Thread: well it was nice having a gtp for 2 days

Dont listen to Nixon, he is just being a douche and giving you false info.

You need not to buy more oil, I bet hardly bet any big amounts of water went into the crank case. No more than when a LIM gasket is changed.

Just put a little bit in, run it and drain, tehn fill back up and be on your way.

It's not false if it's not information.

All you can do at this point is hope for the best.

Like FFDP said, new oil and filter now, new oil and filter AGAIN in about 500 to 1000 miles. After that I would make sure the next one was at about 3k miles.

I also want to point out that washer fluid is VERY flamable given the right situation! You could have made the fire worse by throwing that on.

Depending on where exactly the fire was in reference to the motor as a hole, you may want to do new valve covers and valve cover gaskets or even check all gaskets for that matter. It might not hurt to check wiring, hoses, plastic parts near the area as well.

Well that sucks, but I can't help but chuckle. At any rate, +1 for the multiple cycles. It should be fine. I've seen people running on damn near no oil (somehow), so I'd wager you're not screwed yet. However, you may have nicked something in there.

Originally Posted by Ravenwald

It should be fine. I've seen people running on damn near no oil (somehow), so I'd wager you're not screwed yet.

Being VERY low on oil and having a water based solution added are two completely different ball games.

Oil and water seperate, which is where the problem is here. The benefit to it being a water based solution is that water is more dense than oil. This means that the water based solution (in this case windshield washer fluid) "Should" work it's way to the bottom of the system and stay there. That's good because within a few oil changes it "should" remove enough water based solution to be considered safe again. The problem is that the water based solution could end up going places inside the motor it doesn't belong, potentially causing hydrolock, which can be catastrophic to the entire engine.

This situation is not very different from a blown head gasket, except to our knowledge, there isn't water going into the oil everytime the car is running.

you guys crack me up........just go slang some more green, as you say, and buy another car........that motor is def toast.........buy more jugs of oil...........

sometimes the stupidity........eh....nevermind....

Originally Posted by rodneypierce

you guys crack me up........just go slang some more green, as you say, and buy another car........that motor is def toast.........buy more jugs of oil...........

sometimes the stupidity........eh....nevermind....

enlighten us.

Originally Posted by rodneypierce

you guys crack me up........just go slang some more green, as you say, and buy another car........that motor is def toast.........buy more jugs of oil...........

sometimes the stupidity........eh....nevermind....

Really????? That's so helpful.. I bet everybody loves you

I actually did hydrolock my engine, cylinders were full of coolant.. But low and behold, i got it all out and the car runs better than ever. Please think before you post.

Originally Posted by Explicit_Spade

All you can do at this point is hope for the best.

Like FFDP said, new oil and filter now, new oil and filter AGAIN in about 500 to 1000 miles. After that I would make sure the next one was at about 3k miles.

I also want to point out that washer fluid is VERY flamable given the right situation! You could have made the fire worse by throwing that on.

Depending on where exactly the fire was in reference to the motor as a hole, you may want to do new valve covers and valve cover gaskets or even check all gaskets for that matter. It might not hurt to check wiring, hoses, plastic parts near the area as well.

oh yeah flames got alot bigger. slammed hood shut in fear haha

Originally Posted by 99pgpgt

Really????? That's so helpful.. I bet everybody loves you

I actually did hydrolock my engine, cylinders were full of coolant.. But low and behold, i got it all out and the car runs better than ever. Please think before you post.

I was being sarcastic, but let me enlighten you anyhow.

The motor is most definatelly fine, if you ran it for the few minutes that you say you did. Drain the oil, refill with new oil, and run it for a few minutes. Drain it again if your really that worried about it, and you will be good to go.

How is he going to hydrolock his motor from pouring water into the valve cover?? Can anyone let me know how any oil passage that goes through the valve cover leads directly to any one of the 6 combustion chambers? Its impossible to hydrolock a car by pouring a little water into the valve cover. It doesn't lead to the combustion chamber in any way shape or form.

Most that COULD have happened would be you messed up the bearings in the bottom end. But, running it for the short amount of time that you did, and getting the small amount you did in there (if what your telling us is correct) shouldnt have done any real harm. Like stated above, people drive around not knowing there LIM gaskets are shot seeping coolant in the oil for hundreds of miles, sometimes thousands I would wager, and have no issues....

Originally Posted by 99pgpgt

Really????? That's so helpful.. I bet everybody loves you

I actually did hydrolock my engine, cylinders were full of coolant.. But low and behold, i got it all out and the car runs better than ever. Please think before you post.

That happened to our 99 Monte with a 3800, the EGR tube popped in the intake and I was 20 miles from home and said screw it. I drove home shut it off and went to start it and pull in the garage but it wouldnt even turn over.

Originally Posted by rodneypierce

I was being sarcastic, but let me enlighten you anyhow.

The motor is most definatelly fine, if you ran it for the few minutes that you say you did. Drain the oil, refill with new oil, and run it for a few minutes. Drain it again if your really that worried about it, and you will be good to go.

