BAD NEWS FOR W204 FLOOD EASY
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'08 C300 Lux Barolo Red Beige Leather P2 MM 18" wheels '84 944
coil packs
from a puddle splash it sounds like the coil packs are getting wet. i find it very hard to believe that enough water could find its way through the intakes and past the MAF to cause water lock with this set up anyway short of driving through a river.
some people have closed/filled the small holes in the air boxes to compose even more of a ram intake. those cars should then experience this problem under even heavy rain conditions, no? I'm pretty sure the high flow carbon air boxes in the 63's don't have any holes what so ever...and I don't think the eurospec boxes in any 204's have holes for drainage.
in the winter, when visiting the touchless carwash, i've revved the engine up to around 2500k as to draw in air as the hoses are blasting water at very high pressures, virtually into the intakes at level angles to see if it caused any bogging...negative.
some people have closed/filled the small holes in the air boxes to compose even more of a ram intake. those cars should then experience this problem under even heavy rain conditions, no? I'm pretty sure the high flow carbon air boxes in the 63's don't have any holes what so ever...and I don't think the eurospec boxes in any 204's have holes for drainage.
in the winter, when visiting the touchless carwash, i've revved the engine up to around 2500k as to draw in air as the hoses are blasting water at very high pressures, virtually into the intakes at level angles to see if it caused any bogging...negative.
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https://mbworld.org/forums/3895752-post13.html
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
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It is all about how much water is ingested. Water is incompressible. A little water & a lot of air & the engine will pump it out of the exhaust as a cloud or steam during the combustion cycle. The converse & the engine will try & compress water on the upstroke with the valves closed & bang - hydralock, bent rods etc.
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It is all about how much water is ingested. Water is incompressible. A little water & a lot of air & the engine will pump it out of the exhaust as a cloud or steam during the combustion cycle. The converse & the engine will try & compress water on the upstroke with the valves closed & bang - hydralock, bent rods etc.
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Another round of ICE
It is all about how much water is ingested. Water is incompressible. A little water & a lot of air & the engine will pump it out of the exhaust as a cloud or steam during the combustion cycle. The converse & the engine will try & compress water on the upstroke with the valves closed & bang - hydralock, bent rods etc.
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From: New Jersey
C 350 Obsidian Black
The white smoke you are probably seeing after washing your car is water that is introduced into the exhaust from the tailpipes. you start the car and the heat from the exhaust will cause it to steam shortly after start. I doubt you are pushing that much water into your engine via intake side.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Did you mean to response to my message? My point was that there cannot have been enough water for hydralock if the engine was first running and was claimed to get locked only at the next restart. If it did lock at start, there should not be any damage like bent rods, I assume. And where did the water come when the car was parked?
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
SS - I have never seen any water get into the airbox, past the filters, through the MAF & into the inlet manifold from washing the car. NEVER
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Engine DIE
I guess it is, but another post explains that the problem appear when you try to start the car. Would be odd if the water does not cause a lock when the car is driven but only when (re)started. And this was reported as the same issue.
https://mbworld.org/forums/3895752-post13.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/3895752-post13.html
When an engine is hydrolocked it stops dead as the rod or rods bend. If you wait long enough, the water MAY seep past the rings enough to crank the engine enough to open a valve to blow the water out. But, the damage is done even though the engine may start. There is nothing unusual about the air intake locations in the W204 but it's not a submarine. We have big rainstorms at times in my city and we see TV images of cars plowing through deep water with a bow wave coming over the hood. The drivers are oblivious until the thing quits and they have to wade to shore. About two years back we had a huge rainstorm here and I was told that just my dealer had six cars come in that had destroyed engines. The warranty does not cover stupidity but insurance does, lucky for them.
Hydrolock can also happen with a failed headgasket when coolant seeps into a cylinder but that happens over time. MB has produced plenty of engines that have developed leaky head gaskets, either coolant or oil.
The V-6s are not among them.
Last edited by RLE; Jan 18, 2010 at 08:07 PM.
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Once you have water in sufficient volume in the airbox & it goes through the MAF - center rear of engine - it sits in the inlet manifold and drains to the cylinder/s with inlet valve open while stationary. When you start - wamm! So yes there can be enough water & is. Go look at the design. Remember you only need sufficient water in one cylinder to hydralock!!
