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Registered
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 292
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Help!!! Vapor lock??
We had a bad rain storm here where I live the other day. My car has carbs. I think it took in some small amount of water. Now the engine won't turn over. I tried it manually also. Again, it's stuck. I described the situation to my mechanic, he said it was vapor lock. I drained the battery trying to start it. So now, what do I do? The engine had about 10k since it was rebuilt.
Please give any suggestion. I don't want to force the engine and cause any damage. John |
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10-11-2003, 09:46 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 292
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Ok, any expert out there? I check the battery at Auto zone. They did a load test and the battery is still good. So when I turned on the engine, the battery indicator goes to zero. After that there seem to be no electricity. May the battery just need a charge. I did try to jump it. The CD was whining normally, but the engine wouldn't turn over. Vapor lock still or a bad starter?
John |
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10-11-2003, 10:36 AM
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Registered
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Los Alamos, NM, USA
Posts: 6,044
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To summarize: The engine may have ingested water. The engine cannot be turned over by the starter or by hand. Plus you drained the battery trying to start the engine.
First the correct term is "hydro locked"; vapor lock refers to something else (fuel vapor in the liquid lines of a fuel system). A hydro locked engine has the cylinder volume between the piston crowns and heads filled with a liquid; usually either fuel or water. Since liquids are basically incompressible the pistons cannot move towards the heads and the engine becomes mechanically "locked". Only one cylinder need be in such a state to lock the engine. Remove the spark plugs and attempt to turn the engine over by hand (looking forward turn it counter clockwise only). This will allow any water to be pushed out through the spark plug holes. Change your oil before attempting to start or run the engine as the oil likely has water in it. After running the engine a short time (20-30 minutes) I'd change the oil again plus replace the oil filter. Besides draining the battery the effort to start the car may have burned out the starter winding if it was stalled by a hydrolocked engine and current continued to flow through the winding. Starters are not designed to take current indefinitely; after a while they will burn out. Just for grins I'd also check the ground strap from the body to the transmission, your battery cables and the cable to the starter. Good luck. Jim Last edited by Jim Sims; 10-11-2003 at 03:39 PM.. |
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10-11-2003, 11:34 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 292
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Thanks!
John |
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10-11-2003, 01:12 PM
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