How is he going to hydrolock his motor from pouring water into the valve cover?? Can anyone let me know how any oil passage that goes through the valve cover leads directly to any one of the 6 combustion chambers? Its impossible to hydrolock a car by pouring a little water into the valve cover. It doesn't lead to the combustion chamber in any way shape or form.

Most that COULD have happened would be you messed up the bearings in the bottom end. But, running it for the short amount of time that you did, and getting the small amount you did in there (if what your telling us is correct) shouldnt have done any real harm. Like stated above, people drive around not knowing there LIM gaskets are shot seeping coolant in the oil for hundreds of miles, sometimes thousands I would wager, and have no issues....

I can't tell if you're trying to troll or you're just misinformed...

To understand how this could hydrolock an engine, you have to understand the definition of hydrolock.

Originally Posted by wikipedia

Hydrolock most commonly occurs in automobiles when driving through floods, either where the water is above the level of the air intake or the vehicle's speed is excessive, creating a tall bow wave. A vehicle fitted with a cold air intake mounted low on the vehicle will be especially vulnerable to hydrolocking when being driven through standing water or heavy precipitation. Engine coolant entering the cylinders through various means (such as a blown head gasket) is another common cause. Excessive fuel entering (flooding) one or more cylinders in liquid form due to or other abnormal operating conditions can also cause hydrolock.

Now lets look at a general diagram of how a combustion engine works.


Now that we know what hydrolock is, and see how oil moves, lets discuss this further. The two main parts needing oil are the pistons (so they can slide easily in their cylinders) and any bearings that allow things like the crankshaft and camshafts to rotate freely. In most cars, oil is sucked out of the oil pan by the oil pump, run through the oil filter to remove any grit, and then squirted under high pressure onto bearings and the cylinder walls. The oil then trickles down into the sump, where it is collected again and the cycle repeats. When something besides oil enters the cylinder walls, even partially, it can hydrolock the cylinder. This will lead to bent rods among other things.



Say that wasn't even a possibility, lets go another route. What is washer fluid, it's not water. It's a highly flamable liquid, most commonly composed of a high level of methanol. We have already discussed it is VERY FLAMABLE! Your spark plugs are at the top of the cylinders which are now being introduced to this flamable liquid. This could cause detonation as the cylinder when the piston is not at Top Dead Center.

Now I'm not saying that these things WILL happen, I'm stating that they CAN happen and how to prevent them from happening. A huge variable in this is how much washer fluid got in there, which the OP may not even know. Where he goes from here is up to him since it is his car. If it were a friends car, I would make sure to get all the fluids changed to save them the cost of a new block or engine, and to save me the labor time installing it. Replacing the oil in the Now, !k, 3K method is not only MUCH cheaper, but it also takes say an hour between the 3 oil changes.

Originally Posted by Explicit_Spade

I can't tell if you're trying to troll or you're just misinformed...

To understand how this could hydrolock an engine, you have to understand the definition of hydrolock.


Now lets look at a general diagram of how a combustion engine works.


Now that we know what hydrolock is, and see how oil moves, lets discuss this further. The two main parts needing oil are the pistons (so they can slide easily in their cylinders) and any bearings that allow things like the crankshaft and camshafts to rotate freely. In most cars, oil is sucked out of the oil pan by the oil pump, run through the oil filter to remove any grit, and then squirted under high pressure onto bearings and the cylinder walls. The oil then trickles down into the sump, where it is collected again and the cycle repeats. When something besides oil enters the cylinder walls, even partially, it can hydrolock the cylinder. This will lead to bent rods among other things.



Say that wasn't even a possibility, lets go another route. What is washer fluid, it's not water. It's a highly flamable liquid, most commonly composed of a high level of methanol. We have already discussed it is VERY FLAMABLE! Your spark plugs are at the top of the cylinders which are now being introduced to this flamable liquid. This could cause detonation as the cylinder when the piston is not at Top Dead Center.

Now I'm not saying that these things WILL happen, I'm stating that they CAN happen and how to prevent them from happening. A huge variable in this is how much washer fluid got in there, which the OP may not even know. Where he goes from here is up to him since it is his car. If it were a friends car, I would make sure to get all the fluids changed to save them the cost of a new block or engine, and to save me the labor time installing it. Replacing the oil in the Now, !k, 3K method is not only MUCH cheaper, but it also takes say an hour between the 3 oil changes.

Im plenty aware of how an engine works and what "hydrolock" is... and Im not trolling at all, but show me a SINGLE motor of ANY kind that had been hydrolocked by fluids other then oil entering through the oil fill, or valve cover area? So your telling me that the "fluid other then oil" is going to pump itself INTO the combustion chamber PAST the piston rings from the bottom? In order for this to happen, the rings would have to be non existent. Then, to go further, you contradict yourself by the fact that it is as you say an "extremely flammable liquid" which means it would pre ignite WAY before it had a chance to partially fill the cylinder and hydro lock the motor.

Im not going to argue with you about it, as its trivial, and im not 100% sure who is "mis informed" as you say.. But Im sure the OP's motor is fine as long as he didnt drive it some substantial distance like stated earlier..

Nobody said it was going to hydrolock.. Obviously it can't if it's not in the intake.