The air box could hold some water but it would get drained out from the drain hole, not to the engine.
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I've read his post and I think his explanation is a little murky. He said the car was splashed by a truck and the engine quit and when he tried to restart it..
When an engine is hydrolocked it stops dead as the rod or rods bend. If you wait long enough, the water MAY seep past the rings enough to crank the engine enough to open a valve to blow the water out. But, the damage is done even though the engine may start. There is nothing unusual about the air intake locations in the W204 but it's not a submarine. We have big rainstorms at times in my city and we see TV images of cars plowing through deep water with a bow wave coming over the hood. The drivers are oblivious until the thing quits and they have to wade to shore. About two years back we had a huge rainstorm here and I was told that just my dealer had six cars come in that had destroyed engines. The warranty does not cover stupidity but insurance does, lucky for them.
Hydrolock can also happen with a failed headgasket when coolant seeps into a cylinder but that happens over time. MB has produced plenty of engines that have developed leaky head gaskets, either coolant or oil.
The V-6s are not among them.
When an engine is hydrolocked it stops dead as the rod or rods bend. If you wait long enough, the water MAY seep past the rings enough to crank the engine enough to open a valve to blow the water out. But, the damage is done even though the engine may start. There is nothing unusual about the air intake locations in the W204 but it's not a submarine. We have big rainstorms at times in my city and we see TV images of cars plowing through deep water with a bow wave coming over the hood. The drivers are oblivious until the thing quits and they have to wade to shore. About two years back we had a huge rainstorm here and I was told that just my dealer had six cars come in that had destroyed engines. The warranty does not cover stupidity but insurance does, lucky for them.
Hydrolock can also happen with a failed headgasket when coolant seeps into a cylinder but that happens over time. MB has produced plenty of engines that have developed leaky head gaskets, either coolant or oil.
The V-6s are not among them.
I was wondering if the starter motor would have enough power to make rods bend, of course it also depends if there was only one cylinder filled with water and if the starter motor had almost a full cycle to gain speed or if the "to be locked" cylinder is already close to top dead centre. I certainly have not seen this, I interpret that you feel the starter motor could bend rods.
I've seen hydralock on old engines with an exhaust pipe heading up from the exhaust manifold (not a car
), rain may fill the manifold, specifically if the vehicle is parked in a place allowing water surging from a garage roof finding the way to the exhaust pipe. These old engines were so heavily built that hydralock still did not damage the rods (or starter motors were too weak).If water enters the engine when the driver dives to a pool of water, one would expect the driver being able to avoid this by driving slow enough. But if one of the 204 bumber designs forces water to flow upwards and directly to the air intake, perhaps the bumper or the air intake could be improved to avoid this water flow. After all, a stranger in a city driving after heavy rain may hit a deeper than expected pool of water.
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From: Puerto Rico
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Are we here talking about a car or a boat?... 
A car is not suposed to dive underwater!... with that said... if the water is above my foglight or reaching my tailpipes.... i wouldn't try and over pass it.... it's just plain stupidity...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Those pictures AboVE of the Mercedes C class US Navy edition
... that's just................ unexplainable man!... how did you intended to cross that OCEAN with a Sedan??!?!
you can see the Tundra having a rough time in it's bumper section almost covered.. where did you think the water would reach the car?... door pin high?
A car is not suposed to dive underwater!... with that said... if the water is above my foglight or reaching my tailpipes.... i wouldn't try and over pass it.... it's just plain stupidity...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Those pictures AboVE of the Mercedes C class US Navy edition
... that's just................ unexplainable man!... how did you intended to cross that OCEAN with a Sedan??!?!you can see the Tundra having a rough time in it's bumper section almost covered.. where did you think the water would reach the car?... door pin high?
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
These vehicles have a very large intake cavity below the MAF in the intake manifold area. One would expect oblivious drivers to push forward until everything grinds to a halt & the damage is done. One engine I saw destroyed at my dealer was brimming full of water right up to the MAF grating.
There have been instances of lock taking place at attempted restart where less water was around that I can only believe were due to sufficient water collecting in the manifold to hydralock at least one cylinder. These engines do have powerful starter motors with crank 'till start programming. The starter gear ratio is very extreme. In a scenario with enough water present to lock one cylinder and another cylinder with closed valves actually firing you would certainly bend things.
