.

Whenever you start the car now, white smoke comes out of the exhaust and also a small amount comes from under the bonnet. It also lacks power and there is a definite rattle coming from the engine. After you leave the car running for 10 to 15 minutes it improves to the point that it almost runs normally, if not slightly more underpowered than before being driven through the flood.

The question is, what is wrong with the car? A small amount of research and speaking to different people suggests it could be anything from a bent con rod to bent valves to problems with the injectors or broken piston rings?

Ideally, we would like to try and fix this ourselves, as her insurance excess is £550 and with Christmas coming up we could do with saving as much money as possible. I have a week off work starting on the 17th December, so time shouldn't be too much of an issue, especially if me and her Dad both have a crack at it.

Cheers for any help anyone can give.
The bit in bold is a classic sign of water in the cylinders, which would lead to a bent rod.

White smoke from a diesel is unburnt fuel - a pretty good sign of poor combustion, and a sign of possible mechanical damage

Compression test as a starting point would be a good idea.

AndyDRZ

1,202 posts

235 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
Compression test is a good idea but as a free test - have you checked the level and the state of the oil?

Matt UK

17,649 posts

199 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
OP, get it nice and hot with a good italian tune-up for an hour.

aj520d

67 posts

139 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
sounds like hydrolock

Superhoop

4,676 posts

192 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
Matt UK said:
OP, get it nice and hot with a good italian tune-up for an hour.
That sounds like an awesome idea, especially if it does have a bent rod - my money's on it not making the hour if it has

TheTurbonator

2,792 posts

150 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
Is it possible the lambda sensor in the exhaust has become water damaged? It may be giving false readings to the ECU, causing the problems you describe.

Matt UK

17,649 posts

199 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
Superhoop said:
Matt UK said:
OP, get it nice and hot with a good italian tune-up for an hour.
That sounds like an awesome idea, especially if it does have a bent rod - my money's on it not making the hour if it has
Well, at least it would stop all this guessing...

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
aj520d said:
sounds like hydrolock
It doesn't sound remotely like hyrdolock to me?

gshughes

1,277 posts

254 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
Marky Mark88 said:
Hi all,

as her insurance excess is £550
Not sure what the relevance of her insurance excess is for a mechanical problem, do you mean warranty excess?

SmoothCriminal

5,047 posts

198 months

Tuesday 4th December 2012
quotequote all
Might only have been up to door height but did you find out how fast she drove through it? Did she create a bow wave lol.