986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - (Another) White Smoke from the Exhaust Incident

MNBoxster · 10-10-2005, 01:05 PM

@dennizxxx

Do not try to start the Engine!!! Your Engine may be Hydrolocked. If it is, and you try to start it, you could quite easily destroy the Motor.

Hydrolocking occurs when water gets into the engine, from the Intake (which can happen in a driving rain), or often from a blown or leaky Headgasket (which as I watched this thread develop is what i'd be most concerned about). Liquids are not easily compressed and the engine will brake suddenly if running, or even from the torque of the starter motor and send tremendous shock and pressure to the reciprocating gear (Pistons, Rings, ConRods). Usually, it will tear the rings up in the cylinder(s) affected, but it's not uncommon to crack a Piston, a ConRod, or even a Cylinder. Any of these things require a full rebuild, if not an engine replacement.

The danger of causing mass destruction warrants having the car towed to a Dealer or Mechanic for Service, but be sure to tell them of a possible Hydrolock issue, so they don't try to crank the motor either. If you want to try and diagnose the problem yourself, remove all the sparkplugs and check to see if any are wet. Then dry off the plug holes in the head or stuff them with paper towels and try cranking the engine 1 or 2 turns to check to see if water (AF) is forced out of them - unless you disconnect the Fuel Pump relay, you'll get some Gas mixed in as well. I hope I'm wrong (long-distance diagnoses are difficult at best) and that it isn't already too late! Good Luck!!

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

10-10-2005, 01:05 PM	#7
MNBoxster Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Posts: 3,308	@dennizxxx Do not try to start the Engine!!! Your Engine may be Hydrolocked. If it is, and you try to start it, you could quite easily destroy the Motor. Hydrolocking occurs when water gets into the engine, from the Intake (which can happen in a driving rain), or often from a blown or leaky Headgasket (which as I watched this thread develop is what i'd be most concerned about). Liquids are not easily compressed and the engine will brake suddenly if running, or even from the torque of the starter motor and send tremendous shock and pressure to the reciprocating gear (Pistons, Rings, ConRods). Usually, it will tear the rings up in the cylinder(s) affected, but it's not uncommon to crack a Piston, a ConRod, or even a Cylinder. Any of these things require a full rebuild, if not an engine replacement. The danger of causing mass destruction warrants having the car towed to a Dealer or Mechanic for Service, but be sure to tell them of a possible Hydrolock issue, so they don't try to crank the motor either. If you want to try and diagnose the problem yourself, remove all the sparkplugs and check to see if any are wet. Then dry off the plug holes in the head or stuff them with paper towels and try cranking the engine 1 or 2 turns to check to see if water (AF) is forced out of them - unless you disconnect the Fuel Pump relay, you'll get some Gas mixed in as well. I hope I'm wrong (long-distance diagnoses are difficult at best) and that it isn't already too late! Good Luck!! Happy Motoring!...Jim'99 Last edited by MNBoxster; 10-10-2005 at 01:31 PM.