Engines have locked on start up not related to coolant leaks so I guess it's just a matter of unlucky circumstance where all the conditions happened to be right.
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I got into to some fairly deep watch last year and am wondering if the rear differential has the potential of getting water in it causing it to fail later. Any thought?
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W206 PHEV AMG
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Diesel - I fully accept that this is an extremely unlikely scenario but it has happened - not necessarily in this particular case - as I read this situation a "splash" was the bow wave from a truck that overwhelmed the intakes.
These vehicles have a very large intake cavity below the MAF in the intake manifold area. One would expect oblivious drivers to push forward until everything grinds to a halt & the damage is done. One engine I saw destroyed at my dealer was brimming full of water right up to the MAF grating.
There have been instances of lock taking place at attempted restart where less water was around that I can only believe were due to sufficient water collecting in the manifold to hydralock at least one cylinder. These engines do have powerful starter motors with crank 'till start programming. The starter gear ratio is very extreme. In a scenario with enough water present to lock one cylinder and another cylinder with closed valves actually firing you would certainly bend things.
Engines have locked on start up not related to coolant leaks so I guess it's just a matter of unlucky circumstance where all the conditions happened to be right.
These vehicles have a very large intake cavity below the MAF in the intake manifold area. One would expect oblivious drivers to push forward until everything grinds to a halt & the damage is done. One engine I saw destroyed at my dealer was brimming full of water right up to the MAF grating.
There have been instances of lock taking place at attempted restart where less water was around that I can only believe were due to sufficient water collecting in the manifold to hydralock at least one cylinder. These engines do have powerful starter motors with crank 'till start programming. The starter gear ratio is very extreme. In a scenario with enough water present to lock one cylinder and another cylinder with closed valves actually firing you would certainly bend things.
Engines have locked on start up not related to coolant leaks so I guess it's just a matter of unlucky circumstance where all the conditions happened to be right.
This fact that one cylinder could already fire while the next one is waiting to face hydralock sounds another possibility that would certainly bend a rod. On a diesel this would be less likely because the diesel needs to wait for rail pressure building up before injection starts, not only wait till crankshaft and camshaft sensors report ignition sync.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
The time that axles are the most vulnerable to water ingress is when the car & axle are fully warmed up. People don't realise that the rear axle oil can get to 150 deg C (300 deg F) on a long climb on a fully broken in axle. Let's say normal operating is 100 deg C plus.
If you run into deep water with the axle at this temperature everything contracts & sucks in water through the breather. The only way is to check.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Jan 19, 2010 at 11:57 AM.
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I wonder why cars dont have a type of rain/water sensor to shut off the engine/drain water once it has a large intake of water into the intake tubes. I am sure it can be made and done.
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From: New Orleans, Louisiana
2010 Artic White C63
Are we here talking about a car or a boat?...
A car is not suposed to dive underwater!... with that said... if the water is above my foglight or reaching my tailpipes.... i wouldn't try and over pass it.... it's just plain stupidity...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Those pictures AboVE of the Mercedes C class US Navy edition... that's just................ unexplainable man!... how did you intended to cross that OCEAN with a Sedan??!?!
you can see the Tundra having a rough time in it's bumper section almost covered.. where did you think the water would reach the car?... door pin high?
A car is not suposed to dive underwater!... with that said... if the water is above my foglight or reaching my tailpipes.... i wouldn't try and over pass it.... it's just plain stupidity...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Those pictures AboVE of the Mercedes C class US Navy edition
... that's just................ unexplainable man!... how did you intended to cross that OCEAN with a Sedan??!?!you can see the Tundra having a rough time in it's bumper section almost covered.. where did you think the water would reach the car?... door pin high?
Yes, the water was up to the door pins.
I wasn't driving threw it lmao. It was parked on the side of the street because i was at a friends house. Came outside and saw that my car had turned into a german submarine.
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From: Puerto Rico
'08 C350, '05 Mazda 3 HB, '07 330i
I thought you drove it through.... but now that u put it like that, WOW! ... I really hope there was no big problem cause of that!
Good luck
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From: New Orleans, Louisiana
2010 Artic White C63
Haha, oh no. I love my mercedes toooo much to make it a german submarine.
It rained like that for 3 days straight.
The car ended up being totaled out and they wrote a check for $33,600.
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'08 C300 Lux Barolo Red Beige Leather P2 MM 18" wheels '84 944
